


Fledglings

by Fobby



Category: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-02
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2018-03-15 23:14:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 62
Words: 554,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3465593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fobby/pseuds/Fobby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A young Nidoran unearths the ancient guardian of her home, one of a kind lost to the world. Will her home, and the world at large, cope with his return?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Bedtime Story

The sensation of footprints in the earth below... whiskers prodding into earthen walls... the scent of grass wafting in from the passage to the left. It was these things that guided the little blue lump of spikes attempting to press forward from the depths of the burrow.

"Oof!"

She stumbled and fell forward, stunned for a moment, but soon regained her bearings and got up. Flattening out her ears and shaking a few small spines loose, she continued on, grumbling softly about the dumb ledge that tripped her up.

Her annoyance was quickly pushed out of her mind after catching a whiff of dew from the end of the tunnel, and more importantly, spotted a faint light marking the moon outside.

The little creature crept up the claustrophobic tunnel little-by-little, with nary a peep, and reached a reed-woven mat just beyond its opening. There, she took a quick inventory.

Four legs, two ears, two protruding teeth at the end of her muzzle. No scratches or loose barbs from her clumsy trek up the tunnel... well, none that would worry her more than her mother, anyhow. From the light of the heavens above, she could verify that her fur was still a light blue. Yep, she had all the markings of a healthy, if still rather young Nidoran.

Around her... there was the mailbox on a wooden post next to the burrow. Throughout the sparsely wooded hillside were a few mats with accompanying posts spread before trees and other holes, or sometimes laid out as places of rest for the various Pokémon who currently slept on them. The distant crashing of waves could be heard, intertwined with faint sounds of forest nightlife. Down the hill, nearer to the coast, a small town of shacks, tents and the like had been erected.

But the attention and senses of the little Nidoran were tuned elsewhere that night.

She reared up on her hind legs and turned her gaze skyward. _Somewhere_ in that beautiful, glittering mess- around the moon, between the stars, and the twists and bends of the Rainbow Road- were the drifting ones- little stars that moved slowly and without tails. Her mother told her that some of the Pokémon in town called them the "Travelers" and that, through some contrivance, you could tell what time of the night it was based off of where they were.

But most importantly, she said, if you were up at just the right moment, you could see one, perhaps peeking out from behind the moon.

"Come on, where is it?"

She looked up at the moon... and then above it. Then below it. Then, to its left. To its right. Back at the Nidoran in the moon staring down at the world again. But still, she couldn't find her star.

"...Maybe I heard the story wrong?"

The Nidoran pouted a bit and punted a pebble that had found its way onto the mat. She was about to return to the burrow when the thought crossed her to check the _shape_ of the moon. Perhaps her "Traveler" was still peeking from behind it.

She started from the top, and slowly followed its contour around from the left. It was the same old moon, giving off its same old white glow. The same old Nidoran on its face was still staring down quietly on the world below. Yep, it was the same moon she had seen many a night before.

Except for the ever-so-small bump on the right of it.

"Eh?"

The Nidoran tilted her ears and focused on the bump. It seemed like a rather insignificant speck, except slightly growing, stretching a bit from the moon's face. And suddenly, the speck broke free from the moon, and it all became clear to the little creature.

"Wow! They really _do_ come-"

"Going somewhere?!" a deeper voice barked.

"Eeep-"

Before the Nidoran could turn around, she found herself lifted from the ground by the scruff of her neck. As she flailed in protest, she was brought away from the night sky and back into the inky depths of the burrow. Her captor took her effortlessly back along the route she had so carefully traced out to the surface, and unceremoniously dumped her into a straw nest shared by a handful of her fellow blue and purple spike balls.

After the Nidoran's captor released their grip on the back of her neck, she shook off some saliva and finally whirled around to come face to face with a rather unimpressed-looking Nidorina staring down at her, wearing a white scarf with a blue whirlpool design.

"Really, Nida, just how deaf do you think I am?" the Nidorina whispered sternly.

"But, _Mami-_ "

"Shh!"

The Nidorina gestured to the Nidoran's siblings, all of them in the embrace of sleep, if somewhat loosely. She flicked her ears, and narrowed her eyes to continue her quiet admonishment.

"It's not healthy for a young kit like you to be up into the early morning! Rest will let you grow healthy and strong."

"But I was just headed out to see the Travelers-!", Nida protested.

"Is that why you forgot _this_ on your way out?"

Her mother held up a small scarf bearing the same design as her own. Nida shrank a bit in embarrassment. After all, the importance of wearing her scarf was constantly lectured about. It was the the thing that allowed any Pokémon to identify who you were and where you belonged… and she had forgotten it on her way out the burrow.

"Er… oops?"

Her mother sighed, and placed the scarf back at the base of the nest alongside a small number of others before turning back to her child.

"Sleep is a blessing, _mija._ Having enough of it keeps you from making foolish missteps like that."

"But how am I supposed to sleep if you don't tell me a story?" the Nidoran demanded.

"Nida," said the Nidorina, her ears and countenance not-so-subtly hinting at a desire to return to her own nest.

"Well?" Nida persisted.

The Nidorina sized up her daughter, and the other siblings dozing around her, and after giving an irked sigh, decided that dealing with one small and rambunctious spike ball was enough at this hour.

"Fine. Which one do you want this time? The Nidoran in the Moon? The time I fought and beat the cheating Dragonite? Another Warriors of Light tale?"

Nida perked up, buoyed by her small victory in staving off bedtime, and thought about just what she wanted to hear.

"I wanna hear the story about the humans, and why they don't live with Pokémon like us anymore," she replied.

"Nida, haven't you heard that story from the Day Care enough times by now?" the Nidorina asked exasperatedly.

"It's different when _you_ tell it."

"I suppose I'll need to start from the beginning, then," the Nidorina sighed, as she drew her daughter's attention to a patch of dirt that she began to move a foreclaw over.

"A long, long time ago, longer than any Pokémon can remember, there lived a peculiar type of creature. One that had not been given strength in their bodies by the gods as we Pokémon have," the Nidorina said as she began to sketch some tall pylons in the dirt.

"In its place, the gods gave them the power to see and understand mysteries, questions, and engimas... to think in ways completely different to the way you or I would. To bring dreams to life, and to work wonders and impossibilities from the world around them, including from its Pokémon."

The pylons were then crossed, forming a scene of boxlike towers, each piling up against the other.

"The gods saw it fit to make them mediators of Pokémon. Their lack of strength was filled by that of Pokémon that joined them. In return, they provided food, shelter, and companionship. As the gods tended to the world, this mediation was to provide bounty to the order they guarded."

"And they built cities of glass and metal, and rolling boxes that could cross islands in minutes, and planted fields that stretched across the horizon, and-" Nida began to recount.

"Hey now, who's telling the story here? You or me?" the Nidorina interjected while sketching a star in the corner of her picture.

"It was an order that brought out the best of both Pokémon and humans," she continued, "But for some, it simply wasn't enough."

The Nidorina moved on to crudely sketch some figures in the dirt. A few birds, others that looked vaguely like horses, and a few squiggly serpents.

"In their arrogance, some of the Pokémon that dwelt among the humans decided that the gods were superfluous, that they would know better how to manage our world. Thus they declared war on the gods to take their place. It was a pitiful chapter that would have surely been thwarted and forgotten… But everything changed when the Star of Destruction shone from above."

Nida watched as her mother raked her claws over the scene, their impressions coming from the star in the corner and piercing through the towers and crude figures.

"The fiends had made a dark construct, which upon shining its light, pierced the gods and slew them. Thunder, wind, rain, land, sea, earth… all gone. So the slaughter went up to the three attendants of Arceus."

"And then that's when everything went wrong?"

It was then that Nidorina obliterated her painstakingly drawn scene with a barrage of poisonous spikes from her ruff, causing Nida to flinch for a moment.

"Well, what do you know of what happened, _mija?_ "

"The seas rotted, destruction rained from the heavens, the land became dead and filled with ash and distortion hidden in fog... Like the Mystery Dungeon on the other side of the island. That's how the Wastes were formed," Nida dutifully recited.

"Well, is that the end of it?"

"It isn't?" Nida asked, as she gave a puzzled head tilt as to what her mother could be implying.

"Silly kit, I would hope that _our_ home isn't in such a sad state!"

"Oh! Ahehe, right," Nida replied as she turned her attention to a new patch of dirt where her mother began to draw a triangle, and then a circumscribing circle.

"From there, Arceus saw that there were still points of light in the darkness. Places where the blight the Star of Destruction had caused had not yet touched. But in order for life to remain at all in this world, these places would need to be kept separate and protected."

"And that's how our island was made?" Nida asked, as the Nidorina began to draw three circles around the points of the triangle.

"That's how all of the islands were made, _mija._ Bits and pieces of the old world that Arceus pried from its dying husk with his thousand arms and placed into this sea, the sea that we call the Cradle."

Nida continued to watch her mother add more and more circles onto the design in the dirt. It was apparently some manner of important symbol, but that was surely a story for another time. Even so… There was something that the little Nidoran couldn't help but wonder after hearing her mother's words that she hadn't thought about the times when her ears heard this tale before.

"But wait, if humans acted as mediators for Pokémon… Who mediates for the Pokémon that came here?"

"At first, there was no one," the Nidorina replied, "And the Cradle was but a mass of feuding creatures of different kinds and different minds… Until our world's creator set down the Compact that governs our world to this day."

"A… Compact?" Nida yawned.

"The Pokémon that lived without humans, the 'ferals' as you've probably heard them called, were free to continue to live on as they did in the past. Growing, breeding, and dying with the course of nature. They were to be left to live without interference from outsiders, but at the expense of giving up the right to interfere in the lives of those outsiders. It is why the predators among the ferals do not dare to consider you or your brothers and sisters as meals…

Or at least not ones that don't have a death wish."

Nida yawned again more audibly, which caused the Nidorina to shift and lick a paw before continuing on, keenly noticing that her child was at last beginning to grow drowsy.

"As for the humans that remained, the world that remained was too fragile for them, and their role as mediators was given to others to carry out until the world was restored to the way it once was," the Nidorina continued as she watched Nida begin to progressively fidget less and less as sleep neared the Nidoran.

"Others? What are you talking about?"

"Silly, it fell upon the Pokémon that lived among humans to take up their mantle. To become mediators among our different kinds. To aid them, they were given four gifts…

"The gift of writing, to allow them to preserve what knowledge of the humans had not been lost.

"The gift of gummis, to free them from the hunger forcing their ranks against each other.

"The spirits of the departed gods, who remained in the night skies as the Travelers you and I can see today.

"And lastly, the gift of pacting, in which a Pokémon could make cause with another and join their ranks. To bury past fears and resentments together and live the same life. Friend, foe, feral, it matters not. As long as there is one to ask and there is one to respond."

The Nidorina couldn't help but sigh contently as she watched her daughter start to settle into the straw of the nest along with her siblings. It had been a long tale, but her goal of putting the little scamp to sleep was almost realized.

"What about the Pokémon that went to war with the gods? What happened to them?" Nida asked, which elicited a pause from her mother before she responded to her daughter's question.

"The ones that did not die in the chaos they caused were allowed to come in as a mercy. In return, they, and their children, would forever bear the mark of the star they created, so that no one would ever forget. They became the Pokémon that the others call the 'Marked'."

"Eh?!"

Almost immediately, the Nidorina regretted bringing the topic up as Nida immediately perked up at attention, on guard from her mother's words of these surely ill-meaning Pokémon still being around.

"Shh… Shh... Don't dwell upon it too much, they're far from capable of mounting a war against much of anything these days. And even if they somehow did, they would be hard pressed against the last thing that Arceus left."

"What's that?" the Nidoran asked, starting to settle down again.

"A hope. When the Cradle was made, new gods were created and left to sleep until they were needed. Why, even here, on tiny little Tromba Island, we have a protector sleeping somewhere hidden away.

And as they all wake up, the world we live in will start to be restored to the way it used to be. And eventually, the humans too will come back."

"Is that why those Pokémon… the Rescue Teams. Is that why they work so hard in that Mystery Dungeon?" Nida yawned.

"Well… It's a bit more mundane than that. Our island's protector is somewhere in there, but so are a lot of the things that our town uses to get by. And it's not a safe place, so there need to be Pokémon to help protect those that go in doing imprudent things… Like little kits going out without their scarves."

" _Mami,_ I get it," Nida groaned in annoyance, as her eyelids began to fall.

"But all in all, they're there to give help to Pokémon when they need it most."

"I wish that I could be a Pokémon like that…" said Nida, as her red eyes finally drooped shut and she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- _Mami_ \- Spanish: "mother", "mommy"  
>  \- _mija_ \- Spanish: "my daughter", used in a sense akin to "dearie" or "sweetie"
> 
> Special thanks to Tangent128 of serebii.net for chapter header.


	2. The Calm Before The Storm

A few years later, Nida's dream of becoming a member of Rescue Team had begun to be realized… Sort of. She was still a Nidoran, still in training, but no longer quite as small or young.

"Hey _rookie_ , watch it!"

While she had largely moved on from watching the stars by night, Nida had yet to move on from these hectic darts through crowds of Pokémon by day. Today was no exception, as she had just narrowly avoided being stepped on by the passing Rhyhorn that was shooting a frustrated glare at her.

She darted off to the wall of a shack to rest a moment and catch her breath. With a navy blue scarf adorned with a solitary white star around her neck, a small glinting badge affixed to it along her throat, and a satchel on her back, the Nidoran was not quite the same kit she had been so many nights ago.

"Alright! Alright! Sorry!"

The square that Nida was making her way into was ringed with simple wooden huts and garish tents styled after Pokémon. There were item shops, eateries, raucous juice bars, even the odd tailor or two- the latter eagerly claiming that their wares would outlast the toughest rigors thrown at them thanks to silk they spun themselves.

The sky turned a vibrant shade of orange under the setting sun, the air crisp from the sea. The mountain that anchored the island loomed in the background, its far face graced by the fog around its Mystery Dungeon.

Along the sea, rickety wooden ships moored alongside similarly rickety wooden docks, with Pokémon clambering on and off helping to load and unload small parcels. Other Pokémon, bobbing in the waves, chattered with their land-bound counterparts, trading gossip that had surely travelled great distances with the waves.

It was a scene that might have filled Nida with wonder… if she had not already lived through it hundreds of times before- though only rarely getting stepped on as she almost had tonight. Nida hopped up onto a crate and then, after a brief bit of scanning, bounded up to a small shack with a low counter. She rested a short moment and then called out into the shack's interior.

"Calino? Are you still there?"

Much to the Nidoran's relief, she was answered by a green and yellow lizard with a long tongue popping up from behind some crates, who gingerly sauntered over to the counter.

"Speaking, missy. What can I do you for?"

"...You still haven't replaced your old tent?" Nida said, sizing up the Kecleon's somewhat rough pavilion.

"Ahehe… See, the thing about those custom buildings and all… They kinda are a little hard on the coin purse. Especially when you're looking to get them fireproofed so that the next one won't get burned down by a wet Combusken," the Kecleon chuckled awkwardly.

Nida couldn't help but wonder how Calino managed to get himself into such situations. He was a Pokémon from outside Tromba who had a shrewd sense for business and seemed good-natured… mostly, somewhat, maybe. But he had a knack for having a bit of a grating sense of humor, one which maybe wasn't so unrelated to why Calino was here selling wares out of a wooden shack in tiny Bluewhorl Town and not on some other island.

"Of course, you could help speed up ol' Calino's renovations if you did a little shopping, eh?"

"I'd be able to buy _more_ if you'd let me get some of the discounts you give to the other teams, you know," Nida said, flattening her ears while hopping up onto a stump serving as a stool.

"Perhaps you should spend a little more, or else boost your Team ranking a bit then, eh? Why, I wouldn't give a discount to the Protector himself if he was still at your ranking!" Calino teased, flushing a burnt yellow.

"Come on, Calino. My _mami_ used to be _una Cazadragones!_ Surely _Dragon Busting's_ worth something, of all things?" the Nidoran protested, growing a bit huffy with the merchant's ribbing.

"Well then, perhaps you just need to waken that familial blood of yours a bit, eh? That'd be quite a lark, doncha think? Hahaha!"

The Kecleon watched as his customer's countenance twisted into more and more of a leer, sensing that he had perhaps gone a bit too far in his attempts to provide some good-natured banter. Calino deemed it best to drop the attempt at humor and revert to a more business-like tone as his scales reverted back to their normal green.

"Haha… more seriously Nida, as much as I'd _like_ to cut you a discount, I _can't._ Or at least not outside of hatching days and other big events," Calino sighed, "Why, between the take that the Company sucks out of Bluewhorl Town here each year and all of the rookies that go off for more mundane work like berry picking after their mandatory stint servicing in the guild or with the town guards…"

"Heh heh, I'd be left with nary a scale left over afterwards!" the Kecleon chortled.

Seeing that his customer was looking away towards the pebbles on the ground and not visibly moved by his appeal, the Kecleon decided that it would perhaps be best to offer some reassurance.

"Nida, look at it this way. It's just a matter of time before you wind up becoming one of my big buyers, right? Why, a Pokémon like you- always chomping at the bit for tougher missions even while in a trainee team- once you get into a real team it would only be a matter of time before you rose through the ranks!"

"Or wind up dying in the dungeon," a passing Sentret volunteered.

"Or wind up d-Oi!" Calino turned around visibly flustered. "Snark at your own customers, Scout!"

"Just… Give me the usual, Calino," Nida grumbled, as the Sentret continued on his way.

The Kecleon quietly gathered a couple berries and a few assorted seeds and deposited them into Nida's bag as she shuffled a few misshapen but glinting coins across the counter.

"Say… Marley's had some more kids since you and your three brothers and sisters came along, right? Two… three…?" Calino asked apologetically, his scales starting to have turned a teal color.

"Six," Nida corrected, scowling at the Kecleon.

"Oh! Ah… That's a bit more than I- Ahem, anyways, maybe on their next hatching day, I could arrange for the mon that buys their gift to get a little something extra, huh?"

"I'll keep it in mind after I tell _Mami_ about my day, I guess. I'll be sure to include how my run here went," Nida said while turning off, finally giving a small smile.

"Er… About the discount I offered?" Calino asked nervously as he knocked over a few seeds from a box behind him and flinched a moment. His scales began to flush a dingy brown.

"Nah, about everything," the Nidoran smirked, before bounding off down a dirt road.

"Erk! Gods help me…

"Wait, Nida! Come on! Let's be reasonable here! That was just good-natured ribbing!" Calino called after the rapidly escaping Nidoran, flushing white in distress.

"Aw, relax, ya old miser! I'll say enough to keep you alive so I can shop here next time!"

Nida continued bounding up the road for a time, before arriving at a large round pavillion tent. Behind it, she could see a wooden structure fashioned in the shape of an Ampharos' head with a sheltered platform up top, seemingly for signaling. From her vantage point, she also saw some simple roofed huts where the guild members sometimes ate together and stayed overnight, and a large earthen clearing along a seaside ledge kept dutifully free of obstructions.

Pokémon busied themselves milling in and out of the complex: a Rattata happily chattered with some other similarly experienced peers about having just graduated from the lowest rank. Meanwhile, a Natu and a Sealeo discussed the recent arrival of letters from off-island and who a _'Manternal'_ by the name of 'Maranda' was supposed to be. Nida's face lit up as at last she found what she'd been looking for: the guild's Mission Board, which was occupied by a Loudred, Shiftry, and a Croconaw who were sizing up the listings.

"See anything yet?" the Croconaw asked.

"It's all a bunch of fetch quests this time around. Unless you count a bunch of outdated bounties on pirates as jobs," the Shiftry scoffed.

"Well, what's the one that makes most sense for _us_ to do, then?" the Loudred demanded.

"I'm working on it! Hrm… fetching some kid's 'lost treasure...' Pass. Hunting for rare gummis… eh, not feeling it. Oh, here we go, finding an 'ahp-gredh' for Melissa."

"Melissa? The move tutor? What's an 'ahp-gredh' and why on earth would she want one of those?" the Croconaw asked.

"Eh, beats me, but when a client's offering that much Poké, they're always right," the Shiftry mused, before taking the mission listing off the board and heading off chattering with her companions about just what exactly an "ahp-gredh" was anyways, leaving Nida behind to stare at the mission listing and sigh.

"Oh, I see you brought supplies for our mission tomorrow. Are you staying overnight at the guild hall?"

Nida turned around, and came face to face with a Swellow bearing a bandanna of the same design and color as her scarf.

"Oh, hello, Kiran. I thought I told you that I couldn't stay over tonight."

"Eh? But why in the world not? Why, you're still in training! Starting brisk from a relaxing night straight from the guild hall is proven, by my observations, to improve performance in Mystery Dungeons by 100% for rookies like you!" the Swellow said, craning his head down to the Nidoran.

He was a creature with the best of intentions, and a heart after guiding young Pokémon into becoming full-fledged members of Rescue Teams. But every so often, the navy blue and white bird couldn't help but come off as ever so slightly… clueless.

"Kiran, it's my turn to babysit my younger siblings. Besides, how much energy does collecting apples need anyways?" Nida muttered, starting to flatten out her ears.

"Oh, but plenty of energy! Why, you need to be brimming and up and at them for _any_ trip into a dungeon!"

"Kiran… If the mission didn't ask for the apples to specifically be ones scattered in the dungeon as a training exercise, we could just complete it by stealing from Mildrew's orchard on the south side of town."

"... The Tropius? I mean, well. Um... yes, I suppose that's not completely in-", Kiran stammered, ruffling some feathers to regain composure, before getting interrupted by his small charge.

"Why on earth are we still doing missions like these? I thought that Rescue Teams were supposed to _help_ Pokémon, not do idle busywork!"

The Swellow paused, and extended a wing over the Nidoran, trying to offer her some reassurance.

"Nida, I know that you want to move on already. But I swear, I'm not doing this just to annoy you. You've got much more drive than I've normally seen in rookies… especially with what happened last year and all…"

"Let's… not talk about that, Kiran. It happened, and everything worked out without anyone getting really hurt in spite of it. Let's just leave it at that," Nida said, the topic eliciting an involuntary shudder.

"But my point is, moments like those are real possibilities!" Kiran said, throwing his wings wide and flailing.

"The entire point of training is so that you can be prepared for them if you stay on a Rescue Team past this first stage! And… well-"

The Swellow lowered his head and found his voice dropping to a little above a murmur, uttering some uncomfortable confessions.

"None of us want to see you get hurt from trying to push on ahead too fast. Not Crom. Not your _mami._ And especially not me... you understand, don't you?"

"I guess," Nida said, looking down. She kicked at the dirt, not really sure what to say back to her team leader's concern, only to feel a feathery sensation moving up against her and seeing Kiran patting her head with his wing.

"You're almost through, Nida, I promise. I just need to be able to see a little more from your teamwork with Crom that shows you're ready to be guided under less tutoring wings."

"So… if I can definitively prove to you that I can take care of myself as a Rescuer, you'll upgrade my rank?" Nida asked, starting to smirk- much to the immediate concern of the Swellow.

"Now _hold on_ , that's not what I said at-!"

"I think I can live with that, Kiran," Nida cheerfully replied.

"Ah… Nida."

"Whelp, I'm off," the Nidoran said, turning to leave.

"Nida!" Kiran called after his teammate.

"What? Oh… right."

Nida then shook her satchel off her shoulders and passed her bag off to the Swellow

"Almost left without leaving the supplies for your bag tomorrow, didn't I?"

"Yes, let's… leave it at that," Kiran said, his voice betraying ever so slight hints of exasperation, but deciding for the moment to let the matter be.

The Nidoran then turned and bounded off down another path, the guild hall quickly disappearing behind her as the shacks and tents she passed started to become less extravagant, and the paths less-travelled.

"Don't forget to remind Crom to prepare on your way back home!" she heard Kiran calling after her.

"Heh heh, silly Swellow, I don't need anyone to remind me to do anything with Crom," she called back, and away she went. Past wooden and canvas buildings, past the Day Care run by the Froslass (who stopped watching her siblings after dark after the incident with her Pomeg plants), past one of the little bridges over the creek that went through town, until she came to a small hut with the smell of toasted grain wafting in the air.

"Crom? Are you in there?" Nida called towards the humble building, but to no apparent response. The Nidoran thought the whole matter was rather peculiar- usually Crom had no trouble coming to the front- and so with a bit of concern, she poked her head into the rude hut's doorway...

"Crom-? Meep!"

… Only to find herself scooped up by a set of blue claws and brought up a couple feet off the ground, where she came face to face with a jagged red maw and its piercing yellow eyes.

"Hee hee, gotcha!"

Nida untensed and breathed a sigh of relief as she recognized the welcomer. "Phew… Crom, don't _do_ that. You know how Nidoran like me feel about suddenly getting snatched like that."

"Aw, but then how am I supposed to ever get you more than a foot off the floor?" the young Druddigon piped back as he set Nida back on the ground.

"Did you come to head off to dinner at the guild hall together?" the red-and-blue creature cheerily asked.

Crom and his family were ever-so-slightly strange creatures. Usually when one thought of dragon Pokémon, one thought of fighters or warriors, or the heavens forbid, pirates. Crom and his relatives on the other hand…

"Mom said that I could stay overnight at the guild hall once the evening loaves are done. A bakery's hard work, you know?"

The Nidoran's ears drooped after hearing the young dragon's words.

"You won't be able to come?" Crom asked, visibly disappointed.

"Sorry… _Mami_ and _Papi_ have field work late tonight, and I got the short end of the stick for babysitting my younger brothers and sisters," Nida sighed.

"Oh. Well, it's just four of you guys, ri-?"

"My _younger_ brothers and sisters, Crom," Nida said, bringing an awkward silence over the room.

"Oh, right."

"I take it that you already knew about Kiran wanting us to be prepared for tomorrow, right?"

"Uh huh!" the young Druddigon beckoned Nida to clamber up his back and onto his crest, and brought her to see a table set with the first loaves of the evening.

"I'm already planning on bringing along all of the ones that don't sell in the morning!" Crom beamed.

Nida's ears flattened out at the mention of the idea of bringing day-old bread along.

"Um, Crom… Wouldn't _fresh_ bread make you grow even _faster?_ And be less hard on your jaws?"

"Well hey, beggars can't be choosers. And mom says that eating well will help me to grow big and strong just like her! I'm at her chest height now! It's not that different for Nidoran, right?"

"... Whatever, I'm just saying, whenever I eventually have kits, that's _not_ what I plan on feeding them. _Ever_ ," Nida said, furrowing her brow a bit.

Crom couldn't help but giggle and tease a bit after hearing his passenger's comments.

"Is that a hint that one day we're gonna have-?"

It was then that the moment the two young Pokémon were enjoying was abruptly brought to an end by another Druddigon half a head shorter barging in.

" _Cro-om!_ Mom says to stop dawdling and help put the bread out onto the display tables!"

"Alright, alright!" Crom replied, reluctantly bringing his snout to the ground to let his passenger off.

"Sorry Nida, but I need to get back to helping. Good luck with babysitting?"

"I'll try, I guess," Nida said.

"See you in the morning," Crom said, waving a hasty farewell.

"Yeah, you too," Nida sighed, before heading off towards the hills above the town.

A short time later, Nida returned to the area around her burrow, a hillside with a distinctive lack of buildings and tents. Most Pokémon in the area lived in nests or burrows; the lack of undergrowth, the sparser trees, and the reed mat placemarkers were the only major difference from the forests deeper in the island.

Eventually, Nida came back to her family's burrow. Absently, she noted how little had changed in the last couple of years, since the nights she would sneak out to stargaze.

"I'm h-"

Before Nida could finish her breath, six rowdy and visibly smaller Nidoran with matching white scarves with blue whirlpools on them bounded out of the burrow's entrance.

"Whee!" a little blue ball cried out, hopping circles around Nida.

"Sissy, play with us, play with us!" a purple ball demanded, tugging at Nida's leg.

"Sissy, Dia stole my berry earlier!" another purple ball pouted.

"Did not!" a blue ball responded.

"Did so!"

"They're both lying, I _saw_ them!" another purple ball interjected.

"When's _Mami_ gonna be home? And are you going to be a boring babysitter like Dorin?" the last, blue ball asked skeptically.

As the six little Nidoran continued jabbering, a larger male Nidoran slipped out from the burrow, mouthed something that seemed to be "They're your problem now," and quickly hopped away.

"-ome..." Nida sighed, as she resigned herself to what was evidently going to be a very long and weary night.

* * *

The final strains of day eventually gave way to night, and life in Bluewhorl Town began to largely wind down and come to a close. But further up the mountain, behind a shroud of fog, the ever-changing passages of Tromba Island's Mystery Dungeon were slightly more active.

A couple floors beyond the entrance, in a chamber composed primarily of light stone intersected by small tidal pools, some Krabby scuttled to and fro across the cave floor between shallow pools of water, snapping at a few Finneon that happened to float by, while a Corsola pulled itself out of another pool to gather salts from a damp rock. An unremarkable night for Pokémon whose lives followed an alternative rhythm to those slumbering down the hill.

The only sign of any disturbance to this rhythm came when a strong wind began to blow, causing the Pokémon in the chamber to hesitate and begin to mill about towards signs of shelter uneasily, in expectation of some disruptive force that would come by and quickly pass.

Then the winds abruptly picked up, followed by thunder, and the walls began to shake. It was far more severe than the poor creatures expected, and they now madly and desperately scurried about the chamber for some respite. A few lighter creatures were swept up in the draft and blown elsewhere into the maze, giving panicked chitters, yelps, and cries.

Those that could maintain their rooting to the chamber couldn't help but stare down at the end where the winds blew from, a single dreadful question lurking in their minds.

_What_ sort of beast, down deep in the dungeon, could cause a calamity like this?

* * *

In a chamber fashioned further on in the Mystery Dungeon, its position ever in flux with the disturbances that constantly reshaped the floors of the maze, a solitary silvery-white egg with blue swirls waited on a raised patch of stone ringed by a shallow pool of water. The chamber, fashioned from darker stone, basked in the dim glow of the bioluminescent algae on the ceiling. The stone room was blissfully separated enough from the cacophony elsewhere in the dungeon to hear only the faint but sharp whistling of distant-sounding winds, the eye to the storm that had engulfed the rest of the maze.

And then, the comparative stillness broke with a faint _crack._ And then a louder _crack_ with the faint, wet sound of some viscous substance being pulled apart. The lights from the ceiling were just strong enough to produce a shadow of the rapidly hatching orb on the wall of the the chamber: a limb forcing its way out of one end, a snout and long neck from another. Soon, there was nothing left of the egg at all, but the form of a winged creature rearing up, spreading its wings.

The chamber's separation from the storm was then broken by the creature's loud, feral screech.

* * *

Back in the burrow, and many, many earshots away, Nida was fast asleep alone in a nest made for less frequent cohabitants, recovering from a long and exhausting night tending to six ever-moving lumps of fluff.

"Eeek!"

"The sky is breaking!"

" _Mami!_ "

The sound began to rouse Nida awake, causing her to mutter under her breath about kits these days.

"Not right now, plea-"

Only for a deafening boom to cause her to bolt up from her matted straw.

"Gack!"

Now that she was awake, she began to understand why her younger siblings were crying out from the chamber next to hers. A wild wind whipped the air outside, and the smell of the rain wafted its way into the burrow. A flash of thunder down the entrance to the burrow caught Nida's eye briefly.

All these sensations suddenly made Nida feel much smaller and more alone. She nestled into her bedding, bristling her fur and barbs on instinct.

"Eh? Still shrinking away from thunder? I thought your guild friends helped fix that," a voice from out in the hall called.

Nida sighed, and detensed her fur and spines a bit. "It's not the same when it wakes you up, _papi!_ " she fumed defensively.

The speaker came into the room and revealed himself to be a Nidorino, leaning into his daughter's nest and giving her snout a soft nuzzle. "Oh come now, it's nothing worse than what your _mami_ throws around, don't you think?" he chuckled.

Nida couldn't help but stifle a laugh at the question. He had a point, she guessed. No matter how loud and angry the storm, there would always be a moment where _Mami_ could match it. Still, she couldn't help but be somewhat concerned about the abrupt gale outside.

" _Papi,_ what's going on? Isn't the wet season not supposed to come for another two moons?"

The Nidorino shook his head, "I'm afraid I don't know myself, _mija._ The storm suddenly kicked up a little after the Sea Prince's Traveler went behind the moon and it's been like this ever since."

"Then… someone _did_ this? But… who? And why?" Nida asked, starting to grow a little concerned.

"Let's hope for their sake that it was for a good reason. Your _mami_ is going to be sour in the morning without her sleep," the Nidorino sighed.

Just as suddenly as they'd started, the winds began to die down. The sound of the pouring rain gave way to the gentler pitter-patter of a drizzle, and then ultimately, silence came.

"It just… stopped," Nida said, before quickly hopping out of bed and up the entrance of the burrow.

The once-scenic view outside had been wrecked by the sudden storm.. The family's welcome mat oozed water when stepped on; some of the trees had had limbs blown down; cries of some neighbors' children rang out along the hillside, startled by the storm much as her siblings deeper in the burrow had been. Nida shuddered as she realized that some of those children were without an earthen ceiling to provide some measure of shelter.

But up in the skies, the clouds began to break, rapidly giving way back to the view of the cosmos as if nothing had happened.

The Nidorino followed Nida up to the entrance of the burrow, taking in the scene for himself. "Probably all just a dispute among some sea ferals," he snorted before turning back to his child.

"Come on, you should head back to bed. You've got a big adventure tomorrow, right?"

"Right."

And the two went back into the little burrow on the hill as calm returned to the night.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- _Cazadragones_ \- Spanish: "dragon hunter", lit. "hunter of dragons"  
>  \- _Manternal_ \- French: "Leavanny"  
>  \- _Papi_ \- Spanish: "father", "daddy"
> 
> Special thanks to Tangent128 of serebii.net for chapter header.


	3. Watch Your Step

The following morning, Nida found herself bounding down the now-muddy paths of Bluewhorl towards the Guild Hall.

"I'm late, I'm late," she panted, dashing past the shops on the shoreline plaza, dodging between Pokémon and weaving around the occasional footstep of someone much larger than her.

The storm had been about as kind to the town as it had been to Nida's home; that is to say, not at all. Nida passed a grumbling Azumarill along with her Chinchou partner, the two of them surveying a gaping hole in the stern of a boat that had been pushed into one of the piers. She passed Calino, who busied himself dumping out some ruined stock; all the while, he bewailed the damage it was going to do to his renovation fund. All of the tents and huts the Nidoran passed by the water had caved in on one side or another from the harsh winds and waves rolling over the docks.

As Nida made her way up towards the guild hall, the storm's damage became less noticeable. A tear in some tent canvas here, a missing patch of roof there, some drenched papers on the mission board blotted to illegibility by the rain.

"I didn't keep you... waiting too long... did I?" Nida struggled to relay her meaning to Kiran in between ragged breaths, settling to hope that he could piece together her fragmented thoughts. She waggled her leg, trying to free it of the flecks from mud puddles that she'd run straight through in her rush to get to the guild.

"We haven't been waiting longer than anyone else, no. Guildmaster Hatteras has been busy all morning trying to get everything back in order around here," the Swellow said, pointing at an Ampharos surveying tears along the different pieces of canvas on the tent.

"I see," Nida said, "So… that means we're ready to go, then?"

Kiran visibly shifted his wings a bit, "Erm…"

"Kiran, we _are_ going, aren't we?" Nida demanded.

"It's just that, perhaps we should let a few other teams go into the dungeon first today," the Swellow offered.

"Kiran. It's _apple-gathering_ ," Nida mumbled, feeling cross at her team leader's sudden hesitance. " _We've_ done missions to _scatter_ them before, just how well-hidden do you think they'd _be?_ "

"Yeah! We could probably finish up halfway just in the first room!" Crom said, his beating wings displaying a hidden side of youthful eagerness much like his shorter partner's.

"That sorta work sounds right up your alley, tykes," a familiar Sentret volunteered as he passed by.

"Hey! I don't see you doing any work, Scout!" Crom growled after the squirrely windbag.

"I know that," Kiran replied, "But… after storms like these, Mystery Dungeons usually shift around. A lot. We don't really know how the floors will be ordered, or what will be on them, or…"

"If any outside Pokémon will have been blown in again," Nida finished.

There was an uncomfortable silence among the three Pokémon, the Swellow and the short Druddigon trading looks with Nida.

"You said after everything happened that that was all a freak incident, so did everyone else. So if it was such an accident, why are we just _standing_ here? It's not like it would happen again, right?" Nida said, giving a firm and determined leer at the Swellow.

"Nida. I know that it doesn't always seem so, but things always happen for a reason," the Swellow began to reply, but his words soon trailed off after seeing his red-and-blue charge also looking at him.

"It _is_ just getting apples, Kiran. Maybe she has a point," Crom said, his eyes adopting a bit of a pleading expression.

Kiran paused for what seemed an eternity before he responded, "Fine. We'll go, but on the _first sign_ of something more dangerous than normal, we're calling for a lift out of there. Understood?"

"Understood," the two agreed.

From there, the three Pokémon headed off, up a winding trail that lead out of town up towards the fog shrouding the far side of the mountain.

* * *

A ways up the path, the trio found themselves trudging their way past innumerable trees, bushes, assorted flowers, and little pebbles which marked the contours of the path, all drenched by the prior night's storm. The aroma of freshly-moistened earth wafted all around as it always did after heavy rain. Despite the pleasant atmosphere it created, the three found themselves shrouded in an uncomfortable silence. Nida took it upon herself to try and break it.

"... So, Crom. Did you remember to bring that bread?"

"Yep! It's right on top of Kiran's bag- Oof!"

En route to the Swellow, Crom found himself knocking heads with an unfortunate dangling Spinarak with an unmarked body. The creature knocked the Druddigon backwards, hissing angrily.

" _Hey!_ Watch where you're going, you little village runt!"

"A-aah!" Crom cried out. He backpedaled from the angry Pokémon as Kiran swooped in to intervene.

"Eeek!"

The Spinarak promptly flew into a state of panic at the sight of the swift-winged bird before him.

"Monster! _Monster!_ "

The team breathed a collective sigh after the small creature skittered into the cleft of a nearby tree and began to cower in silence, waiting for the dangerous creatures below to pass.

"Crom, you need to remember that there are ferals _outside_ of Mystery Dungeons, too!" Kiran admonished, rubbing a wing against his forehead.

"But they usually keep to themselves!" Crom protested, dusting himself off from his fall backwards.

"That one _did_ seem a bit meaner than normal, Kiran," Nida said while continuing on up the path, "I thought you said that the reason why ferals attacked more often in Mystery Dungeons was because they could get away with it easier."

"Well, you have to understand it from the perspective of a feral, Nida," Kiran said as he took flight once more.

"If they get hurt and no one helps them or lets them get away, well… That's sometimes it for them. So if someone seems scary, and you feel like you have a chance of scaring them off or defeating them, you have to try and do something about it."

"Sounds like a really tough way to live," Crom remarked, following Kiran down the path.

"Well now, I guess we'll just have to show them why being part of a Rescue Team is so much better, huh?"

"Heh, I gue- Oh, look!"

Crom pointed out a side path which wound around a couple bends to a simple wooden pavillion with a shingled roof that stood on a seaside ledge, stubbornly defying the elements and its unkempt surroundings.

"Huh… That _ánima_ held out better than I thought it would. Why, I'm not sure if I see any change from the storm beyond a few missing shingles," Kiran said.

"Why don't we pay a visit, huh? It can't hurt for a little good luck before we head in, right?" Crom asked.

"Well, I don't suppose it can," Nida responded as she led the way over to the simple shrine, her teammates close in tow.

Nida hopped up a jutting stone at the shrine's base in order to peer in. There were some small pebbles laid out in front of it, and the shutters that normally protected its interior at night had been opened earlier that morning by its custodians. Now that the shutters were opened, one could see that inside the shrine was a simple iron bell; above it each panel of the roof was painted in a different scene.

One panel depicted a white and blue bird rising from the sea, with red, yellow, and blue birds waiting for it. Another depicted those same birds being struck by arrows of light and falling to earth. Another depicted a strange egg with various nondescript Pokémon gathered around it. Finally, the last panel pictured the egg being carried into the fog further up the mountain.

Crom took two loaves from his bag, setting one on the ledge of the shrine.

"One for the Protector… And one for us!" he cheered, breaking up the remaining loaf and sharing it with his companions.

"Don't the ferals just take the food that gets left here anyways?" Nida asked while biting into her chunk of the loaf. The bread was firm, but much to her pleasant surprise, less stale than she had expected from day-old leftovers.

"It's the thought that counts!" Crom insisted as he greedily gulped down his piece.

"Leth geth going, kidth," Kiran prodded the two in-between mouthfuls of bread. He then picked up the remainder with his beak and ushered his charges back to the winding path, finishing his portion alongside Nida as they walked.

* * *

By the time everyone finished their bread, the team found themselves entering a foggy portion of the forest leading up to a cave entrance.

"Do you remember the rules of going in?" Kiran asked his two charges at the mouth of the cave.

"Stay together in the fog, don't wander off the path, and don't run into the dungeon," Nida and Crom recited, groaning at having to partake of this ritual reminder.

"Good, then let's make our way in," the Swellow said, extending a wing for Crom to hold onto. As the two began to set off, Nida scurried up Crom's back and onto his crest, her preferred perch for ensuring she stuck with the group.

"So, what do you think we should do with the apples that are left over after this mission, Nida?"

"Eh? Wouldn't we just keep them for later?" Nida asked, tilting her ears.

The fog had grown increasingly thick, and as the group made their way in, the less they were able to see of each other. Heads, limbs, tails disappeared into the haze.

"You're thinking too simple! Why... think about the things you can _do_ with those apples! You could bake them into bread... You could candy them… Kiran said they might be a decent Gravelerock substitute…"

Nida couldn't help but giggle at the idea of trying to clock someone with an apple; it was one of those silly, nonsensical ideas that couldn't help but take the edge off someone. As the fog thickened enough that she lost sight of her own whiskers, she decided she quite appreciated that sentiment.

The thickest portions of the fog were always unnerving, even after all these times passing through it. For what seemed an eternity, Nida couldn't see past her nose, sounds and smells became garbled and misleading, and even the very air seemed to grow thick and heavy. It was during this stretch that she was silently grateful that Crom had allowed her to hitchhike on his crest today.

"Alright, we should be through the worst of it!" Kiran announced.

True to his word, the fog around them slowly thinned, the air felt less weighty with each trudging step forward, and the smell of rushing salt water came on the breeze. After a few steps further, they found themselves able to see their paws, claws, and wings once again in the haze. Finally, the fog cleared entirely, leaving an unobstructed view of the surrounding sea cave the group had wandered into.

"How _does_ this dungeon look like a sea cave when it's halfway up a mountain?" Nida asked before hopping off of Crom's head. "I mean, I know that the distortion in here probably has something to do with it, but _still..._ "

"The lower levels apparently open out to deep in the seas off the shore," Kiran said while taking his wing back to his side. "Not that we will need to go anywhere that far today."

The Swellow beat his wings a few times - "to get my blood flowing," he'd explained in the past- and turned back to his two teammates after taking flight.

"Remember, if you get lost or in trouble, find a place apart from everything else and use your badges to call for help," the Swellow reminded.

"We will," the two younger Pokémon responded in unison, before turning their attention to helping the Swellow scan the floor for apples.

* * *

The first floor was rather quiet. Aside from the tidal pools and the various rocks, all the team encountered were items. True to Crom's predictions, they found half of the apples they had been tasked to deliver, which were stuffed into Kiran's bag. The time in between then and the search for the stairs had primarily been spent by Crom and Nida playing in the tide pools that just so happened to be along the way. They also, at Crom's request, tested Kiran's theory of apples as a substitute for Gravelerocks… on Kiran himself.

Eventually, the three found themselves in front of the stairs to the second floor, peering down a pathway which separated their position from the next chamber.

"Are we _sure_ there's nothing else we want from the first level? Once we set down these stairs, distortion will seal the entrance by the time we reach the next floor," the Swellow asked cautiously.

"We're sure, let's keep going!" Nida said.

"Yeah, it's no fun to only go to the _first_ floor of a dungeon anyways!" Crom added.

The group descended the stairs, heard the normal scrapes and shudders as a wall of stone from the floor above closed over the way they came, and quickly took stock of their surroundings… finding their room to be barren with the sole exception of some further stairs heading down.

"... That's it?" Nida asked, in a flat and unimpressed tone.

"Erm… Not quite," Kiran said, pointing out where the ceiling for the chamber would normally be. In its stead was the incredibly distant-looking layout of the floor they had just came from. Upside down.

"Shame we'd never be able to reach it thanks to the distortion… I wonder what it feels like to be able to walk upside down without falling," Crom said as he stared up at the inverted floor.

It was one of those unsubtle moments that helped to bring back into the minds of the three explorers that in spite of their previous times traversing this Mystery Dungeon, it was very much not home.

After the group's attention turned back to the stairs to the next level, there was a bit of a collective shrug and the three continued down deeper into the maze.

"Heh, I think the storm might have actually worked out quite well for us!" Crom said, pleased with their fortune on the last floor.

As the trio headed down the stairs, they found that the third floor was a bit more mundane in appearance. The ceiling was seemingly all there, unlike the prior room. The floor was still mostly rocks and shallow water pools. All seemed to be normal.

"See anything, you two?" Kiran asked while scanning the room.

"There are definitely apples in here… I can smell them," Nida replied.

"Oh! Oh! I smell them too! But… I don't see any apples," Crom added, drooping his wings a little.

"Maybe it would be best for you two to lead the way on this floor, I'm afraid I can't smell much of anything."

"Hmm… I think I'll take the higher stuff. You'll be able to handle the ground, Nida?"

Nida flattened her ears a bit at the idea of having to deal with attempting to plant her nose on the waterlogged ground. It always was so much more comfortable when the apples were plainly visible and the damp ground could remain underneath her feet where it belonged. Unfortunately for her, it didn't seem like there was much of a choice on this floor.

"I think I'll survive, Crom."

The two then began to attempt to ferret out just where the scent of the apples might be coming from. Crom strayed a bit to the left of the room, while Nida went to the right. In spite of the strong odor of salt, she could tell that there definitely was an apple out there… somewhere. Little by little, she continued to follow the smell ever closer to-

"Oop!"

Tumbling headfirst into one of the shallow pools. The Nidoran hastily pulled herself out, and after coughing up a little water, shook herself dry.

"Grr… I don't understand, I can smell the apple right here, but this is just a-!"

She then looked up and saw that the apple was floating within the water itself, apparently having rolled off of a ledge overlooking the pool.

"Found one!" Nida called out, which quickly drew her companions over to the pool. Kiran came first, followed quickly by Crom, who had apparently already found his apple on the left and deposited it into Kiran's bag.

"... I'll need to find out what team was responsible for scattering these and tell them to be a bit more _cuidadoso_ next time," Kiran sighed, watching the apple bob up and down lazily in the water.

"Eh, it's just a little pool," Crom said before clambering into the water. The Druddigon waded along, the water coming up to his wings as he went out far enough to grasp the apple.

"See? Piece of- YEOW!"

Much to Nida's shock, Crom then pitched forward and into the water.

"Crom!"

He shortly resurfaced, thrashing and flailing as something had latched itself onto his wing.

"Get it off! Get it off!"

The most unwelcome assailant quickly revealed itself to be a Krabby, fastened tight to Crom's left wing.

"Get _out_ of our pool!" the Krabby chittered, trying to find something for its other pincer to latch onto. Kiran immediately tried to swoop in to intervene while Nida rushed over to the water's edge.

"Hold on, Crom, we're comi- GACK!"

Only for another Krabby to latch onto his foot as he passed over the water.

"Go away and _stay_ away!" it demanded, as Nida came to the side of the water. She tried to rear up the barbs in her pelt much as her parents and more experienced siblings would. While she managed to fire a singular barb, the little missile accomplished nothing but to sail through the air a couple feet and fall into the water with a weak splash.

"Rats… How on earth do they make stinging seem so easy?"

She decided to try a more proven tactic, and called out to the Swellow, "Kiran, quick! Give me your bag- Meep!"

Only to be forced to abruptly sidestep a beam of bubbles that drenched the spot where she was standing with bubbles that burst with sticky glop that was scalding hot to the touch.

"You'll not get away from me so easily, furball!" hissed a third Krabby, the apparent culprit of the bubbly attack, who made haste clambering out of the pool.

"Kiran!" Nida shouted, fanning out the barbs under her fur, "The bag would be nice about now!"

" _Agarra!_ " the Swellow cried as he tried to fling the group's bag to Nida. The bag sailed through the air, its trajectory having been jerked off course by his ongoing struggle with the Krabby clamping down on his foot, and landed a good distance away from her, towards the middle of the room.

"Oh yeah, great throw ther-" Nida grumbled, only to have her train of thought promptly interrupted by having to sidestep a snapping claw.

"Stay still so that I can grab you!"

"Get away from me!" Nida cried, giving two stiff, spinning kicks to the Krabby that was almost upon her. Her legs felt as if they were striking damp stone, but they were forceful enough to cause the crustacean to stumble a bit, which Nida took advantage of to sprint towards the bag as fast as her feet could carry her.

She threw open the flap to the bag, stuck her head and forepaws in, and began to fling out its contents. "Gravelerock, Gravelerock," she muttered to herself while fumbling around inside. She knew that Kiran had one in there from an earlier mission when they went in… Apple, apple, another apple, why had the guild been so adamant that they had to gather these stupid training apples in the first place?!

"Where is it?! I know we had a-!"

Her search was interrupted by the sting of hot bursts and the sensation of something gummy and warm that stuck to the fur that sent her and the bag tumbling, coming to rest staring at a far wall in a daze.

"Can the room stop spinning no-OW!"

Her dizziness was suddenly joined by a sharp pain shooting through one of her hind legs.

"I've got you now!" an irate voice chittered.

"Let me go!"

This was bad, Nida had not expected a Pokémon who could only move sideways on land to close the gap so quickly. Worse still, she couldn't kick her way out of this one with one leg caught and her underbelly half-open to further attacks from the Krabby.

The Krabby then tugged on Nida's leg, and began to drag her. She began to flail and shouted out from pain as the creature's grip tightened. It was then, in the corner of her eye, that the relative movement of being dragged along a stone cave floor caused a slim object to come into view.

She couldn't tell what the object was, but that was beside the point. She needed _something_ to hurl at her sopping attacker, and this would have to do. She quickly latched onto the object with a forepaw.

"I said, 'Let me go!'" Nida shouted, before blindly throwing the slim item at the Krabby. It was then that she heard a cracking noise and felt its grip release and the sharp pain became dull.

Nida whirled to her feet, and gave another two kicks at her attacker. The second one was with her injured leg, the immediate shot of pain causing Nida to yelp and hastily change tactics.

"Go _away!_ " she yelled, tackling the Krabby. The crustacean flopped backwards. As Nida stumbled backwards and uneasily tried to regain her footing, she noticed that the Krabby was weakly snoring with fragments of a seed's husk scattered about it. It was subdued enough for now, she supposed.

"Kiran! Are you okay?!" she called out.

Nida was answered by the sound of a wing striking chitin and the sight of a limp and groaning Krabby bouncing off some rocks into a pool of water.

"I'm alright! I'm alright!" the Swellow cried back, "Where's Crom?"

"H-Help!"

Then, both sets of eyes turned to the young Druddigon, who was busy pressing a wing against a rock.

"I defeated it, but it's not coming off!" Crom cried.

"Crom... Move _away_ from the rock and let it fall off," Nida said in between gasping breaths. Leaving the Druddigon to stare back with a sheepish expression.

"Heh heh… right," Crom replied awkwardly, and moved away from the cave wall and through the pool, the dazed Krabby falling off his left wing and into the pool with a splash.

Crom crossed the pool back over to Nida as Kiran sighed and began to regather the contents of his bag… minus one Sleep Seed. "Are you two alright?" he asked.

"Erm… well..."

" _No,_ " Nida interjected emphatically.

"Stay still, lemme come over and take a look," Kiran started, only to be interrupted while passing the sleeping Krabby as it started to come to.

"Rrgh… You! Bird! So you think that you can blow us around like the monster did last night? Well, you're sorely mis-!"

Kiran quickly cut off the Krabby's rant with a stiff swat from his wing, which flung the crustacean unconscious into the pool with its dazed companions.

The two were rather scuffed up, which made Kiran silently grateful that he merely had some scrapes on his foot and damaged plumage to tend to; Crom's left wing was turning red and had scales scraped off in the place where the Krabby that attacked him had latched on, with other scuffs from its free appendages. Nida's right flank was covered in sudsy glop, showing red in between the strands of her pelt and the barbs underneath, with her hind right leg visibly limping from having been caught in her attacking Krabby's claws.

"Well, I suppose it could be _worse._ Lie down on your left, Nida, I'll get the Oran Berries," Kiran said while rummaging through his bag.

He drew out one of the blue berries, tore away the peels with his talons, and after scraping the gummy mass off of Nida's flank, pressed the naked fruit against it, letting the juice seep into her skin as she winced. Oran Berries always stung when their juice seeped into wounds, both in their natural state, and after the rare cases they had been changed and made more potent by prolonged exposure to the distortion. And the little berry that Kiran was squeezing against Nida's body was no exception.

"That… Didn't go as well as it could have," Crom sighed. Nida flared her ears as the the initial sting from her flank dulled, and began to talk back.

"Understatement mu- Ow!" she winced, Kiran having moved on to applying the rest of the berry to her right leg.

"Make sure to eat the pulp at the least, it's where most of the nutrients and healing properties are," said the Swellow as he left the remains of the berry to Nida and turned to tend to Crom's wing.

"Kiran… How many more of these apples do we need to get?" Nida asked, while starting to bite into her Oran Berry's pulp.

"The mission asked for at least six," Kiran responded.

"Maybe we should just head back and get that last one la- ARGH!"

Crom's flinching caught Kiran off guard, if partly because he was a full foot taller than the Swellow and not-so-slightly heavier. This made steadying him when treating wounds a bit trickier.

"Easy there, and if you two aren't feeling up to going further, I suppose-"

" _No,_ " Nida said, her stern tone softened by the mass of Oran pulp in her mouth. The effects of the berry's healing properties had already started to kick in as the sting from its juices faded, dulling the pain from her leg and flank.

"E-Eh?" Crom stammered.

"Nida, it really isn't that necessary to-"

"Kiran, we need _one_ more apple. We can get _one_ apple. We haven't even gone half as deep as the furthest point in our _last_ mission yet!" Nida protested.

Kiran and Crom exchanged glances. The little Nidoran did have a point: an extra day in the dungeon would be an extra day that they wouldn't be able to do other jobs, or spend time with their families, or run errands in town.

"I mean, if you're sure it's a good idea, Nida," Crom said hesitantly, "I mean, the Oran Berry _is_ making me feel a lot better already."

"I'm not sure if I like this… But I guess it would be pretty silly to just pack it in if the last apple was lying in a corner on this floor here," Kiran mulled as he looked about the room. "Did either of you smell any more apples around?"

"No," Nida said.

Crom took a minute to sniff the air, and after a pause, he gave his verdict. "I _do_ smell one. But… it seems really faint."

"Which way is it, Crom?" Kiran asked.

"Past that wall over there," Crom replied, pointing out a slab of cave rock with a bend to the right that went around it.

"Let's get going, then," Kiran said.

"What about the Krabby?" Nida asked, only to have her question answered by the dazed voice of one of the earlier Krabby weakly skittering up some rocks.

"Hey, where'd that furball go?"

"Okay never mind, they seem well enough," Nida quickly decided, "Let's get going!"

The three quickly put some distance in between themselves and the Krabby-infested pool, rounding the dungeon wall and finding a crossroads.

"That way!" Crom said, gesturing to a passage on the right. The team went down the passage, and relaxed their pace after they could no longer hear or sense the Krabby further back. They then found themselves nearing a third flight of stairs.

"Are we sure this is a good idea, Nida? I mean, the smell of the apple's fairly strong here, but…" Crom shifted uncomfortably, "That one last Krabby did mention a monster and all."

The suggestion unnerved Nida; she knew full well that such talk wasn't always without reason. But then again, hadn't that Spinarak on the path called _Kiran_ a monster?

"I'm pretty sure that the 'monster' is just some Pokémon that's slightly bigger than them," she huffed.

"Well, I guess that is the most likely thing it would be," Kiran said, his misgivings not fully dispelled.

"Then let's get going!"

"Fair enough," the Swellow sighed, as he began to lead Crom and Nida down the steps, a bit more wearily than their last one. Heading down, there was no obvious sign of anything amiss, not that a staircase could go awry too badly. The distortion that shaped the other floors, for whatever reason, seemed to always make the "stairs" some manner of rough ramp consisting of low, staggered stone ledges.

The fourth floor that day had its furthest wall composed of water which crashed against some unseen lip and cascaded down into some abyss far, far below. At least, it seemed that way. It was hard to truly know where one thing began and another ended in this tangled pit. The floor was a bit easier to make sense of, consisting of small outcroppings of rock that jutted out of a layer of water meandering forward from the cascade at the rear.

"Oh great, just the sort of floor I was looking forward to," Nida groaned, lowering her ears as she hopped across a small stretch of water to another outcropping.

"Well, at least the visibility's good," Crom offered as Kiran flapped up to get a better view.

"And the main hazard in the room seems to be visible off the bat and not too hard to avoid-"

"Look!" Nida interrupted, gesturing to a small, elevated alcove that was obscured by an overhanging ledge. There, next to a spiral-shaped shell embedded in the rock was the last of the small red fruits that her team needed.

"Heh, heh, looks like it's mission accomplished!" she proclaimed as she drew near to the alcove, preparing to hop across another small waterlogged gap.

"Good work! Hurry up and get it so we can bring these apples to mom's bakery!" Crom cheered.

Nida dug her hindclaws into the dungeon floor beneath her and, after a short moment getting her footing against the slick stone, hopped forward to the crimson apple.

She had no sooner just left the ground when she suddenly heard a surprised squawk from Kiran, "Nida, wait!"

"Huh-?"

She crested the lip of the ledge, and noticed a faint crosshatched pattern on the stone below.

Her feet rested upon it.

To her horror, there was a soft, but audible click.

"Tra-!"

Then the floor gave way beneath her, and the Nidoran found herself tumbling head over heels through thin air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
>  
> 
> \- _ánima_ \- Spanish (Southern Cone): "shrine", specifically of the small, roadside sort  
>  \- _cuidadoso_ \- Spanish: "careful"  
>  \- _(¡)Agarra!_ \- Spanish: "Take it!", specific verb carries more urgency than the otherwise identical _¡Toma!_


	4. A Bolt From the Blue

Further and further Nida fell. She could hear Crom and Kiran calling her name coming from somewhere; but as she slipped deeper into the abyss, her teammates' voices quickly slipped into muddled gibberish. Soon, the only sounds that remained were Nida's own screams piercing the silence.

"Aaah!"

The next thing she felt was the dull thud of her rump striking something hard and her body pitching forward. Her head and legs slammed into hard stone and Nida tumbled a few times along a floor before coming to a rest on her back. As stars swirled around her eyes, she heard something bounce off with a _clink_ , followed by the distinctive splash of a small object falling into water.

As Nida regained her bearings little by little, she couldn't help but groan. As if the piercing headache that the fall had inflicted wasn't enough, the sheer carelessness of what she had done added insult to injury- a blind leap in the wrong place and the wrong time, one that could have led to a stint in the medics' tent... or the afterlife.

She weakly moved a paw up against her neck, to the place where she always pinned her badge on her scarf. Nida pressed where the badge normally was, dreading the chewing out she was sure to get from one of the psychics back at the guild who would sense her presence. "I really screwed this one up, can I get a lift out?" she sighed.

But there was no response except her own voice echoing from deeper in the cave. After a few fumbling prods, Nida discovered that the cold, metal bauble she had expected to find on her scarf had vanished.

"Oh no," she muttered. The Nidoran sprang up and stumbled to her feet in a panic- so _that_ was that clinking noise she had heard- her badge! The one thing that would have let her retreat back to the guild hall was gone! Mercifully, wherever she was seemed to be lit a dim blue- enough for her to see a rock-strewn passage that carried around a bend straddling a long, slow-flowing stream that her badge had surely fallen into.

"Please still be here," she muttered, hopping into the channel and groping around its bottom for her badge. She splashed and flailed around in a frantic search in the water, but for all of her combing of the stream's bed, she found nothing but cold sand and pebbles.

"Please still be here," she repeated every once in a while.

After what seemed like an eternity to Nida, the unmistakable sound of a metallic clink echoed from around the bend, along with an occasional staccato tapping noise. It was her badge! As Nida pulled herself out of the channel and the sound of the flowing water grew fainter, she began to discernible the sound of something shifting and moving about... in the direction of her ticket _out_ of this pit.

"Wh-Who's there?! Give that badge back _right now!_ It's important!" Nida cried as she bounded out of the channel, not bothering to shake off the water that had drenched her pelt. She rushed towards the tapping noises, but as she rounded the bend, she froze in her tracks.

"That's-"

She saw a round stone landing in the middle of a pool of water that took up most of a room that sat between corridors heading off in the three other cardinal directions. On that landing, a white and blue bird with a long tail was resting, facing away from her.

From her position, Nida guessed that the creature was just a bit bigger than Kiran, if a few inches taller. Around the bird's feet were some fragments, like pieces of a large, freshly broken pot. The creature was enraptured from tapping at something by its feet that Nida couldn't make out, but assumed was her badge.

It stopped to preen its shoulder, before it noticed some water droplets dribbling off of a stalactite in the passage to its right. The creature stopped preening itself, pulled its head up, and waddled towards the direction of the corridor. When it reached the lip of the water, it spread its wings and gave them a playful beat just as Nida realized...

This was the white and blue Pokémon on the shrine bell!

"It's _you!_ The Prote-!"

The creature gave a high cry as its blue markings and the contours of its wings began to glow, before beating them together. Nida flinched as a burst of wind from between the bird's wings sucked out most of the water from the moat around its platform and tore into the right corridor. There was a brief shudder of stone and then a loud crash that shook the chamber as the passage's ceiling collapsed.

"Ha-aah," Nida shuddered, mouth agape. This 'Protector,' it just- If those droplets had come from her passage, that would be _her_ buried under a wall of rubble. The bird then tilted its head, turned towards Nida, and began to draw towards her with a few flapping hops across the now depleted moat.

Nida felt her legs go numb and her stomach begin to twist into knots, freezing in fear at the sight of this thing drawing near to her.

"W-Wait! _Stay there!_ I'm a Rescue Team member! I just need my badge and th-then I'll get _out_ of here!" she stammered, backpedaling all the while away from the creature.

But no luck, the 'Protector' seemed to be set on catching this strange blue intruder. It quickened its pace, closing the gap faster and faster. Nida turned to run, but stumbled over an underfoot pebble and fell- just as the shadow of the bird's head fell over her.

"I'm a- A- _Aaah!_ "

Nida screwed her eyes shut and fanned out her barbs, bracing herself for whatever this strange beast was about to do. She then felt a light peck at her head, and then heard a soft voice.

"What are you?" it asked.

"I-I'm a Nidoran! A-And I'm poisonous!" Nida squeaked as she kept her eyes firmly closed. "S-So don't get any ideas about trying to eat me!"

"'Poisonous'?" the voice asked.

"Y-Yeah! I'll make you sick if you hurt me! Y-You'll regret it afterwards!" Nida said, trying to muster up what little bluster she could while curled up in a spiky ball.

"'Sick'? 'Hurt'?" the voice asked again.

"E-Eh?"

Nida opened her eyes, and saw that the white creature had drawn its head back away from her and was holding it at a tilt, perplexed by the little blue Pokémon's words.

"Can you play with a 'sick' or a 'hurt'? What are they?" it asked.

"Uh… I mean, I guess you can _kinda_ play with them- B-But that's not saying that you _should!_ They're not _good_ things to play with!" Nida answered back as she cautiously uncurled herself, still unsure what to make of the much larger bird before her.

"Are Nidoran good things to play with?" the Pokémon asked, tilting its head the other way and inspecting Nida's blinking red eyes.

"Uh… I mean, if you don't _hurt_ the Nidoran, they're good, yes," Nida responded, still blinking.

"Okay!" the creature responded, as it opened its jaws and began to clamp down on one of Nida's ears.

"A- _Aah!_ Biting hurts the Nidoran! _Biting hurts the Nidoran! Lemme go!_ "

The creature opened its mouth and retreated hastily, startled from the abrupt noise of the Nidoran's shrieks. After the two bounded back a small distance from each other, the white creature turned back.

"Was that playing with a Nidoran?" it asked.

" _No!_ " Nida retorted as she nursed her nipped ear and finally shook her pelt dry from her earlier dunk into the channel.

"But then how does playing with a Nidoran work?"

Nida stopped and thought. There had to be a way to get this thing, Protector or not, to leave her in one piece long enough to get her badge. But… How?

It was then that her hind leg chanced to brush up against a pebble. Immediately recognizing the opportunity, Nida declared, "Here, _I'll_ show you how to play with a Nidoran."

Nida circled around the pebble and picked it up with her forepaws. She then dropped it onto the ground and batted it forward with a swipe towards the white creature.

"See? Now you try," Nida said.

The bird eyed the pebble, and after puzzling on what to do with the rock, the Protector nosed it back to the Nidoran with its snout "Like that?" it asked.

"Yes! Exactly like that!"

"Do Nidoran only play with this rock?"

Nida couldn't help but slap a paw over her forehead at the question. What kind of Pokémon assumed that someone would only play with a _single_ rock?

"Uh… No- Hey wait-! Where are you going?"

As Nida spoke, the strange bird darted back to its platform, tromping through the remaining water in the moat. It stopped and grabbed some things off of the floor with its mouth and then returned back to the Nidoran.

"I broth more rokths!" it declared, beaming. The Pokémon then promptly spat up some assorted objects from its mouth… Which were all coated in a film of saliva.

"Ew..." Nida muttered, repulsed from the 'playthings' before her. She wasn't going to have to touch these grody things, was she?

There were a few cave pebbles, some berries that had been pecked into pieces of skin and pulp, an elliptical-shaped thing half-caked in mud that glinted in the dim blue light- Wait a minute!

"That's my badge!" Nida declared, snatching up the muddy and drool-slicked bauble at once. After a few moments to register her disgust from touching the sullied badge, Nida swallowed her reservations, pressed down upon it, and began to speak.

"Hey, if any of you on the other side are _listening_ , I kinda need to be _rescued_ here!" Nida fumed. But there was still no response and no obvious sign of anything at all coming from the muddied badge.

"Did- Did the fall break it?" she asked herself, beginning to panic. Her fears were then somewhat distracted by the strange white Pokémon beating its wings in eager expectation.

"Aren't you going to play with it?"

"What? _No!_ This is important! I can't play around with this!" Nida shot back.

"But it's a rock."

"No, it isn't. It's a _badge!_ I need it to go home!"

"Go... Home…?" the creature asked as it tilted its head again at the Nidoran.

It was then that Nida heard the voice of another bird calling from the leftward corridor.

"Nida!"

Along with the voice of a young dragon joining shortly afterward.

"Nida, where _are_ you? Please, say something back!"

"I'm here! I'm alright!" Nida cried back, dashing through the mostly-emptied moat around the platform and hopping around the bend.

When she came out of the moat, she saw that the passage opposite the one the Protector had destroyed was filled with a thick fog like the one she passed through at the Mystery Dungeon's mouth. This place must have been a stable patch, one of a handful of points in the maze she heard about that- while still shifting, kept a floor pattern that wouldn't get warped and reformed with a strong wind like the rest of the dungeon… Or at least one that wasn't caused by a Pokémon, anyway.

More importantly, she saw the forms of her Druddigon and Swellow teammates exiting that fog. Nida squeaked out of overjoyed surprise and bounded up to Crom, who drew her into a tight and careful grasp.

"You had us so worried!" Crom cried out, "The Pokémon from the retrieval pad said that a strong feral made off with your badge!"

"Thank goodness we made it down here before the floors shifted!" Kiran said, rushing up to inspect the Nidoran, "We were afraid that you'd be a goner by the time someone found-"

"Wait! You stopped playing!" the strange bird's voice cried out, as it hopped and flapped after the Nidoran, coming to a stop behind Nida, and before two very surprised teammates... After a moment staring, the two came to a realization not too different from the one Nida had earlier.

"Wow! The _Protector_ rescued you, Nida?" Crom asked, his eyes widening in awe of his partner's companion.

"Er… Kinda?" Nida said, flattening out her ears with a sheepish expression.

"That's so cool!" Crom said, gushing at the luck and honor of coming face-to-face with the legendary Protector of Tromba Island.

The eldest team member wasn't quite sure _what_ to make of the specimen before him, "Er… I mean, the markings _are_ definitely the Protector's, but- It seems like he's just _un pollito-_ According to the legends..." Kiran trailed off, gesturing with his wings at the white creature before finishing his thought. "Shouldn't he be _bigger_ than _Crom_ at least?"

"He's supposed to be bigger? But his pictures were so much smaller," Crom murmured before turning to his Nidoran teammate, "Does he have a name, Nida?"

"What's a 'he'? And what's a 'name'? Are these also Nidoran?" the Protector asked, blinking at the two strange new faces in the chamber.

"Uh…"

"I don't think this Protector has been around very long, Crom," Nida sighed.

"If those things on that little rock over there are what I _think_ they are, he hasn't. Why, that looks like it used to be _un huevo_..." Kiran said, pointing out the shattered clay-like pieces in the center of the moat. All the while, the white creature continued to try and make sense of these two new Pokémon that now seemed as puzzled as it was.

"Do they play with rocks, too?" the young stranger asked.

"Er," Crom mumbled, wondering just why the _Protector_ of all Pokémon would ask such a thing.

"Uhm, I guess I can't say I haven't before-" Kiran added, to which the strange bird seemed to perk up.

"Okay!" it beamed, as it waddled through the moat over to the middle of the central platform, and spread its wings upward, preparing to beat out a gust.

"Ack! _Wait!_ Don't do that in _here-!_ " Nida cried as the creature sent a whirling gust towards the ceiling... that turned out to be a pitiful, feeble wind that was just strong enough to dislodge a few small pebbles that plunked into the moat's water for a blinking audience of three.

"I'm pretty sure that the legends also stated that the Protector was supposed to be stronger, too," Kiran said, growing perplexed with this most strange 'Protector'.

"But- That _isn't_ normal!" Nida interjected. "He destroyed that entire passage over there!" she insisted, pointing at a passageway obstructed by boulders in the background.

"That gust looked pretty normal for him though, Nida," Crom said, tilting his head out of skepticism.

"Are you sure you're not suffering a concussion, Nida?" Kiran asked. After all, she had just fallen through a Pitfall Trap, perhaps the poor Nidoran took a knock to her head made her see things earlier. "If you are, we should really get goi-" the Swellow volunteered as he happened to brush his badge while shifting a wing.

_"What are you guys doing with that feral down there? Are you trying to get yourselves rescued or wiped out-?"_ an unseen voice interrupted, its words filling the minds of the four Pokémon in the room before fading as quickly as they came.

"Ah! The walls spoke!" the strange bird cried out, flinching out of surprise.

Kiran jumped up with a start from the voice, before he realized that it was just one of the teleporters at the guild. He didn't know whether it was their fault for being over-sensitive or if his badge was just finicky, but Kiran always seemed to be in the habit of accidentally messaging the teleporters at the guild.

The Swellow then gave the talisman a firm and more deliberate press. "It's not what it seems like, we're perfectly fine here! Come and get us out!" he replied back to the voice, before releasing the badge.

"What's going on? The walls weren't talking before!" the Protector asked, starting to grow a bit worried from the sudden unseen speaker.

"It's not the walls. It's the Pokémon that is going to get us out of here. She's a Psychic," Kiran corrected in a reassuring tone.

"Sorry, Mister Protector, but I think we need to get going," Crom demurred in an apologetic tone as he went over to his team leader..

"Thanks for helping me find my badge," Nida said, as she turned and drew near to Kiran.

"But you _can't_ leave!" the white bird protested.

"But we live _outside_ of here," the Druddigon tried to explain.

"Outside? But I want to play! And I can't play if you leave!"

"Eh?! What makes you think that you can only play _here?_ " Nida said, this time tilting her head at the Protector.

"I... Can play in different places?" it asked while drawing a wing to its mouth, the question presenting a possibility it had never considered.

"Yes! Of course you can!" Crom answered.

"We'll explain later, but… We _will_ play with you outside of here. We promise," Nida responded.

"You 'promise'?" the strange bird asked. It seemed to garner that whatever this 'promise' was, it was something that was important to the Nidoran.

"It means that we'll do it no matter how un-fun it is!" Nida said. The response seemed to reassure the white creature a bit, as it headed over to the other Pokémon.

"I mean- If it's really possible to play outside," it said while sidling up with the Nidoran. Meanwhile, Kiran had become increasingly impatient with the teleporter that still had not arrived in the Mystery Dungeon and pressed down on his badge again.

"Pataki, stop _stalling_ and just come and get us!" Kiran barked at the shining orb under his wing.

_"But the feral is still right_ _ **there**_ _!"_ the disembodied voice protested.

" _Look,_ you peabrain," Kiran squawked, "That's our-!"

The Swellow stopped, as a brief flash of inspiration came over his eyes. He then proudly declared, "That's our newest recruit!"

_"Say what?"_ the disembodied voice asked, taken aback by Kiran's words.

"You heard me, Pataki! Now hurry up and get us _out_ of here!" Kiran fumed as his patience wore thin.

_"You're gonna have a long story to explain once we get back,"_ the voice snapped as Kiran let go of the badge.

The owner of the disembodied voice became apparent as a Kirlia abruptly teleported beside the moat down the corridor, and came up fuming towards the waiting rescue team...

"Alright, _there_ you a-! Ah!"

...as well as the Protector that they had somehow inducted into their ranks. The shock and awe of the ordeal all but left the little fairy dumbstruck.

"Tha- That's-" the teleporter babbled.

"Hey! Teleport _now_ , story later!" Kiran demanded, irked with the Kirlia's continued hesitance when home was literally just a blip away.

"O-Of course! Hang on tight to each other!"

The Kirlia grasped a handful of Kiran's flight feathers, as did Nida, as well as Crom, who used his other claw to latch onto some of the flight feathers of their newfound recruit. The white creature looked around for a moment, bewildered, before the five Pokémon vanished from the room with a blip of light.

* * *

In the blink of an eye, Nida and her compatriots found themselves in a cleared and leveled dirt field in between the sea and the Guild Hall's structures. The blue sky was visible again, the air was crisp and fresh... The Kirlia was huffing and catching her breath… if only for a moment.

"Omigosh! You guys found _our island's protector?_ And _recruited_ it?"

Pataki quickly recovered from the exhaustion of teleporting the group and was soon busy babbling in a giddy tone and inspecting every feature of the young white bird's plumage.

"You have no idea how exciting this moment is for me! Just being able to stand here face to face with a god!" the Kirlia beamed.

"I think we have a _good enough_ idea, Pataki," Nida replied under her breath as the Protector looked around at this strange new place this white and green stranger had brought the group to.

"What room is _this?_ What's 'recruiting'? And why is the wall-speaking thingy looking at me like-?"

"Hey, Pataki! Get off the field with those rookies already!" a voice called out in a scolding tone from a shaded hut on the edge of the earthen space.

Nida and the others saw the forms of a Natu and a Kadabra approaching them, their eyes betraying some aggravation at the party's dawdling on a space that needed to be keep free of obstacles for abruptly appearing Pokémon.

The Kadabra began to chastise his counterpart on the earthen patch. "It's like you're _trying_ to cause a teleportation acci- Eh?!" his voice giving way to stunned surprise upon catching sight of the stranger in the group's midst.

"The white and blue feathers, the eyes, the wings shaped like the Great One's hands," the Kadabra recounted while piecing the bits and pieces of the white creature's appearance together "That's-"

"Lugia, the Guardian of the Seas!" the Natu interjected. The two's faces were filled with awe, and they couldn't think of a better way to react to their visitor than to prostrate themselves before the Lugia, much to its puzzlement.

"Um… Why are they scrunched up like that? Are they also 'poisonous'?"

"Why, they're showing reverence to you!" Kiran chirped heartily, which was unfortunately not as complete of an explanation as the young 'Guardian of the Seas' needed.

"'Reverence'? Is that a kind of playing?"

"Uh… Sorta?" Crom said with a sheepish look.

"Oh! I wanna try-!" the Lugia said before beating his wings out for a bow.

"Oi, you two! Enough pointing your bums in the air, we've got the rest of the guild to inform!" the Kirlia barked at her two compatriots, who began to trade flustered looks.

"Oh! H-Heh, of course!" the Natu agreed a bit over-quickly.

"Sorry for the lack of propriety, Master Lugia," the Kadabra apologized, before the three darted off into the Guild Hall's complex, their fading cries about the awakening of 'the Protector' and 'Lugia's arrival' carrying with the winds.

"Aw. They left before I could 'reverence' too," the young Legendary said halfway into a bow, its words betraying some disappointment, "Now what'll I play with?"

"It's an entire island! Why there's the town, the fields, the beaches… Why there's one just down that path over there!" Crom said, gesturing to a worn, rocky path fenced in by some string and wooden posts.

"Ooh," the Lugia said to itself, "I wanna see this 'bea-'" only for its progress to be interrupted by the sound of the the voice of a returning Kirlia.

"You guys aren't going to believe it," Pataki declared, pride swelling in her voice, to a number of accompanying Pokémon coming into view through the brush on the other end of the teleport field.

"Kiran and his little tykes found _Lugia!_ "

"What? _Kiran?_ " a Hoothoot asked.

"The captain who's always working with trainees on Team Traveler?" a Shiftry who had been interrupted from preparing to search for an 'ahp-gredh' questioned.

"They can't even find _orbs_ half the time in the dungeon," a Rhyhorn that had an unfortunate habit of running into smaller Pokémon huffed out of skepticism. "And you mean to tell us that they somehow stumbled across-?"

The gray creature found himself coming face-to-face with the Protector, and verily enough, the members of one 'Team Traveler' standing alongside the creature.

"I stand corrected," the Rhyhorn murmured, slack-jawed.

At once, awed mumbles began to travel about the gathering. After the initial 'Wow's and 'Whoa's quieted and the novelty of the matter tapered off a little, a few Pokémon in the crowd began to get a little ahead of themselves. Voices here and there gleefully volunteered possible implications of their newest recruit's presence for Tromba and Bluewhorl Town.

"Oh wow, I can't _wait_ to see the looks on the faces of the next pirates to try and come around here!" a Persian smirked, taking a moment to entertain a few fantasies.

"Pirates? You're thinking too small! Why, I'd like to see the _Company_ try and push us around now that the Protector's awake!" an Azumarill from the docks declared in a triumphant tone.

Others wished to know more about the newfound Protector.

"What's being a sea god like anyways, your Lordliness?" a bright-eyed and curious Shellos inquired.

"Um… I'm me, I guess?" the Lugia replied, perplexed as to what the creature was asking about.

An Ampharos who was advanced in years drew near to size up the white stranger. "Where on earth did you _find_ him? Or is it a her, Kiran? I can't tell with you birds half the time," the electric sheep asked with a reverent, if strangely uncertain, tone.

"Well, his plumage certainly _looks_ masculine and colorful enough, Guildmaster Hatteras" Kiran answered the sheep in a cheery tone, "So I'd think 'him' is a safe enough bet. As for where we found him, er…"

"We found him like this in a stable zone we found on the fifth floor!" Crom chimed in. His comment drew some confused murmurs from the watching Pokémon and some looks from Nida and Kiran.

"Did… I speak too soon?" the Druddigon asked, taken aback at the direction of the conversation.

"But Lugia's chamber is supposed to lurk somewhere way at the _bottom_ of the dungeon," the Hoothoot piped up.

"Well, the whole encounter was just a _little_ unexpected," Kiran chirped.

"What can I say? It was quite a trip," Nida added, pulling her ears a bit back sheepishly, "The storm must have shaken up the floors from the way they normally are."

"Also, why is the Protector shorter than Guildmaster Hatteras?" the Shiftry piped up, "I mean, no offense to the sea god and all, but Lugia's supposed to be _huge!_ This thing's- I mean I guess getting overshadowed by Crom isn't _that_ uncommon for a Pokémon, but-"

"Ah, who cares about looks?" the Persian interjected "Pint-sized or not, a god's still a god! Come on, give us a show of that power of yours."

Some nervous laughter went around the group, prompting the Persian to hastily qualify her request.

"Heh heh… Pointed safely out to _la mar_ , of course," she said, flattening out her ears with an awkward chuckle.

Once again, Kiran and Crom found themselves placed in the unenviable position of coming between a Pokémon and her expectations.

"Er…"

"Ah…"

"Well, you see, about that 'power'-" Nida began to explain, only for the Lugia to inquire into the Persian's request.

"Wait, what do you want me to do?" he tilted his head.

"Just gust away those little rocks in the waves over there," the Persian explained as she pointed out a cluster of rocks in the surf. "Shouldn't be a biggie, right?"

"Oh, okay!" the Lugia answered, before he turned to the rocks at sea, and spread his wings.

The bird then sent out a weak, swirling gust. A small pebble by the edge of the bluff was knocked free and sailed a small distance before splashing into a tide pool on the ecru-colored beach below.

"Like that?" the Lugia answered with a cheerful, absentminded tone while staring at the place where the pebble had fallen. Completely oblivious to the creeping shock and disbelief spreading over the faces in the audience.

"He's kinda… inconsistent with it," Nida said to the gathering.

"Well hey, it's stronger than what we've seen, Nida! I think he's catching on!" Crom offered. Crom's awkward smile quickly faded as he noticed that the entire gathering was staring stunned and dismayed by the Lugia's display... or more accurately, from his lack of one.

Hatteras cleared his throat and began to try and dispel the worries of the gathered Pokémon, as their attention began to focus on the electric sheep.

"Ahem… I guess it wouldn't be out of the question for even a god to need training," the creature offered, "As strange as it might sound at first. Perhaps all he needs is a bit of time-"

It was then that Hatteras and the rest of the gathering noticed that the Lugia was absent.

"Wait, where'd he go?" Kiran asked, startled at the abrupt disappearance of the sea god.

Nida happened to catch the glance of a stray white feather caught on the string guarding the path. As Nida headed to inspect it, she caught sight of the Lugia hopping down the last few steps of the path to the beach.

The Lugia waddled over to the sand along the shoreline, and as everyone watched, he began to dig into the wet sand and move it a little further up the beach.

"Hey guys! Where's the god that will deliver us from the pirate raids?!" a Chinchou called while flopping in with her fins. The little fish awkwardly continued up to the ledge expectantly, only to see the 'god' in question busy sculpting a sand mound.

"... Why is the Sea Prince building a misshapen sand castle?"

"Hey, the wet sand here feels _different_ from the sand back in the cave! Come and try it!" the Lugia called up to the gathering.

There was a sinking feeling in many a Pokémon's stomach at the gathering as Tromba's guardian cheerfully returned to focusing on his sand heap, which Scout the Sentret couldn't help but voice in his usual sardonic way.

"We're doomed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**  
>     
> \- _pollito_ \- Spanish: "chick"  
>  \- _huevo_ \- Spanish: "egg"  
>  \- _la mar_ \- Spanish: "the sea", identical to _el mar_ if with more romantic/literary overtones.
> 
> Special thanks to Tangent128 of serebii.net for chapter header.


	5. It Takes Getting Used To

A short time after Tromba's Protector had thoroughly underwhelmed the proud teams of Bluewhorl Town's Rescue Team guild, Team Traveler found itself on the ground floor of a wooden hut shaped like an Ampharos' head.

Inside, they sat on a mat along with a few carefully selected snacks in front of the hut's proprietor, who was calmly seated on an overlooking stump lit by sunlight coming in through open windows. As his audience waited expectantly, Hatteras passed the time adjusting a red scarf with white dots on it.

"Is there something to play with here too?" the young Lugia asked, fidgeting a bit at how somber and quiet the room was compared to the beach the others lured him off of.

"In a moment, Protector," the Ampharos answered. "Your arrival… Has some rather profound implications for our town, and this is a matter that must be presented to the mayor at once!" he proclaimed, waving about one of his arms in the air before his nonplussed audience.

"The… Mayor?" Crom asked, shifting his young Druddigon eyes a little uneasily.

"Guildmaster Hatteras," Kiran interjected "Is this _really-?_ "

"Now, now, Kiran. Ceremony is important!" the Ampharos insisted as he carefully undid the red scarf about his neck. The electric sheep set aside the scarf, and then traded it for a teal one hung on the wall behind with simple, thin, black runes in the local script.

"And that will be ' _Mayor_ Hatteras' for the time being," he corrected while loosely tying his new article around his throat, cheerily ignoring the blank, exasperated looks and sweat droplets forming on the Pokémon in his audience… With one standout exception.

"What's a 'mayor'?" the young Lugia asked while tilting his head, still trying to piece together just what the importance of the scarf trade was.

"A mayor is the leader of a town, much like an Ampharos like me might be the leader of a flock. It's a bit of a different role than a 'Guildmaster', and as such the trappings also change accordingly," Hatteras answered, giving his new scarf a firm tug at the front to tighten its knot.

"Yeah, he does things like helping to plan out festivals," Crom added, "And negotiating with the Company over who gets to be a guard and how much they're allowed to take from us each-"

"Anyhow," Hatteras interrupted, one nubby paw raised into the air, "Let us take a moment to recount the facts of the matter… starting from the beginning!"

"Uhm… _Well…_ " Nida began, flattening her ears as she found herself at a loss of just where to _start_ summarizing this debacle. "There's a sea god in the same room as us right now?"

"We found him in the dungeon!" Crom interrupted, "And Kiran, Nida, and I only had to go through 5 floors to find him!"

"In a stable spot within it," Kiran corrected, "We passed through the fog on our way into the Protector's chamber. As for why it was so far up in the-"

"Yes, yes, the distortion shifting the chamber so close to the top is a surprise to all of us. But we should perhaps move on to the other facts about our Protector we know right now," Hatteras said.

"Er… Well, he's still _un pollito…_ " Kiran replied in between casual pecks at some seeds spread out before him.

"And he comes up to my snout when he stands!" Crom dutifully added.

"And he seems to be a little inexperienced," Nida added as she turned to see the Lugia staring down puzzledly at a pile of seeds, before looking up from it.

"Do you play special games with these pebbles?" the Lugia asked.

"Uh… That's food, _pollito._ You're supposed to eat it," Kiran explained before pecking at the pile before him again to demonstrate. Which prompted the Lugia to try to follow the Swellow's lead and mimic his actions.

"Mmm! These pebbles taste much better than normal pebbles!" he declared.

"Okay, he seems to be _very_ inexperienced," the Nidoran sighed.

"Then perhaps it is appropriate to consider what the best way to remedy that would be..." the Ampharos mulled while rubbing his chin deep in thought. "Maybe it would make most sense to have Hariti watch over him at the Day Care for a while? Watching over young Pokémon _is_ her forte."

"Eh?! But Kiran recruited him!" Crom objected.

"Guildmaster-" the Swellow interrupted.

"Mayor," the Ampharos quickly corrected.

" _Mayor_ Hatteras, I did indeed recruit the _pollito_ in a proper manner and all," Kiran continued, his tone beginning to grow a little nervous at the thought of Team Traveler losing its newest recruit so swiftly.

"Perhaps. But given the… Ahem, present condition of our Protector, it does not seem quite right to be throwing him into the thick of dungeon crawling right now." At the Ampharos' reply, the trio's faces sank.

The Ampharos _did_ have a point. Just because the Lugia with them _came_ from the Mystery Dungeon didn't mean that he was remotely prepared to go _back_ into that maze. Perhaps Kiran had been a little too hasty in claiming the creature as his newest recruit after all.

"What's a 'Hariti'?" the little Protector asked.

"She's the Froslass who runs the Day Care, who unfortunately doesn't watch Nidoran in the evening anymore," Nida replied, muttering the second part of her statement under her breath.

"'Froslass'? And will I still get to play with you?" the Lugia asked, starting to grow a little concerned about where the conversation was going.

"Er… Well… _We're_ all a little too old for Hariti… And we kinda have our work here at the guild," Kiran reluctantly answered.

"And I have to help mom and Cenn at the bakery," Crom added uneasily.

"And I have babysitting every fourth turn at home," Nida grumbled.

"I mean, it's not that we _wouldn't_ have time, but-" the Swellow tried to explain before the Lugia cut him off.

"But the Nidoran said that you'd play with me!" he chirped, flailing his wings in protest. Team Traveler's members traded dismayed looks with each other as they attempted to puzzle out how they were going to untangle this situation... Then, Hatteras' voice cut in.

"Well now, it seems that the Protector's taken a bit of a liking to your team, Kiran," he chuckled.

"Ahehe, well… You know how _pollitos_ work, it's in their nature to latch onto friends and family," Kiran replied, sheepishly batting out a wing as Hatteras tried to think of a solution to the present conundrum.

"Hmm... Perhaps you all could lend Hariti some help for the time being? Your team is, after all, meant for teaching little lambs to stand on their own, isn't it Kiran?"

The suggestion immediately drew some vexed groans from the less Legendary members of Hatteras' audience.

"Babysitting during the _day_ too?" Nida shuddered, not particularly looking forward to dealing with _more_ rambunctious children along with her siblings.

"Er… With all due respect, Guildmaster-"

"Mayor," Hatteras once again admonished, pointing at the script on his scarf.

" _Mayor_ Hatteras," Kiran corrected, rolling his eyes a bit at the absurdity of the whole routine, "But my team's mission statement is to fledge new Rescue Team members, and not babysitters."

"And he's our _Protector!_ " Crom protested, "How's a Pokémon supposed to learn to protect anything if he's being babysat at Hariti's all day?"

The Druddigon snorted a bit, "Why, what's a team if its members can't work together and get their names known helping other Pokémon?"

"'Names'?" the young Protector asked, not fully sure what the ruddy lizard was saying.

"A name is… well, it's like a word that is attached to you," Nida explained. "Like I'm a Nidoran, but my name is 'Nida'. Crom is a Druddigon, but his name is- Oh, you get the idea," she said, flattening out her ears.

"Do _I_ have one?" the white creature asked after a pause, tilting his head quizzically.

"Um… I mean, we call you 'Lugia'," Hatteras answered from his stump, "But... Well, you technically don't-"

"I want a name!" the Lugia cheerfully exclaimed, beating his wings out excitedly at the prospect of getting one of these strange things called a 'name'. The entire display took the poor Ampharos aback a bit as he voiced his hesitations.

"Is it really proper to give a common name to a _god?_ "

"But I _want_ one!" the Lugia chirped insistently, not fully understanding why the yellow and black creature on the stump seemed so opposed to him having one of these 'names' that Nida and Crom had.

"I don't think it could _hurt_ , Guild- Er… Mayor Hatteras. And it might make him seem a little more approachable to the locals," Kiran replied.

The Swellow seemed to have a point, but naming the white bird in the hut was a matter that the Ampharos couldn't help but find himself at a loss of how to even begin.

"But what would we _call_ him?"

"Oh! Oh! Give him a name that _means_ something!" Crom insisted "Like mine! Mom says that it's the name of a tough dragon from the old world!"

"Uh... I'm pretty sure that _Mami_ and _Papi_ just rearranged sounds to make my name," Nida sighed, "But definitely something that isn't too much of a mouthful."

"Hmm… Well, he is _un pollito_ , maybe we could use use that for his name? It's certainly appropriate..." Kiran offered, beaming expectantly.

"Puh- Puh-yee... Puh-leo…" the Lugia muttered to himself trying to mimic the Swellow, before asking in a satisfied tone, "Pleo?"

"No, no. _Pollito_ ," Kiran corrected, "It means-"

" _Pleo!_ I like Pleo!" the Lugia said, growing delighted with his imperfect mimicry of Kiran's suggestion.

"Heh, I'll admit, it seemed odd to me, but it looks like our Protector has made up his mind. And the name does have a bit of a ring to it, Kiran," Hatteras chuckled.

"Yay! My name's Pleo! My name's Pleo!" the newly-christened Protector chirped in triumph, as he prattled on to himself with different inflections of his new name.

"I suppose it could be worse," Kiran sighed as his younger charges couldn't help but giggle a bit at their teammate's fascination with his new moniker.

"Also, on the topic of unconventional approaches… There _might_ be another way we could train up our Pro- Er… 'Pleo' here that might be a bit more appropriate for your team," the Ampharos said to the audience as he visibly pondered some particulars as he spoke.

"Oh?" Crom asked.

"Think about it," the Ampharos mused, "You need a place for Pleo here to learn how to channel his power, but you need it to be done in a controlled manner..."

"And what better place for that here in Bluewhorl Town than in Mosca's Dojo?" Kiran finished, as he began to piece together where Hatteras was going with his comment. "Now that you mention it, I'm sure the Hawlucha would be aflutter at the chance to train the fabled Protector of Tromba."

"A 'Dojo'?" Pleo asked, unsure of just what _this_ funny-sounding word was supposed to mean.

"It's a place where you can train and get tougher without having to fight ferals," Nida answered.

"Yeah, we go there all the time in between missions!" Crom added in a cheerful tone.

"Great! You all will start reporting there first thing in the morning!" the mayor happily decreed.

"T-Tomorrow?" Crom stammered, "B-But we were just one apple away from finishing up our current mission!"

Nida began to feel a sinking sensation rise in her stomach. The Druddigon was right, they were indeed one apple shy of finishing their mission before she fell down the Pitfall Trap. Going to the Dojo first thing in the morning would mean pushing the mission off for later, potentially much later. Nida's mind then realized that this whole matter, as awful-feeling as it was, was unavoidable due to something that happened back in the dungeon...

"Crom… We wouldn't be able to go back anyways. My badge's broken."

"I appreciate you taking your training mission seriously, Crom. But… Seriously. Sea god among us. Priorities," the Ampharos replied while undoing his scarf. After he hung the teal scarf on the wall, Hatteras took back his earlier red scarf and dutifully donned it... Before nonchalantly pushing an apple by his feet forward.

"Now that I'm 'Guildmaster Hatteras' again, I can safely say that I'll count this apple here as your team's sixth. And... might I see that badge for a moment?" he prodded Nida.

The Nidoran undid her mud-encrusted badge with her forepaws and gave it over to Hatteras, who carefully took it up and began to inspect the sorry little brooch in the light filtering in from the windows.

"Hm… Yes," the Ampharos mulled, while Nida uneasily watched his inspection.

"Is it bad, Guildmaster?" she asked.

"Hmm? Oh, hardly."

The Ampharos dipped the badge into a small bowl of water and rubbed a coarse shred of cloth over it, slowly melting away the coated dirt and grime. After a short while, he then set it down on his stump and gave it a firm press with one of his not-terribly dextrous paws.

 _"What **now?** "_ Pataki's voice filled the minds of the Pokémon in the room.

"Why, it just needed a good cleaning. The Psychics can't sense you if there's a layer of gunk that thick covering your badge, after all," the Ampharos cheerily explained.

_"Guildmaster, if there's not a problem, could you **not** message us? I was in the middle of-!"_

Hatteras cut off the telepath's message by releasing his grip on the badge. "Good as new, just make sure to keep it cleaner," he declared as he handed the badge back to a most sheepish-looking Nidoran. As he watched, Crom couldn't help but realize...

"Couldn't you have just washed that off back in the dungeon, Ni-?"

"Crom, stop talking," Nida growled, flattening her ears.

"But I was just-"

" **Stop. Talking** ," the Nidoran demanded in an adamant tone as she reaffixed the now-glinting badge to her navy blue scarf. The shine from the badge had caught Pleo's attention and he found himself drawing his head near to keenly eye a faint reflection of himself on one of the misshapen brooch's surfaces.

"Do I get one, too?"

"But of course, a badge is necessary for every member of the guild. I'll have Kiran pick up one along with some other things for you as a team member before your session at the Dojo tomorrow," Hatteras replied, "For now, just take the evening off and-"

The Guildmaster's words were abruptly cut off by a harsh rapping against the door of the hut, and the sound of a frightened voice coming from the other side.

" _Hatteras!_ "

The sound of a commotion and of markedly more hostile voices reverberated outside the door. "Oi! _You!_ What do you think you're doing?!" a hostile voice demanded of the frightened-sounding one.

The eyes of everyone in the room turned to the door, where a white and green, chitinous blade slipped through the crack opposite the door's hinge and forced it open. Its owner burst in, a Scyther- bearing a dark round blotch on his head, with five ends trailing upward not unlike the tails of a comet.

"Hatteras, you must rid this island of that monster before we are all doomed!"

"H-Huh?!" Pleo cried out, startled by the commotion and the sudden intruder.

"What's the meaning of this?!" Hatteras demanded. As the intruder's eyes adjusted to the darkness, he noticed that much to his horror, one of the members of Hatteras' audience was the white and blue 'monster' he dreaded.

"ACK! It's- It's _here?!_ " the creature flinched, and turned to flee before he was grabbed by a leering Machoke and a Mightyena with some blackened spectacles from the ranks of the guild.

"Apologies for the distraction, Ander here was _just leaving_ ," the silver and black-furred Pokémon huffed.

"Yeah, not like _you_ would care about gods anyways!" the muscled reptile growled at the Scyther.

" _Enough!_ Unhand him!" Hatteras bleated angrily and rose to his feet, sparks beginning to form along his hide. "This is _my_ town, and _everyone_ in it can speak!"

The two Pokémon, surprised at their Guildmaster's (or was it Mayor's?) outburst, hastily complied and backed away a little from the Ampharos' direction. The Scyther, realizing that he blundered into an audience, inhaled deeply and, although visibly quailing, attempted to brave the presence of the sea god in the room.

"Hatteras, you- You need to get rid of that _thing!_ " he cried, gesturing at Pleo with a trembling scythe.

"Get _rid_ of him?!" Kiran exclaimed.

"H-Huh?! But that's our Protector!" Crom protested.

The outburst sent a shiver down Pleo's back, and led him to retreat behind his teammates to put some distance between himself and the large, loud, creature with blades affixed to its body who was clearly displeased with his presence.

"Wh-what is-?"

"That's Ander," Nida whispered to Pleo, "He's one of the Marked."

"What are they?"

"They're other Pokémon… They… Don't really like Pokémon like you, at all."

"So what, you're gonna kill _this_ god too?" the Machoke spat at the Scyther.

"Yeah, a fine way to repay the town that lets you _live_ here! With an _apocalypse!_ " the Mightyena snarled.

" _Quiet!_ " the Ampharos demanded, stamping his foot against the ground irately. After the two quickly hushed up, the Scyther sensed that the floor was his again, and Ander continued with his entreaty.

"Hatteras, _please!_ Send that thing _away_ from here!" the Scyther begged, his eyes widened with fear.

"Just _where_ am I supposed to send him to, Ander?"

"It doesn't _matter_ where it goes! Just get it _out_ of here before it brings ruin on us all!"

Pleo began to retreat into a corner behind his teammates, curling himself progressively into a ball as he grew more and more unnerved by the large bug flailing its scythes about and loudly shouting things the Lugia didn't really understand. Nida and her teammates found themselves stunned into silence as they watched the exchange between Hatteras and Ander unfold.

"Ander... The Pokémon on this island have been waiting generations for this day," the Ampharos answered in a calm, but firm tone.

"And Pokémon like _me_ have been _dreading_ this day for all those generations! You don't understand what you're doing! That thing- That _demon_ is _evil_ and it will destroy everything you know and love if you let it stay here!"

"Hatteras, this is really getting out of hand," Kiran whispered, pointing at an increasingly bewildered and frightened Lugia balling up in his corner behind Crom and Nida. Hatteras, seeing that the meeting was now rather thoroughly derailed, turned back to Ander in a bid to try and get him out the door peacefully.

"Ander, I'm not saying that I _agree_ with you, but even if you're right… What good do you expect sending the Protector away will do?"

"It will keep us _alive!_ "

"Ander, get a hold of yourself!" Hatteras snapped, stunning the bladed bug into silence.

"Stop and think about it! 'Anywhere' isn't a serious option for places to put a sea god!"

Indeed, it truly was not, given that the world that the two Pokémon was really effectively split in two. On the one hand, there was the Cradle, the inland sea and the skies above it that held Tromba and the other islands in the world that were habitable. On the other, there were the Wastes beyond, which... Well, they certainly weren't anything that the Cradle was.

"You and I both know he _can't_ be sent into the Wastes... Just think of what could happen if this Protector shuffled off the mortal coil out there!

Can't you see that only leaves places in the Cradle?" the Ampharos asked in exasperation, "Don't you think he'd be able to _come back_ from such a place later?"

The Scyther stammered and tapped his blades together as he visibly fumbled in his mind for an answer. Was there really anywhere in the Cradle to put this 'demon' away? Maybe… Just maybe... There the solution wasn't 'anywhere', but 'anyone'.

"L-let the _Company_ take it away from here! Let _them_ be the ones to bring doom upon themselves while penning the demon up!" Ander blurted out.

Immediately, loud protests went about the room. It was a suggestion that was just too much for anyone else in the room to bear.

Pleo? Off Tromba, the island he was supposed to protect? In the claws of Company lackeys without someone like Hatteras to keep them in check? At the mercy of the force that tried its hardest to suck the island dry after every harvest that would probably 'pen' Pleo up by leaving him to shiver cold and alone in the bowels of some dreary sea fort?

"Wh-What?!" Crom exclaimed.

"You can't let the _Company_ take him away!" Nida cried.

"Hatteras already has his hands full keeping them from sending their off-island creeps _here!_ How can we just _hand him over to them?!_ " Kiran squawked, surprised and frankly horrified that the Scyther could even contemplate such a thing.

"That's _enough_ , Ander!" Hatteras cried out, his body sparking and his patience having finally worn out. The Scyther flinched and braced himself as the Ampharos got up from his seat, which prompted the two Pokémon at the door to trade some snide comments about how Ander was surely in for it now.

Their comments abruptly shut up after Hatteras gave a withering glare at the two spectators before he directed his attention back at the Scyther, taking a moment to breathe in and calm himself before he spoke with Ander again.

"Look. This is a big change, Ander and you're obviously… apprehensive about it," the Ampharos sighed while maintaining a firm and hardened countenance. "But running your mouth off like that isn't going to make anything _better._ Please… for your sake and mine, just go home, spend a night with your family and _calm down._ I have other things to tend to, and I'm sure you do, too."

"B-But-!" Ander weakly buzzed, before the Machoke grasped one of the bug's arms above his scythe.

"Alright bub, let's go," the Pokémon demanded.

"Huh-?!"

"You heard the Pokémon, he's busy. If you're going to be like this, go back home and wait with your mate and that brat you allowed your curse to pass onto to die from this 'imminent doom'," the other added as the two lead the stammering Scyther out of hut and slammed the door behind them on a room that remained dead silent for what seemed an eternity.

"Is… Is he gone?" a wavering voice asked from the corner of the room.

"Yeah, he's gone," Nida replied, which prompted Pleo to uneasily poke his head up from the rough ball his body formed.

"I understand that that could have gone… Significantly better than it did, but please don't let it get to you, Protector," Hatteras sighed while rubbing his forehead, wondering whether he perhaps could have handled the whole debacle more gracefully. "Pokémon like Ander mean well, it's just… They've become scared of things that normal Pokémon shouldn't be."

"Yeah! We don't think you're gonna bring doom to us!" Crom piped up.

"It truly is an honor just to be _around_ you-" Kiran said, as the sound of the hut's door being thrown open could be heard.

"Oh no," Nida groaned, facing away from the door. Much to her dismayed surprise, it was not Ander's voice that called out from the door, but that of a male Nidoran.

"Oi! Nida!"

"Oh _no_ ," Nida groaned louder, screwing her eyes shut in frustration before turning to see one of her older brothers standing in the doorway.

" _Mami_ needs you to watch over the little twerps tonight," the purple Nidoran barked.

"What?! But it's _Ani's_ turn tonight!" Nida objected in an exasperated tone.

"Not anymore, it's not. She's sick in bed right now," her brother responded before hopping off, leaving Nida to flatten her ears and turn to headbutt a wall.

"Ugh… _en serio?_ " she groaned after her forehead came to a rest against the wall of Hatteras' abode.

"Hey! Hey! Careful with the walls! It needs to serve as a guild _and_ a mayoral office!" the Ampharos exclaimed.

"What's wrong?" Pleo asked, his earlier apprehensions melting away as he waddled out from his corner and tried to puzzle together what the purple spike ball had done to deflate Nida's mood so much.

"It's just… I'm going to have a long night tonight," Nida sighed while turning back to face her white-feathered teammate.

"Can I come, too?" Pleo asked curiously, which immediately took the Nidoran aback.

"E-Eh?"

"I don't see any harm from it, Nida," Kiran offered.

"Yeah! Maybe he'd be able to help out!" Crom chimed in.

"It _would_ solve the problem of where he'd stay for the night," Hatteras added.

"I… I mean, I suppose it's at least worth a try."

* * *

As the sun was beginning to dip towards the horizon, Nida arrived back at her family's burrow on the thinly-wooded hillside overlooking Bluewhorl Town.

"Well, this is it," she said, coming to a rest on the reed mat in front of the burrow. Pleo gawked around, looking at the dark hole in the ground, at the mailbox on the wooden post, and then back at the hole in the ground.

"Oh, so _that's_ what a home is?" he asked.

"Well, it's what _mine_ is," Nida sighed. Between her siblings and this Protector who seemed to need everything explained to him, she could tell that this was going to be a most interesting night to say the least. Pleo looked around, expecting something, but not fully certain what, before he questioned Nida about why she came to this place anyways.

"So what _is_ 'babysitting'-?"

"Sissy!"

Almost immediately, Pleo's question was answered by six shouting little Nidoran who spilled out from the burrow and surrounded Nida.

"Play with us, si-!" a blue spike lump demanded, before her and her siblings' eyes caught sight of the tall, white, stranger that Nida had brought home. "Huh?"

The attention of the little Nidoran immediately shifted to the stranger, and they began to hop over and press up against Pleo.

"Who's the big birdie?" a purple lump asked.

"I wanna ride it!" another declared.

"No, me first!" a blue Nidoran protested.

"I'm the _biggest_ , I should go first!" one of the purple balls huffed. All the while, Pleo began to grow increasingly bewildered and intimidated by these fast-moving- and rather pushy- little things that Nida called her 'siblings'.

"Ah! Nida! They're-! OW!"

Pleo recoiled, hopping back and wrenching his right wing away from a Nidoran that brushed up against him. He looked down, and saw a small spine stuck in between some feathers, still dripping purple fluid.

"Oh nice going, Dino, you poisoned the birdie before any of us could ride!" a blue Nidoran huffed, hopping up and down

" _I_ poisoned the birdie? That's your spike!" a purple sibling retorted.

"Is not!"

"Is so!"

As the two Nidoran bickered, Nida couldn't help but bury her face in her paws. Two minutes at home, and her siblings had already done their best to keep their home's latest guest from ever returning. Meanwhile, Pleo began to feel a chill course through his body. His limbs began to ache and feel stiff, and his stomach began to feel increasingly uncooperative.

"Urgh… Nida, I don't feel so-"

"Here," a voice interrupted, prompting all eyes to turn to see a Dustox clutching a pink, heart-shaped fruit.

"It's a Pecha Berry, eat it," the Pokémon said while offering the fruit to Pleo, "It'll dispel the poison."

As Pleo bit into the fruit, and took it for himself, Nida couldn't help but shake out her pelt, a bit flustered.

"Um… Artemis? I mean- I'm thankful, but I already _had_ a-"

"Don't mind me!" another voice called out, revealing its owner to be a Pidove. "Lemme see what I can do about that barb stuck in you."

The Pidove quickly began tending to Pleo's wing, which couldn't help but make Pleo shrink back uneasily from the stranger's abrupt examination.

"Um… Nida? What are all of these?"

"They're our neighbors!" one of the younger Nidoran replied.

"They… Live next to us?" Nida sheepishly explained.

"I heard that someone needed a Pecha Berry?" a Lombre asked, also bearing a pink fruit.

"No, take mine," interjected a Goomy that abruptly came from the left. "It's fresher!"

"Mine's from mom's own field!" a young Poochyena that came from the bushes behind the burrow insisted. One after the other, more and more Pokémon came to the scene, each offering some small service or another to the Protector in their midst.

As Pleo put two and two together and began to realize that as pushy as the strangers were being, their pink fruits were surprisingly tasty, his initial misgivings about them began to melt away. Nida, on the other hand, couldn't help but grow increasingly flustered.

"H-Hold on a minute here! I'm supposed to be babysitting my _siblings_ , not half the neighborhood!"

"We can help!" one of the neighbors offered.

"I'm not watching _all_ of you-! Wait… Help?"

Nida paused for a moment, looked at her siblings, at Pleo, then at the crowd of her neighbors looking expectantly... and then back at her siblings, before she came to her own conclusion of what to do with the offer.

"Uh… Hehe, I guess some help couldn't hurt."

* * *

After the sun went down and the moon and the stars rose into the sky, life around Bluewhorl began to wind down. As the deep blues of late sunset transitioned into the black of night and the shops shut one-by-one, the guild's teams returned from their missions and traded their worries about their tasks for worries about dinner and preparing for their next outings. Further from town, the Pokémon that tended the fields along the fringes began to leave for their homes.

Among the Pokémon that returned from the fields along the fringes of the settlement were a certain Nidorina and Nidorino that Nida called _'Mami'_ and _'Papi'_ , who made small talk with each other as they worked their way down a path going through a thinly wooded hillside above the town.

"The berries are coming along nicely this season, don't you think, Marley?" the Nidorino asked his mate.

"They'd _better_ with all the time we've been putting into them, Teja!" the Nidorina huffed in response, in a tone that evinced some degree of frustration with a fickle crop.

" _Cálmate_ , they'll be fine, they're being watched by keen eyes tonight. Just like our kits-" the Nidorino said before he was interrupted by the sounds of a raucous celebration… Coming from the direction of his burrow.

As the two drew closer to the burrow, they found that their home was ringed by most of the neighbors, cheerfully talking with each other, trading food and drink. The kits were up and awake kicking a pebble around among themselves- Wait a minute, the kits were _up and awake?_

"Did you send out an invitation to the neighbors for tonight that I didn't know about?" Teja asked.

"No, I didn't," Marley answered, her expression hardening into a leer as she tromped up to the middle of the assembly.

"Okay, _what is going on here?!_ " she demanded.

"Uh oh," a neighbor Lombre mumbled. The other neighbors and some of Marley's children pieced together that they perhaps overstepped a bit from the tone the Nidorina was taking with them, and the festive atmosphere came to an abrupt halt.

"Er… There's a perfectly logical expl-" Nida said from the welcome mat, before a young purple Nidoran excitedly cut her off.

" _Mami_ , _Mami_ , Nida is the best babysitter _ever!_ " he declared, bouncing up and down.

"Nida, why are all of the neighbors in front of our burrow? And why are the kits still _awake?_ The Mountain Roar's Traveler has already come out from behind the moon!" the Nidorina fumed, giving a withering leer to a larger blue Nidoran who was all but digging a fresh hole in the ground to hide from her mother's gaze.

"Marley, your kid brought the Protector home with her today!" the Dustox that was apparently named 'Artemis' interjected, trying to get the Nidorina to cut poor Nida some slack.

"Hrmph! A likely sto-!" Marley fumed, before an unfamiliar voice piped up.

"Hi!"

"-ry," she trailed off, before turning to find that, much to her astonishment, Nida truly _had_ brought the Protector home with her.

"My name is Pleo!" the Lugia cheerily replied.

"Oh, so _this_ is the invitation that you sent out," Teja chuckled to his now slack-jawed mate after taking a few moments to blink and prick himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming things.

"We figured that given the occasion, Nida could use a little help," a Pidove offered, as Marley hastily recomposed herself to try and regain control of this unexpected situation.

"That's- Aherm- That's fine and all, but my kits still need to be getting to bed! _Right now_ ," she said, shooting a stern leer towards six small spike balls that were quick to protest.

"Aww."

"But _Mami-_ "

"No buts, it's well past bedtime," Teja interrupted, before Marley chimed in with a much blunter tone of voice.

" **Bed. Now.** "

The younger kits realized this was not a battle they were going to win, folded their ears back, and marched down the burrow's entrance, followed closely by their mother.

"Whelp, party's over," a Pidove said.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," a Goomy added.

"Let us know if 'Pleo' there needs anything," a Poochyena's voice called out in passing.

One after the other, the neighbors left for their own homes on the hillside, bidding their farewells to Nida and Pleo as the young Lugia mimicked a few of the parting calls the neighbors made.

Eventually, all that was left of the gathering was a young Lugia, a blue Nidoran with ears folded back, and a Nidorino staring down at his child.

" _Papi_ , this really _wasn't_ what I meant to-!" Nida protested, only for her father to interrupt her words.

"It's fine, _mija._ Given the circumstances, I think that we can overlook _one_ night of shaky babysitting. Besides, you'll have someone of your own to put to bed tonight," the Nidorino responded.

"I… Do?" Nida asked, before a Lugia's voice piped up.

"Nida, what's a 'bed'?"

"You weren't going to make him sleep outside on the mat, were you?" the Nidorino laughed, as he gestured at the white bird with his horn.

"Uh, well, I guess not," Nida sheepishly responded, before she turned to her new companion.

"Come on, Pleo, we should be going to bed too. Especially with training at the Dojo tomorrow."

"But what's a 'bed'?"

"It's a place to lie down and sleep. Come on, I'll show you," she replied, gesturing at the entrance to the burrow.

"Uh… Nida? How do I get _in?_ "

"You might need to crouch a little, _pollito_ ," the Nidorino explained "Try to walk low to the ground like me."

The Nidorino demonstrated by lowering his body, and folding his ears and spikes close to his body in order to make it through the tight contours of the burrow's entrance tunnels.

"Oh, so _that's_ a crouch," Pleo mused, one more mystery from this strange world having been explained to him.

"Follow me," Nida said, as she began to make her way down the burrow. Pleo paused for a moment as he shifted his body low to the ground to get a hang of this 'crouching' thing. After a slight delay, he followed after the Nidoran, occasionally brushing the sides and the walls of the tunnel.

The Nidoran lead the young Protector down the tunnel and around a bend, into a small chamber with a straw nest, a rude table, and a pair of stumps that served as stools that were shoved into a corner. The room was illuminated by a small, semi-opaque jar on the table that faintly glowed blue from some manner of bioluminescent material inside. A thick piece of cloth rested next to the jar, apparently meant to cover it as needed.

"Whelp, this is it. _Mi casa es tu casa._ Or at least for tonight," Nida sighed as she hopped into the room, glad that her elder siblings now slept under other earthen roofs now… or at least when _Mami_ didn't have one of them babysit in Nida's stead. Pleo followed the Nidoran into the room and entered the straw nest. After some circling and fidgeting, he eventually found that if he folded in his wings and curled in his tail, the nest was a surprising, if rather tight fit.

"How come you use those weird words sometimes?" Pleo asked.

"Weird words?" Nida tilted her head, raising an ear.

"Like that 'casa' thingy that you were just mentioning," the white bird chirped.

"Hmm? I was saying that 'my house is your house'."

"But then why didn't you just _say_ that?"

"That's just the way that Pokemon on this island spoke back when it was part of the old world. Before they started meeting the Pokemon in the Cradle and began to form the way we're speaking now," Nida replied. "I learned it from _Mami_ , _Mami_ learned it from her _Mami_ … and, well- You get the idea."

Pleo tilted his head curiously at the Nidoran. He supposed that her explanation made sense, but...

"Then why does it sound funny to me?"

"Well, I heard that Pokemon are supposed to learn their first words based off of the voices they hear from inside their egg close to hatching," she murmured. "And you were in yours a long, long time. Why, if the voices you heard were speaking like we are now, and you heard enough of them..."

Nida's prattling stalled as she noticed that Pleo grew increasingly distracted with tucking his head behind his back to preen some of his feathers.

"Eh, I guess explain more later. You seem to be getting a little bored," Nida sighed.

"Hm? Okay," the Lugia chirped as he turned his attention back to the Nidoran. "So… What do we do now?"

"You just lie here, and fall asleep," Nida explained, as the sounds of her siblings protesting with their mother faintly wormed their way into the room.

" _Mami_ , _Mami_ , don't forget to tell us a bedtime story!" one of them demanded, which caused Pleo to perk up at the noise.

"'Bedtime story'?"

"Uh, well… It's something that's normally told by parents as their kits go to sleep," Nida explained.

"Can I have one?"

"Pleo, I'm not exactly your-"

"Bedtime story! Bedtime story!" Pleo insisted.

"Alright! Alright! Keep it down, _Mami's_ trying to put my siblings to sleep!" Nida whispered in an irked tone, not particularly caring to put up with an earful from her mother on this night. Pleo, happy with his victory, quietly sank down into the nest as he waited expectantly for whatever this nighttime ritual might entail.

"So what is this 'bedtime story'?"

"How about… The story of the 'Prince of a Thousand Enemies'?" Nida offered.

"'Prince of a Thousand Enemies?'"

"It's about a Pokémon with many, many other Pokémon that didn't like him."

"But why wouldn't they like him?" Pleo asked, as he thought back to his earlier encounter with Ander that day. Did that mean that this 'Prince of a Thousand Enemies' also had a lot of Pokémon that yelled and made a lot of noise when they were around him?

"Er… Well," Nida cleared her throat as she began her tale, "A long, long time ago. Back in the time of the old gods, before the first Nidoran went to live among the humans, there was a young Prince Nidorino who ruled over all the world's Nidoran."

"So… Over all the Nidoran here?"

"Our town didn't exist then, but that's missing the point," she explained, "Now this prince was strong in body and in will, and he had many children, so many that they were like the stars in the sky. And under his guidance, his children were bold, taking and eating as they pleased from the world's plants."

"Plants?"

"Like those berries and seeds you ate earlier. Anyhow, the children ate so much that they left other Pokémon without enough food for themselves, and after they complained to the old gods, they went to the Prince and sternly warned him to control his children."

"'Control'?"

"Like putting them to bed on time," Nida sighed, wondering just how long it would take before Pleo would be less clueless about facets of her world that seemed to just be.

"Oh," Pleo responded, "So… Then why is he called 'Prince of a Thousand Enemies'?"

"Well, in his arrogance, the Prince laughed the warning off. Saying to the old gods that his children were the strongest Pokémon in the world, and were simply doing what their numbers allowed them to.

"And so it was that the old gods, exasperated, decided that if the Prince would not control his children, they would allow the other Pokémon to be able to do so in his stead. And so they gave them gifts to fight against the Prince and his children. Long claws, and sharp teeth, and eyes that could pierce through the dark, and-"

"Oh, so like Crom?"

"Yes- Wait- _No!_ " Nida exclaimed, lowering her ears, "Crom isn't my enemy, he's my friend!"

"So the old gods also gave the _friends_ of Nidoran things to fight them with?"

"Well, I don't think that would make- But-," Nida stammered. How on earth did Pleo even _get_ on this track anyways?

"I suppose it's possible they became friends later on?"

"But didn't the old gods say they needed Pokémon to control the Nidoran?" Pleo yawned.

"The Nidoran learned to behave? Anyways, let me finish the-"

"This story is confusing," Pleo interrupted as he began to curl tighter in the nest and his eyes began to droop.

"Can you tell me the rest later?" Pleo asked, his voice thick and drowsy. Nida paused for a moment, somewhat exasperated at how completely derailed her bedtime story turned out. As she heard the Lugia begin to doze off, her exasperation waned, and she contented herself with a job well done as a storyteller… Sorta.

"Yeah... I think I can do that," she said as she covered the glowing jar. After the cloth did its work in blocking out the light, she took off her scarf and threw it on top of the jar's cover before hopping up onto the lip of the nest to settle down for a well-deserved rest.

"Good night, Pleo."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _(¿)en serio?_ \- Spanish: "seriously?"  
>  \- _Cálmate_ \- Spanish: "Relax"  
>  \- _Mi casa es tu casa._ \- Spanish: "My house is your house."
> 
> Special thanks to Tangent128 of serebii.net for chapter header.


	6. Sifting Wheat From Chaff

Morning came... the sun was out, the sky was blue, and the grass and the mat outside were damp from the dew of the night. As the sun's rays poked through the treetops on the sparsely-wooded hillside where Marley and Teja's burrow was, Nida found herself emerging from her parents' burrow and stretching after a not-terribly refreshing sleep. She saw the neighbor Pokémon doing similar stretches before they went off to their day's errands after a raucous night that had seemed like it had come from some strange dream.

Except that dream was grounded in an Legendary reality, which Nida's ears could hear stumbling its way up the burrow's passage.

"Pleo… Are you making it out alright?" she yawned. Her question was quickly answered by a head popping out from the burrow, the rest of the Lugia it belonged to not following.

"I'm stuck!" Pleo cried, fidgeting and trying to find a way out the mouth of the burrow. The Nidoran gave a quick peek under the Lugia's neck and quickly delivered a prognosis.

"Uh… Pleo."

"Yeah?"

"Remember how you needed to crouch to get in last night?" Nida asked, flattening her ears.

"Eh-? Oh! Right!"

The base of Pleo's neck dropped a little, as the rest of his body emerged from the burrow, crouching low to the ground. Once he had finally crested the entrance and made his way onto the mat, Pleo vigorously beat his wings to shake off some dirt and cramps from his rest overnight.

"Your house is too small!" Pleo said, his voice coming out as somewhere in between a childish protest and a sleepy yawn.

"I'll try and have you stay with Crom or at the Guild Hall from now on," Nida sighed. "But was the rest of your stay fun? Er… aside from the poisoning of course."

"Uh-huh!" Pleo nodded.

"Great, now let's get going."

The two set out towards the creek that Nida normally crossed to reach the Guild Hall. They passed neighbors who offered up reverent greetings, as well as a few young Pokémon in a group who momentarily stopped a short game with a pebble they were kicking about to wave to the passing Lugia.

Before long, the trees grew thinner and the clutter of Bluewhorl Town's huts and tents began to spring up, though the reactions by the varying locals had not changed much from the ones up on the hillside where the burrow was. The two eventually found themselves nearing a hut along a path that smelled strongly of baked flour. "Ooh! Something smells good!" exclaimed Pleo.

"That's the bakery that Crom's family runs. They're probably making bread inside," Nida answered.

"But… Where's Cro-?"

"Hey!" a voice answered.

Nida and Pleo turned to find themselves face-to-face with Crom darting out from the entrance to his family's bakery. This time, there was also two other Druddigon that came with him, wearing golden scarves with umber designs that resembled sheafs of grain on them. One of the two Druddigon that followed was slightly smaller than Crom, and the other was much, much larger.

"Mom made us fresh bread today!" Crom cheerily proclaimed, giving his wings a playful beat before the elder Druddigon began to speak.

"Hmm hmm, I felt that it was the least I could do. After all, a Protector surely needs to eat well in order to defend other Pokémon!" the larger Druddigon answered with a proud smile.

She passed over a small satchel that contained fresh and warm loaves that had been shaped to look roughly like Lugia- or more accurately, the rough paintings of Lugia that were up at the shrine. "

Ooh… They look pretty," Pleo said as he gawked at the golden-brown loaves. "And it smells great too, Gwenith" Nida chimed in as she couldn't help but sniff at the little bird-shaped pieces of bread.

"All the better to help you today! I had heard from Mosca that she wants the Protector to try out scouting practice," Gwenith replied. "Why, with loaves like these to sniff out, you'll get through those mazes in no time!"

"That said, aren't you all running a little late right now?" she asked, drawing some awkward looks from Nida and Pleo.

"Uh…"

"Er…"

"Right," Crom said, shaking his head a bit. "See you later, mom!" he called off as the three Pokémon turned and briskly made their way along the path to the Dojo, Gwenith waving after them.

"Mooom, why does _Crom_ get to hang around the sea god?" the smaller Druddigon protested as the three left.

"Now, now, Cenn, he's not doing this for just fun and games. He's helping the Protector grow big and strong, just like you and Crom will be one day," Gwenith admonished, her voice fading into the din of life in town as the Nida, Crom, and Pleo went further down the path.

As the three followed the path, they found themselves travelling alongside the creek that flowed through town. The buildings and tents grew more closely-spaced, the gawking and greetings from bystanders more common. All the while, Pleo couldn't help but have a question gnaw at his mind.

"What is 'training'?"

"It's teaching you how to fight and get tough!" Crom responded, giving a playful swipe through the air with his claws.

"... But Nida said that 'enemies' fight in her bedtime story last night. Will we be fighting with enemies there?" Pleo asked, tilting his head a bit.

"Uhm… No. They're just Pokémon from around town also looking to get tough," Crom answered.

"... So 'friends' also fight?"

"What? No!" Crom explained, concerned about what idea the young Lugia seemed to be putting into his head. "Training's _fun!_ "

"Maybe we should let _Maestra_ Mosca explain the rest of this, Crom," Nida sighed. After all, if he could go down the wrong track of a simple bedtime story… Maybe it would be better to try and let some older Pokémon explain things to Pleo.

"Is 'training' also a story? It seems confusing like a story-"

"Oi!" a Swellow's voice interrupted. The group of three turned to see their team's leader perching on a rude wooden fence in front of a hut with large side wings and a tiled roof. Thankfully Kiran was there bright and early, otherwise they would have walked right on past the Dojo!

"Oh, good morning, Kiran!" Pleo chirped energetically.

"Are you ready for your training today, Pleo? I've even got a scarf and a badge just for you!" Kiran said, gesturing with a wing to a navy blue scarf with a white star on it- and a glinting badge that he had taken the liberty of affixing for his newest recruit.

"So we're going to be fighting for fun today?" Pleo cheerily asked.

"Uh," Kiran groaned as he looked at his other teammates, getting just a little nervous about _where_ Pleo might have gotten that idea.

"Crom said that training is when 'friends' fight for fun, so…"

"That wasn't what I said at all!" Crom interjected.

"Why don't we go inside and put on your scarf first, Pleo," Kiran sighed, "We should probably take this one step at a time.

" The young Lugia gave a quizzical head tilt, but not seeing the harm in the matter, decided to follow Kiran's heed and follow him and the other members of Team Traveler into the tiled hut.

* * *

The interior of the Dojo was far more impressive than its shabby exterior let on. Inside there were simple, yet orderly and neat, wooden floors. The roof and walls were composed of cleanly-cut wooden beams that were separated by partitions made mostly of brownish paper. It became apparent when walking in that the "hut" was merely the entrance to the dojo, and that the "wings" were really covered corridors that lead to other huts, and to encircled grounds with boundaries neatly demarcated by lines in sand.

"So this is a 'Dojo'?" Pleo asked as Nida drew her paws back from affixing a navy blue scarf around Pleo's neck. The young Lugia looked around, mesmerized by this strange complex that seemed rather unlike anything else he had seen so far in Bluewhorl.

"Mmm hmm! This is where _Maestra_ Mosca's gonna teach you how to get tough!" Crom cheerily answered.

"' _Maestra_ Mosca'?" Pleo asked.

"That would be me," a voice answered from down the corridor.

The speaker drew nearer and revealed itself to be a Hawlucha. The ground-bound bird walked towards the group with a sagely calm that seemed at odds with her garish green, magenta, and white plumage as she drew near to the waiting group and greeted them with a bow.

"I must say, when Guildmaster Hatteras asked me to train the _Protector_ , at first I had thought that he had accidentally ordered an overly stiff drink from one of the Juice Bars!" Mosca chuckled a bit.

"But, now that I see the truth of the matter, I must say that I am deeply honored to be able to mentor you as our Protector, _pollito._ "

"But my name's _Pleo_ ," the young Lugia insisted after an awkward pause.

"Of course it is. Anyhow, the training chamber Guildmaster Hatteras arranged for you is this way," the Hawlucha replied, before ushering Team Traveler down a corridor which passed some streamside huts on one side and a series of fields in between buildings and covered corridors on the other.

"So… What _is_ training?" Pleo asked the Hawlucha, "Crom tried to tell me on the way over, but I didn't really understand what he was saying."

"'Training' in the strictest sense is merely readying yourself for the challenges of life by making challenges of your own to conquer," Mosca answered as she lead the group into a turn around an intersecting corridor. "To make battles that you can safely retreat from in order to prepare for those that you _can't_ run from."

"What does that mea-?" Pleo blinked, before a shrill shout cut him off.

"Kyaaah!"

The group turned from the sound of the cry to see a Mawile and Luxio locked in combat in a rectangular courtyard. Along the courtyard's edges, various Pokémon worked in teams of two to maintain translucent barriers of what seemed to be light. On sidelines behind them, a much larger body of Pokémon cheered on the two opponents, most of them wearing lavender scarves that had been scrunched and folded up into headbands and made it impossible to tell whether or not the cloth had any designs on them. The Mawile too wore one of these headbands, and had just narrowly weaved around an arcing whitish-yellow bolt of electricity that the Luxio further behind shot out at him.

"Haw! Haw! Is that the best you've got, ya little guild runt?" the Mawile called over his shoulder. "I've fought off _ferals_ that hit better than that-! Oof!"

The Mawile was cut off by the Luxio, who cut off her opponent by lunging and pinning it down before sinking sharp teeth that became coated in an orange fire into the maw-like horns on the Mawile's head.

The creature was forced to let go almost quickly as she had clamped down, as the Mawile instinctively flung his head about to fling off his assailant. After tumbling a distance, the Luxio bounded away as her opponent was preoccupied with nursing the sting of the flaming bite, before taking a moment of its own to retort in kind from a good distance.

"Maybe you should do something more with those jaws of yours than just talk! I thought you were supposed to be a _guard!_ "

"Wow!" Pleo exclaimed. "So that's what we're going to do today?"

The Mawile took a moment to brush himself off, shake some sensation back into his second maw on his head, and get back onto his feet, leering determinedly back at the opponent Luxio.

"Hmm, not bad, but it'll take more than _that_ to finish me- Eh?!"

And then, the Mawile's eyes caught sight of Pleo. As did those of the Luxio, followed one by one by the rest of the shielding and gawking Pokémon on the sidelines, the frenzy of battle broken by their awed stare at the white and blue guardian in the corridor.

"Hi!" the little guardian waved. "So, I'm gonna get to fight one of y-?"

"Ahehe… Not quite, Pleo," Kiran laughed nervously as he tucked Pleo's wing down. " _Para ser fuerte_ , you can't go throwing yourself into the thick of things!"

" _Otro día, pollito._ Please follow me this way," Mosca quickly replied, "As for the rest of you, don't you have a battle to be getting back to?"

"Oi! Less staring, more sparring!" a Girafarig from the sidelines, apparently the referee, cried out with both its mouths, as the Pokémon in the courtyard began to uneasily pull themselves away back to the Mawile and Luxio, who slowly eased themselves back into battle positions.

"Wait, everyone was looking at something? What was it?" a Zubat asked, before the noise of the returning din of battle drowned its voice out and grew indistinct as Team Traveler continued to move further away.

"... But why can't _I_ fight?" Pleo asked in a pouting tone.

"Most of those Pokémon are guards, Pleo," Nida explained, "Their training focuses on fighting because if anything bad in town happens, they'll need to help protect the town from it."

"But if they also protect things, and I'm a 'Protector'... Shouldn't _I_ also be doing their training?" Pleo asked.

"You will eventually. Why who knows? Perhaps I'll wind up sparring with you myself to see how you fare against my world-famous _Plancha Voladora!_ " Mosca proudly declared as she slid a partition open in order to let her pupils into a wooden hut by the stream. "But _before_ that, there are some fundamentals that you must learn. This way."

Inside the hut were a series of high partitions that, unlike the others seen in the complex, were fashioned from solid wood. The panels reached up to a net strung along some rafters, having the net effect of making a rough cube of netting and wooden partitions.

Mosca shut the partition behind her, and led the group up to an entrance of the cube in the middle of the room. There, Crom handed off his bag of bread to her, which she set beside the cube's entrance.

"For today's exercise, we will doing a mock-up of a dungeon crawling experience that you will all surely find familiar one day," Mosca lectured, pointing at the wood-and-net cube behind her. "

Now, the dungeon is not too different from this maze behind me here. The layout's unpredictable, it's often hard to see things, and most importantly: there's treasure lying about," the Hawlucha continued, which immediately drew a curious inquiry from Pleo.

"Wait, there is-?"

"However!", she interrupted, "Any dungeon, our own included, has its hazards. The ferals there will pick fights more often if they are threatened or moody, the Distortion creates traps, and most importantly, if you take too long, the Distortion will clear out the floor you are on."

"What does this have to do with the wall maze, though?" Crom asked.

"Everything! As a mock-up, you will need to put _all_ of the skills and senses that you would need in the dungeon to use to find these loaves that your mother, Gwenith, so generously provided for us.

" _If_ you can clear this gauntlet in time and make it out the end still standing, then, and _only_ then will you be able to-"

It was then that Mosca found herself interrupted by the sound of munching, and of hard pecks against wood. The team's attention was then drawn to the bag by the entrance, where they noticed that it had already been half-emptied by Pleo, who was presently working on a half-devoured loaf on the floor.

"Wow… And I thought _I_ was a fast eater," Crom murmured.

"Psst! Pleo! You're supposed to eat those after you find them in the maze!" Nida whispered.

"Hmm? But they were right there! And the pink birdie said to find them!"

"We… Have a lot of work ahead, don't we?" Mosca sighed, putting a balled-up claw up to her face.

* * *

During the first few days after Pleo began his training at the Dojo, his progress was marked by fits and starts, mostly false ones. Still, there was some incremental improvement, and the monotony of the routine was broken by a midday break, which Team Traveler used to show its newest member places around Bluewhorl.

As it so chanced this particular day, Nida and Crom decided to bring Pleo along into the town's square by the docks.

"Wow! I think these 'boat' thingies changed overnight, Nida!" Pleo exclaimed as he passed a wooden craft tied up along one of the docks, oblivious to the gapes that some of the nearby Pokémon interrupted their routines to give him.

"Well, they kinda did. Two went out last night, and two came in this morning," Crom explained. He took a short moment to perch on a post on the dock to stretch his wings in the sun.

"Eh? Where did the others go?"

"Probably to a nearby island to trade for some supplies," Nida answered, "There's some things that we wouldn't be able to normally get easily here on Tromba without them, and it helps some Pokémon like Crom's dad to support their families."

"'Trade'? What's that?" Pleo asked, tilting his head out of puzzlement.

"Eh? Nida, did we not buy anything with Pleo before?" Crom asked, turning slightly from his sunning on the post.

"Now that I think about it," Nida pondered, drawing a paw to her muzzle in thought, "I guess we _haven't._ "

It was then that she happened to catch a glance of a certain rude wooden shack from the corner of her eye, and with a devious smirk, she turned back to Pleo.

"Actually, let's fix that right now. The team could use a few more supplies anyways," Nida said, as she hopped off towards the hut.

Pleo gave a quizzical look to Crom, who shrugged his shoulders and dismounted his post. The two nimbly followed Nida to make up for her head start, and caught up with her just in time to see her hopping up a stump next to a wooden counter on the shack.

"Hey! Calino! Are you back there?" the Nidoran called to the back of the shack.

"Speaking!" answered a Kecleon who popped up from behind some boxes. The creature made its way over, changing his scales to the customary viridian that he tried to greet all his customers with.

"What can I do you for to- Oh!"

And saw that the Protector he had heard so much about in recent days had graced his shop with a visit!

"Ahehe, it is truly an honor to have you here, Protector," Calino said, giving a small bow from behind the counter.

"Oh really now?" Nida said in an accusing tone, lowering her ears to play up a sense of grievance, "I seem to remember that you said that you wouldn't give even the _Protector_ a discount if he was a rookie!"

"Oh! Er..." Calino stammered, his scales starting to flush an embarrassed burnt yellow, "Well, you know, Nida, that was all hypotheticals! I wasn't _honestly_ expecting that the Protector would be awakened in my lifetime, so-"

"So… You'll give that discount on whatever we buy today, then?" Nida asked in a saccharine tone, perking her ears up.

"Haha! You mean for yourself, yes?" Calino chortled. "When you sprout white feathers and wings like this Lugia here, we'll talk-"

"I want to get whatever Nida buys!" Pleo cheerily proclaimed to the Kecleon, waving his wings.

"E-Eh?!" the Kecleon cried out in surprise, his body rapidly turning white.

"So you'll give a discount _now?_ " Nida insisted, giving a cheery head tilt.

"Uhm… I mean-! Th-This isn't fair, Nida! Hiding behind the Pro-!"

"You _did_ just imply that you'd cut a deal for Pleo, Calino," Crom said, as a few Pokémon passing by began to stop to watch the exchange between Calino and his young, if surprisingly tough customers.

"W-Would buy one get one half off-?"

" _Seriously_ , Calino? Just how much Poké do you expect Pleo to have after a week around here?" Nida sighed, flicking her ears back as some of the nearby residents chimed in.

"Yeah, Calino, don't be such a tightwad!" Scout called from the water beside the dock.

"Can't you even cut the _Protector_ a break?" a Corsola from the harbor cried.

"B-Buy one get one free! That's my final offer!" Calino cried, his scales now tinged a desperate grayish-blue as he eagerly tried to save some face, "Why, my poor purse couldn't possibly take more than that!"

"'Free'?" Pleo asked.

"It means that he'll give us an extra thing for whatever we buy!"

"Oh! Okay!" the young Lugia chirped, happy that he had helped to get his friends some extra goodies.

"Thanks for explaining, Crom," Nida replied before turning to Calino. "I'll take the usual again, this time with an extra X-Eye Seed!"

Calino couldn't help but grumble and have his colors turn a bit red on his extremities as he put together a double portion of Nida's mostly-customary selection of items as she slid some glinting baubles onto the counter.

"What is it that you're giving him, Nida?" Pleo asked.

"It's Poké, the money that's used in this town," she explained.

"'Money'?"

"It's kinda like trading food, except the food never goes bad… And you can't eat it... I guess it's not like food at all, now that I think about it," Crom mused with a claw up against his chin before a certain Swellow's voice abruptly cut short his train of thought.

"Nida! Crom! What are you two _doing?_ Pleo's training session was supposed to start again 10 minutes ago!" Kiran admonished mid-flight from above the shops behind the group.

"Uh oh. Looks like we'll have to get going, Pleo," Crom said, before tromping off after his team's Swellow leader. After a moment's hesitation, Pleo waddled along, occasionally hopping from the ground with the beat of his wings.

"Thanks for the discount, Calino!" Nida called out to the Kecleon, bounding away after her teammates.

"Uh huh, sure," the merchant groaned, putting a claw to his face.

"Gods these days."

"Oh, so you _do_ have things that you care about more than money, Calino," a certain Sentret piped up while passing by the counter. "That's honestly surprising."

"Scout, could you _not_ right now?" a now fully-red Calino fumed.

* * *

Soon enough, Pleo found himself back within the wooden corridors of the Dojo's maze. Although he had been in there more times than he could count on one of his wings by then, the experience was still disorienting. Outside of intersections and rooms, the list of directions where one could see in any meaningful direction was short: Forward down the corridor, behind oneself, and, if it wasn't covered by a chunk of the next level of the maze like his present corridor, the netting that hung along the rafters.

"See anything Pleo?" an unseen Nidoran called out.

"Yeah, we should have three more loaves left!" the voice of an also-absent Druddigon added.

Even though Nida and Crom had taught him some handy tips for training over the last few days, such as that the two didn't disappear when Pleo couldn't see them, or to always mark his place and pick the next closest direction if he got stuck at an intersection… The isolation of the maze always felt unnerving.

"I _smell_ it, but nothing yet-" Pleo called, as he rounded a sharp turn in the maze. As his the corridor on his left progressively became less obscured by one of the maze's walls, Pleo noticed one of Gwenith's golden-brown loaves sitting at a dead end.

"Oh! I found it! I found it!" Pleo cheered, as he veered to the left of the corridor to waddle towards his prize.

"I've got i-!"

_Click._

The faint sound of a trap triggering resounded, followed by a stiff smack from underneath by something cold, slimy, and smelling of earth, causing Pleo to pitch forward.

"A-Ah!"

"Pleo! Are you alright?!" Nida cried out from deeper in the maze, "What happened?"

As Pleo picked himself up from the floor, he looked down and found that the entire lower half of his body had been covered in thick, damp mud. When he turned back to the place where he had stumbled, he found that the mud that struck him had been splattered radially all over the corridor. "Yes, but I just got a bunch of brown goop stuck on my legs and wings!"

"Oh, you probably stepped on a mud trap!" Crom's voice called out over the walls.

" _Simulated_ mud trap!" Mosca's voice from outside the maze's partitions corrected.

" _Whatever!_ "

"Pleo, can you move alright?" Nida's voice asked.

Pleo attempted to shake off some of the mud, finding that it weighed down his legs and wings. While he was able to get some of it off, the majority of it remained stuck in his feathers and continued to uncomfortably encumber his movements.

"Not really!" he answered back.

"Just clean off what you can and play through it for now!" Nida's voice cried back. "Mud Traps affect your ability to fight depending on what part of your body they gum up. It'll go away eventually as you get the mud out!"

"Okay!"

"And pay closer attention to the floor from now on!" Crom's voice added. "If you see one that has a pattern kinda like an arrow, step on that one! It'll pump you up and clear up that trap's effects right away!"

Pleo snatched up the loaf by pressing it in between his wings and backtracked down the corridor. He made sure to keenly avoid the center of the mud splatter as he made his way back to an intersection with three other corridors stemming from it. There he attempted to scrape some of the mud off onto a corner before he paused for a moment.

"Let's see… The one that I _didn't_ go down should be on the… Right!" he chirped, as he turned down his chosen direction. The young Lugia continued on under the shadow of the next floor, leaving a small trail of muddy footprints and splatters as he carried on down the corridor's bends and turns. As Pleo entered a small chamber with two narrow passages leading out, one forward and a smaller one to the left, he could overhear Nida's voice call out.

"I found another one!"

"Okay, so then there's just one left!" his other partner replied.

Pleo paused for a moment. After realizing that he had already marked his position (in a manner of speaking) from the flecked mud trail still following him, he decided to follow the "next closest" direction rule and head to the left corridor. He carried on a ways, until he noticed a break in the pattern of the floorboards below his feet where some jagged rocks were poking out.

"There's pointy rocks in the bottom of the floor like last time!"

"It's probably another trap!" Nida called out "Can you get around it?"

Pleo went up to the trap, keen to keep his feet a healthy distance from where its edge might possibly be, and saw that the corridor was narrow enough for the patch of embedded stones to span its entire width.

"I don't think so!" he called back.

"Turn around and try another path, then!" Crom's voice piped up, which prompted the Lugia to sigh at just how _hard_ this 'training' thing was as he retraced his muddy steps back to the chamber.

He then noticed that as he got closer to the other corridor, the smell of toasted grain lingered in the air. Pleo made his way down the passage a bit more briskly, keenly watching the floor.

"Oof!" Perhaps a bit too keenly, as he bumped his head into a wall. After he drawing back and giving his head a good shake to regain his bearings, Pleo noticed the last loaf lying in the middle of the corridor.

"I found the last loaf!" he cheered, seizing the piece of bread with his mouth.

"Alright, great! Now we just need to _find_ each other... Did any of you see the stairs by any chance?" Nida's voice echoed down the corridors.

"Nop- Oh wait, I just found them, Nida!" Crom hastily announced.

"Alright! We'll come to you, Crom! What should we be looking for?"

"Claw marks!"

… Hopefully Mosca would be understanding about that. After all, there were already a bunch of nicks in the maze panels already, right? As Pleo backtracked his way towards where he and Nida had split up, he discovered that sure enough, Crom had scratched little reminders to himself into the panels.

A scratch on a corridor here, a gash on a corridor there, an occasional tracing of a dead end that Crom had gone down. So went the process of plodding along and trying to piece together these clues to follow the young Druddigon's steps.

"Hey!"

Pleo soon found himself looking up at Crom waving at him from beside some stairs.

"Don't eat those until _after_ we get out!"

"I wathnth!" Pleo protested through a beak filled with bread loaf. Crom quickly darted over and took the remaining pieces of bread, depositing them into the bag Kiran had let him borrow for training.

"Here, while we wait, lemme try and get that mud out of your feathers," Crom offered, as he prompted Pleo to raise his wings and began to carefully rake the mud out with his claws.

"Are the other floors of the cave also like this?" Pleo asked.

"Kinda. They're not as boxy or wooden, and in the places where Kiran takes us, the Distortion usually makes them a lot more open," Crom replied, as he flicked off globs of mud before moving on to one of Pleo's legs.

"The… Distortion?"

"You know, rearranges the Mystery Dungeon... creates orbs and traps… changes plant seeds into the sort that Calino sells from his shop... occasionally makes a forgotten gummi or apple left in there into a super-special gummi or apple if the ferals don't eat it first," Crom explained.

"But then why aren't we training there?"

"Eh?! The Mystery Dungeon is a _lot_ more dangerous than here! That's why _Maestra_ Mosca has this maze! So that way Pokémon can practice and go home easily if they mess something up!"

"Dangerous?" Pleo asked, tilting his head as Crom quickly wiped off Pleo's badge and then moved his attention to cleaning a few stray spots on the Lugia's plumage that he had not already gone over.

"It's a place where you can get hurt a lot more easily," Crom responded.

"But if it hurts you easier, why do you go there?"

"Because it's training for _us._ A Pokémon on a Rescue Team needs to be able to not run away from danger or scary things all the time, because in the future, someone might be counting on you to help them," the Druddigon explained.

"Someone… Might be counting on you," Pleo repeated, as Nida's voice interrupted from behind him.

"Oi!"

And Pleo turned to see Nida setting some bread loaves that had visible bite and drag marks down on the ground.

"Well, I suppose that that's one way to spend half a week," Nida sighed.

"Well… Think of it this way, it's only been half a week, and we've managed to make it with Pleo to the sparring partner!" Crom cheerily replied as he stuffed Nida's loaves into his bag.

"Uhm… Crom, you realize Pleo has to _win_ against said sparring partner before he can move on, right?" Nida whispered, as she watched Pleo beat his wings, enjoying his regained mobility now that the mud caking his body was gone, minus a few stains on his feathers.

"Ah, we're fighting as a team of three, I'm sure we'll do fine!" Crom replied back in a hushed tone.

"Nida? Crom? What are you talking about? Aren't we going up the stairs?" Pleo interrupted.

"Heh. We were just talking about that, actually," Nida said as she began to make her way up the stairs, and lead her teammates on.

"So, a 'sparring partner' is a Pokémon that you fight, right?" Pleo asked.

"Sorta. They give you a battle in which they hold back a little so that you can use the chance to improve how you fight," the Nidoran explained as the group reached the top of the stairs and the last level of the maze.

"Hmm? But who is _Maestra_ Mosca going to have us spar with-?" Pleo asked as he gawked at the now unobstructed view of the netting above, before a low, familiar voice interrupted.

"Hello, Crom. I was beginning to wonder when you were going to make it up here.

" The three Pokémon paused, blinked, and stopped a moment to make sure their eyes were not being deceived by the sight of the large ruddy-headed Pokémon waiting in the room, standing between wall partitions that went up to her chest.

"Wait… Mom? _You're_ our sparring partner?" Crom asked incredulously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**  
>  \- _Maestra_ \- Spanish: "Teacher", "Master". _Maestro_ for male counterparts.  
> \- _Para ser fuerte_ \- Spanish: "To be strong"  
>  \- _Otro día_ \- Spanish: "Another day"  
>  \- _Plancha Voladora_ \- Spanish: lit. "Iron Flying", referring to the move we would better know as "Flying Press"
> 
> Special thanks to Tangent128 of serebii.net for chapter header.


	7. Out of the Comfort Zone

Crom, Nida, and Pleo found themselves trading awkward stares with each other. Yes, there was supposed to be a sparring partner after their crawl through Mosca's maze, but… this older Druddigon waiting in the center of the last wood-paneled chamber...

"Of course, sweetie!" Gwenith chuckled. "You didn't think that I just came and went during the session to restock your bread loaves did you?"

"Um… Nida? I thought friends didn't fight with each other," Pleo said, somewhat unnerved by the idea of fighting the Pokémon that gave them bread in the morning. Crom also felt that the battle arrangements seemed rather unsettling. After all, it was one thing for the young Druddigon to fight with his brother Cenn, but...

"Mom, are you _sure_ that-?"

"I'm pretty confident that I can stomach a couple nicks here and there to help you younguns grow a little," Gwenith responded as she adopted a tensed pose.

"Try and hit me with your best shot!" she roared.

"Uhmm… rawr, look at how totally fearsomely cute I am?" Nida growled endearingly back at the Druddigon.

"Yeah! Yeah! We're tough! And scary!" Pleo chimed in as he attempted to mimic Nida's growl, but wound up producing something that came out as more of an awkward squeak.

"Well, if _you_ won't land the first hit, then _I_ will!" Gwenith huffed before she lunged for the group with an open claw.

"Whoa! _Mom?!_ " Crom exclaimed as he narrowly rolled out of the way of a weak, but still stiff claw swipe. Gwenith's swipe carried on past Pleo, who had narrowly ducked the attack, and into Nida, sending her tumbling back a bit towards a wall.

"Ga-aah! _That was an attack!_ " Nida shouted as she bounced up back to her feet and braced herself against her foe. "Growling disarmingly is listed in the Dojo annals as a perfectly legitimate technique!"

"You won't put a feral down for the count _that_ way!"

"Okay! Okay! We'll hit you!" Crom cried, before he attempted to rush back, and latched onto his mother's arm with his maw. The younger Druddigon quickly came to regret doing so, abruptly spitting out her arm.

"Owowow!" he groaned, it seemed biting down softer on his mother's jagged hide didn't make it hurt any less.

"Oh come now, Crom. I'm not letting you take off from the bakery to pull your punches! Put some thought behind them!" the older Druddigon admonished, before she slugged Crom with a forceful, if not squarely aimed, punch to the chest that sent him reeling.

"Argh! _Moooom!_ Couldn't you have made that point with something _less_ painful?" Crom grunted as he got back up to his feet, now keenly maintaining his battle posture.

"Hey, if you're gonna fight, then we can hit back too!" Pleo cried from behind the older Druddigon. The young bird stiffened his neck, and felt a hot sensation forming at the back of his throat before he opened his beak and disgorged a glowing white sphere at Gwenith's direction…

Only to watch, to his astonishment, as the Druddigon backflipped over his Weather Ball, used her wings to reorient her body so her claws were again facing the ground, and entered a momentary, stalling glide in mid-air…

"A- _Aaaaaaaah!_ "

And bore down and pounced upon Pleo claws-first, pinning him to the arena's floorboards.

"You have to think _fast_ in battle, Protecto- Oof!"

The Druddigon found herself thrown forward from her trapped opponent, who had, while still sprawled-out, wide-eyed and panting on the floor, disgorged another glowing ball on his foe in panic.

"D-Don't scare me like that!" Pleo fumed as he righted himself and got back up to his feet.

"Hah, _that's_ more like it! You're learning already!" the Druddigon complimented as she threw herself back up to her feet. Gwenith then heard a weak plink and a faint drop of liquid fall on her hindquarters, followed by a second pink of something falling onto the arena floor. When she looked at the source of the faint noises, the Druddigon saw that it was a Nidoran's barb...

That had failed to lodge itself in her hide, glancing off and spilling its poison harmlessly outside the Druddigon's body.

"Um… At least it went further that time?" Nida said sheepishly from behind a corner panel. Crom interrupted her awkward moment with a roar as he attempted to lunge into the fray.

"Got you now, Mom!" he cried as he slashed at the other Druddigon, only to wind up slicing at air and charging headlong into a low wall. After crumpling up stunned against the wall, Crom found himself nursing his head as he pulled it back from a visible dent in the panel.  
As for the where the elder Druddigon went, the matter was quickly answered by the sound of Gwenith tromping just beyond the wall.

"Aaaack!"

"Come on, Crom! Before she gets away!" Nida cried, hopping up onto the wall's ledge and vaulting over the other end. Crom got up, shook some stars from orbit around his head, and ran around the wall to rejoin the fray, leaving behind a solitary young Lugia.

"Enh! Enh!" Pleo cried as he tried again and again to bound over the wooden partition as Nida had.

Pleo found that although he was able to make flapping hops up to see Gwenith locked in combat with his partners over the ledge, he couldn't quite make it over.

"Why are these walls so _high?!_ " he fumed before he gave up and ran around in the direction Crom had gone, just in time to see Nida being swatted away after a failed attempt to poison her sparring opponent with a running tackle.

"Oof!"

"A bit smarter, but you'll need to do better than that!" Gwenith called to the sprawled-out Nidoran.

"Nida, just keep her busy a little longer! I'm almost done honing my claws!" Crom shouted out while poking his head from behind a partition.

"Aha! _That's_ where you are!" the elder Druddigon exclaimed as her son sank in the realization that he had just betrayed his position. "Uh-oh," he quietly uttered, as his mother came charging towards him.

At this point, Pleo had become a bit overwhelmed by the entire experience, and tried to think of something, anything to put this ordeal to a close.

" _Stop it!_ " the young Lugia shouted, then beat together his wings to whip up a churning, whirling wind that cut across the floor of the arena. It struck Gwenith and sent her tumbling past her child into a wall.

"Good thinking, Pleo!" Crom called from his position, before starting to run as his mother regained her bearings while slumped against her wooden partition, "Nida, I think we've got an opening!"

"Right behind you!" Nida shouted, as she got to her feet and bounded after her partner.

Crom gave the hardest slash he could muster at his mother's belly scales, and quickly ducked out of the way before Nida came sprinting up to deliver a passing tackle to the Druddigon. Gwenith's jagged hide stung back, but the two were keen to swallow their urge to stop and cry out in pain. Luxuries such as staying still would have to wait for the two rookies until after they had some healthy distance between themselves and Gwenith, who would surely be hot on their heels…

Only… She never came.

"Oof! I- I am slain!" the older Druddigon cried, before she staggered and overdramatically toppled forward onto the floor, closing her eyes. The scene made Crom pause for a moment, and after he saw that she was not getting up, he rushed over out of concern.

"M-Mom?! Are you-?! I d-didn't mean to-!"

Only to find himself cut off by his mother jumping up and latching onto her son, lifting him off the ground in an embrace.

"See? I _told_ you your old mother could take a nick or two!" she said, while nuzzling her child's crest.

" _Moooom!_ You're embarrassing me!" Crom protested as he flailed to try and break free.

"Oh, so _that's_ where he gets it from," Nida groaned. As Gwenith finally let her child go, the Nidoran turned and noticed that Pleo was still maintaining a healthy berth from the group of three.

"You did great too, Protector!" the Druddigon cheered towards the white bird, but her words didn't seem to have any effect on the Lugia, who was visibly shaking and wide-eyed.

"Pleo?" Crom asked.

"Pleo, it's over. We won. She won't attack if you get near right now," Nida called out.

" _No!_ She hurt me! And she's scary!" Pleo chirped back, his voice still tense and anxious. It made Gwenith's expression sink a bit.

"I- I suppose that I might have overdone it a little," she murmured to herself as she set Crom back down on the floor, which prompted Nida to go up to try and console her teammate.

"Pleo, it was just a sparring match," Nida explained, nuzzling the young Lugia. "She's still the same Gwenith that works at the town bakery."

"But it _hurt!_ " Pleo protested.

"Er… Well, that's what happens in battles, yes," Nida sighed, flattening her ears. "But if you _don't_ practice, you could wind up really getting hurt by a Pokémon that won't be friendly after fighting."

"Yeah, like pirates!" Crom exclaimed.

"'Pirates'?" Pleo asked.

"Mean Pokémon that gang up to bully and take stuff from Pokémon that can't fight back against them," Crom growled from beside his mother. "And to top it all off, they even wear scarves like we do but don't follow the pact that goes along with wearing them at all!"

Pleo didn't like the sound of these "pirates," but… but something seemed to be missing from what Crom was saying. How exactly would putting oneself in danger of getting hurt help avoid getting hurt later?

"Besides, if you never practice, you won't ever get any _stronger_ ," Nida added.

"Uh-huh! Uh-huh! A Protector's gotta be strong in order to be able to do any protecting!" Crom chimed in with a toothy smile.

"I realize that it's probably different than blowing over sea rocks... Or entire tunnels," she said, uttering the last part under her breath, "But Gwenith really _isn't_ scary."

"Y-You promise?" the young Protector stammered.

"I promise. Now come on, let's go shake Gwenith's claw," Nida said as she guided Pleo over to the Druddigon. The two stood there, staring at each other, waiting expectantly for… something.

"Psst! Pleo! Stick one of your wings out! Like Guildmaster Hatteras showed you!" Nida whispered.

"Like _thi-?_ Oh!"

As Pleo followed the Nidoran's instructions, he was surprised to see that the elder Druddigon had grasped his extended wing firmly, but gently. She gave it a firm shake before letting go and drawing her claw back to her side.

"You're improving a lot, Protector!" Gwenith said, before giving a soft pat to Pleo's head.

" _See?_ Would a scary Pokémon do that, Pleo?" Crom asked.

"Heh heh, I guess not," Pleo giggled, having finally been convinced that Gwenith bade him no ill will. He would have to think twice before asking to train with her in this "sparring" thing, though.

"Um… How _do_ we get out of here anyways?" Crom asked.

* * *

Mosca took off a couple panels from the upper walls of the maze and unspooled some netting for Team Traveler and their partner to clamber down. After exiting the wooden training course, Pleo drank some crisp, cold water from a bowl while Kiran inspected his body, Oran Berry in beak.

"So it seems like Gwenith was quite the competition, huh?" the Swellow asked as he inspected the young Lugia's body.

"Yeah, that battle was really tough- Ow!"

Pleo recoiled as Kiran squeezed the berry along a cross-cut he made into the fruit's flesh, causing some juice from the berry to dribble onto a wing scrape.

"It's alright, Pleo! The sting from the Oran juice means that it's healing you!" Crom explained.

"Crom… I thought the idea was to _reassure_ him," Nida sighed as Pleo returned to his resting position being attended by Kiran as the Swellow continued.

"Why didn't you just fly, _pollito?_ You would have been able to outmaneuver your opponent much earlier on if you had," Kiran asked as he daubed some Oran juice onto Pleo's other wing.

"Ungh! 'Fly' over them?" Pleo asked after wincing a bit due to the juice stinging.

"E-Eh?! But you're _una ave!_ " Kiran interjected while giving the berry's pulp over to his comparatively large charge. "I mean, your wings look a little scrawny and all, but surely you can fly a _little?_ "

"Well, he doesn't know how," Crom said, scratching the back of his crest sheepishly. "And Druddigon can't exactly fly with these wings. We _glide_ , and we're not _that_ great at it."

"Yeah, and _I_ sure can't teach him," Nida piped up, hopping a bit off the floor. As he looked over the young Protector nibbling through his Oran pulp, the Swellow realized to his dismay that Nida and Crom raised a good point.

"That's… something I shouldn't have taken for granted," he groaned, burying his face into a wing.

"One step at a time, Kiran," Mosca said as she walked up from behind. "Though given the Protector's progress today, I think that we can put him through some flight-focused training for the next few sessions."

"It'll have to do," the Swellow sighed as he wondered whether conceding to Hatteras' suggestion to babysit Pleo in the Day Care might have been the more prudent option after all.

"Hrm… Have you all recovered a bit from your training?" the Hawlucha asked the three younger members of Kiran's team.

"Uh huh! Uh huh!" Pleo cheerily responded as his teammates echoed, the sting of the Oran juice and the aches from their scrapes having already faded.

"Now then," the Hawlucha continued. "I think that it's perfectly reasonable to now call it a-"

"Woo hoo! Training's over! Come on Pleo, let's go!" Crom cheered, throwing his arms back into the air before he made a beeline for the chamber door, flung it open, and ran out into the corridor outside, with Nida and Pleo closely following behind him.

"See you at the front, Kiran!" Nida called back as she darted through the now-opened sliding partition.

"Day- Hey! _No se corre en mis pasillos!_ " Mosca huffed after the three Pokémon.

"Heh. Well, I guess at least _one_ thing is predictable with that _pollito_ ," Kiran said as he too turned, took wing, and made his leave after the rest of his team.

* * *

By the time Team Traveler departed the Dojo, the sun had just begun to touch the horizon and begin its process of slipping over for the night. The group decided to make their way back to the guild hall by walking in the gully of the town's stream, which had enough dry ground exposed to be walkable. The team made their way along, passing under the frail bridges that stitched the two sides of Bluewhorl together over it. The water was clean, flowing at a pleasingly meandering pace, and briskly cool to wade in...

"It tastes like the water at the Dojo!"

Most importantly, it did a remarkably good job at cleaning out the leftover dirt from the mud trap in the maze out of Pleo's feathers. After the first few chilly dips and a few subsequent moments to stop and preen his feathers, his stints in the water grew increasingly long and enjoyable as the white feathers began to better shield his skin underneath from the creek's water.

"Where are we going now?" the young Protector asked, as he came up onto the shore from his latest journey into the creek.

"Well," Nida said, "I think the next step is heading to the Guild Hall and-"

She opened her mouth to continue, but found the words in her mouth abruptly dying as she had a sudden realization.

"Oh… I just remembered something. I still need to drop off that watering can I packed in your bag that I promised I'd bring to _Mami_ and _Papi_ while they were in the field today," she sighed.

"Eh, we can all afford to take a little diversion, Nida," Kiran chirped. "We got out a little earlier than I expected"

"Erm… I mean, I guess it couldn't hurt to see your dad again," Crom added in a cheery tone.

" _Mami_ will also be there _too_ , Crom," Nida emphasized, which caused the young Druddigon to briefly blanch a pale shade and give his wings a nervous beat.

"Uhm… Maybe you could ask her to be a little less scary?"

"Crom, she's perfectly fi-" Nida admonished, before she turned to notice that her team's newest member suddenly wasn't there. "Wait… Where's Pleo?"

Crom and Kiran looked around their surroundings, and after a brief moment of panic, they caught the sight of his tail disappearing around the corner of a hut up the hill of the gulley the creek laid in.

"Pleo! Wait!" Kiran squawked, as he flew after his young white charge, Nida and Crom following the Swellow gingerly up the stream, where they ran into their teammate dawdling in the middle of a path.

"What are you _doing?_ " Nida scolded, "Just because this is a small town doesn't mean that you should go wandering off like-!"

It was then that Nida noticed that Pleo had a number of young Pokémon gawking back at him from the path, a motionless ball lying beside their feet.

"Nida! Nida! These Pokémon have a 'ball'!" Pleo chirped eagerly. As Nida and her companions drew nearer, they saw the Pokémon were coming from a tent that was shaped much like a Froslass' head. One of the edges of the white and violet tent straddled a shallow pool, which a small Finneon was flopping out of on its fins. The pool extended to the ledge of the gully, ending in a sluice that was apparently meant to drain it out into the stream.

One after another, more and more young Pokémon darted, flew, or awkwardly flopped out onto the path to the best of their abilities. The young creatures soon enough wound up crowding around Pleo, and jabbered among themselves excitedly.

"Wow! You're so pretty," a Poliwag gushed.

"How do you become a Protector? I wanna become one, too!" the Finneon Nida saw earlier cheered.

"Auntie Hariti! That 'Lugia' thingy is in the yard!" a marginally older Meowth called, turning its head back towards the tent's entrance. Almost immediately, the Meowth's voice summoned a wispy white and blue wraith, with a purple face and yellow and red eyes, that floated effortlessly above the ground.

Perhaps it was the pleasant chilling effect the creature had on the air around her in Tromba's tropical and muggy weather, but being in this "Hariti's" presence felt strangely disarming, as she seemed to exude a certain eerie motherliness to her demeanor.

"Oh my. I must say, I wasn't expecting you to need my services, Kiran," she smiled, replying in an gentle, airy tone. "Not that I would pass up the chance to care for this most… Unusual trainee of yours."

"Ahehe, well… That's not _quite_ why we're here," Kiran chirped, giving an awkward ruffle to his feathers.

"I found a ball!" Pleo exclaimed cheerily, waving and gesturing at the ball still lying in the path.

"Ah, well a little curiosity never hurt a Pokémon around here either!" Hariti giggled a bit at the young Lugia's enthusiasm towards such simple things. "Hang on, I think there are some snacks left over from mealtime for you and your teammates."

The ice wraith briefly ducked back into her tent, phasing through one of its walls. Pleo squawked out of startled surprise, "Sh-She disappeared!"

"Eh? She _always_ does that though," a young Bidoof nonchalantly responded.

"It's something that Pokémon like her can do with practice," Crom explained as Hariti returned to the group through another wall, this time clutching some small, frosted, thick-skinned, red fruits in between her digits.

"Here you go, frozen Pomeg berries straight from my prize bushes!" she said, offering the fruits to Pleo and his companions. Pleo paused a moment as he watched his partners claim berries for themselves and split some cuts along the rind to expose what looked like red seeds inside.

"What's 'frozen'?" Pleo asked, tilting his head at the fruit.

"It means that I made them very, very cold, sweetie. Things sometimes change when that happens to them," the Froslass explained. "Go on, take it!"

Pleo hesitated a moment, and then grasped the fruit in between his wings. The red berry felt cold to the touch, and after hesitating a moment, Pleo managed to force part of the rind off along a cut Hariti had made into it, exposing some red seeds inside.

The young Protector paused a moment, and then pecked at the seeds. Much to his pleasant surprise, the seeds were firm like the blander seeds that Pleo had eaten earlier, but tasted spicy-sweet and had a peculiar aftertaste.

"I think I like it!" Pleo chirped, as he dutifully returned to pecking out the seeds in the fruit. Little by little, the white bird and his companions had whittled their frozen fruit down to little more than rinds when a timorous voice called from the tent.

"Au-Auntie Hariti? I-Is it gone yet?"

"Huh? Who's that?" Pleo asked, turning from his snack.

"It's those blotched Pokémon!" an Oddish huffed.

"Yeah, you don't want to talk with _them_ , my dad said all _they're_ good for is _eating!_ " a Spearow declared.

"Yeah, they're _bad_ Pok-! Yip!" a Snubbull cried out as the Froslass flicked a small ice shard at its rump. The Oddish and the Spearow also found themselves stumbling forward and nursing their rears, whining quietly after they too were struck by small pieces of ice.

"Thank goodness she shut up those _críos_ ," Nida mumbled under her breath, lowering her ears.

"That's quite enough out of you three," Hariti admonished sternly before turning to Pleo. "Protector, er... I realize that it might seem a bit strange to you, but some of the younglings here are extremely shy towards-"

Much to her dismay, the young bird had already made his way to the tent's entrance, prompting her to call after him frantically.

"Protector, _wait!_ "

By the time she reached the tent, Pleo had made his way in, and was passing a group of young Pokémon with blotches on their heads- much like Ander the other day- that were cowering in a corner.

"Auntie H-Hariti!" a Chatot who was still covered in soft, downy feathers squawked in panic.

" _H-Help!_ " a Bulbasaur stammered, as the toad tried to hide in vain to hide behind the Chatot that was far too small a shield.

"Pl-Please make it go away!" a trembling Mudkip cried while curled up in a ball at the foot of one of his larger compatriots. The compatriot was a small Scyther about as tall as Pleo, wide-eyed, and frozen in place in a corner.

The young Lugia, after pausing a moment to give a quizzical look, proceeded towards some sundry painted doodles he had noticed on rough paper on the floor of the tent as Hariti and his teammates rushed in.

"Pleo, you should really-" Kiran began, only for Pleo to cut off his words.

"Wow! You make paintings here?" Pleo asked as he examined the doodles. There were pictures of the harbor (if with buildings that didn't look quite as sturdy as their actual counterparts), of the mountain and its shroud of fog, of the different townsfolk…

Of the multitude of pictures, one stood out to Pleo in particular. It was a picture that was a little less crude than the others that depicted a funny little blue blob with purple antennae on the sides of its head that was balancing a blue circle on its nose.

"Who made this one?" Pleo asked, as he pointed out the picture that caught his attention.

"I did," a voice called from the corner, and when Pleo turned back towards it, he saw that the speaker was the young Marked Scyther, uneasily tapping her scythes together.

"It looks really pretty!" Pleo chirped.

"Uhm… Thank you, I guess," the bladed bug buzzed, clearly at a loss as to why this Pokémon would choose to praise her handiwork. Her companions in the corner similarly found themselves at a loss for the behavior of the dread beast in front of them.

"H-Huh?!" the Bulbasaur exclaimed, poking his head out from behind the Chatot.

"I-It's- It's being _nice?_ " the Mudkip asked, as he began to ease of the ball he had curled his body into.

"Uh huh! Uh huh! He's not mean at all!" Crom tried to reassure the young Marked. There was an awkward pause as he and the other Pokémon realized that, beyond some perplexed stares and some faltering half-steps that were quickly taken back, the Pokémon huddled in the corner just couldn't work up the courage to walk up to the young Protector.

"Why are they just sitting there?" Pleo asked, tilting his head up to the Froslass.

"I… Think that maybe it would be best for Kiran to explain this to you once you're gone," Hariti sighed. "It's not nice to try and force Pokémon to do things they're not ready to do."

"Yeah! Come play with us instead!" the Bidoof from earlier called, poking her head into the Day Care's entrance.

"Uhm, as _tempting_ as that offer is, we have to get going," Nida replied, folding her ears back in obvious displeasure. "We're busy Pokémon."

"We _should_ get going, Pleo. Come along," Kiran instructed, much to the audible displeasure of the young Pokémon in the yard of the Day Care.

"Aww..."

"But I wanted to play with the birdie..."

Kiran led the team back out to the path, after they traded farewells with Hariti and her charges, the four continued on past the bridge. As the team made its way out back to the fringes, the town's structures once again began thinning out. As Pleo once again found himself under the shade of the hillside trees that began to line the path, he couldn't help but ask...

"Who were those Pokémon?"

"Some young ones that Hariti watches for Pokémon around the area," Kiran explained as he landed on a branch to briefly rest his wings.

"She helps to raise a few who don't have parents that watch over them," Nida added as she made her way over a root that intruded into the path.

"Huh?"

"Well, you see Pleo, sometimes young Pokémon, for one reason or another, don't have anyone around to look after them. Sometimes they're all busy with work around town, sometimes no one can find any of them, and sometimes they just aren't there for them," Kiran explained from his perch as his teammates continued on the path a small ways. "When that happens, Hariti takes care of them either until the Pokémon that take care of them come back, or until they grow old enough to take care of themselves."

"How come Nida looks after her brothers and sisters instead of Hariti, though?" Pleo persisted, turning back to look at the Swellow.

"Sometimes… Hariti gets very upset when young Pokémon have others to take care of them and don't behave themselves… Repeatedly," Nida grumbled as Kiran left his perch to catch up with the group.

"How come those Pokémon in the corner were scared of me?"

"It's because they were Marked, just like that Scyther that startled you a few days ago," Crom said, as he stopped to claw at some visibly loose bark on a tree that had caught his eye.

"So they didn't like me either?" Pleo murmured. "But why?"

"They were probably expecting you to be mean to them," the Druddigon explained as he left his tree, flicking aside a few scraps of bark that had clung to his claws.

"But… How come?"

"Well, a very, very long time ago, those Pokémon's ancestors did some very bad things to the old gods…" Kiran explained as he took a moment to circle the group in a small clearing they were passing through. "And they've somehow since got it in their heads that when Protectors like you came along again, that you'd be mean to them."

"But I'm not mean, am I?" Pleo asked in an apprehensive, squawking tone.

"Of course you aren't, _pollito!_ "

Pleo breathed a sigh of relief. If he wasn't mean, then that would mean that sooner or later, those Pokémon with the blotches would realize that… Right? But, there was one other matter from the Day Care that Pleo couldn't help but wonder about.

"What does it mean to eat a Pokémon? The brown and red birdie said something about it."

The question instantly brought the entire group to a stop, and caused Crom and Kiran to look flustered while they thought about how they should answer.

"Er…"

"Uh… Well…"

"Hrmph, don't think about it too much. If that kid wasn't talking about the food that Ander sells for a living, he's probably some mouthy feral runt that got dumped there by his parents," Nida grumbled as she continued on the path.

"Now Nida, _that's_ hardly fair! Most of the town is related to or descended from ferals if you go far back enough!" Kiran admonished as he followed along with Crom.

"So… Ferals are Pokémon that eat other Pokémon?" Pleo asked as he too began to follow his group.

"That's kinda oversimplifying," Kiran protested as the group rounded a bend, "But-"

"Doesn't that hurt the Pokémon that get eaten, though?" Pleo interrupted, as he thought about how he had pecked and chewed and generally torn apart the various berries, seeds, and those colorful things called 'gummis' he had eaten over the past few days. If it hurt to get nicked by Gwenith, this being "eaten" sounded absolutely dreadful!

"It's... Complicated, but yes, it does. And it hurts them in a way that healers can't make better," Nida explained, which caused Pleo to stop and think a moment.

"So ferals are mean Pokémon, then?"

"It's hard to explain… In the way that ferals live on their own, they need to be able to eat, and sometimes the only way for them to do that is by hurting another Pokémon," Kiran answered.

"But I don't hear anyone talking about eating Pokémon in _town_ …"

"That's because Pokémon that live in town eat Gummis like the ones you've been eating for the past few days and aren't _allowed_ to eat other Pokémon. Other Pokémon aren't allowed to eat them in return," Nida said as she hopped up a ledge, prompting Crom to mull a moment and interrupt.

"Doesn't the guild allow that 'scavenging' thing that Ander's involved with, thou-"

"Crom. Stop. Talking," Nida hissed, "This is already a confusing _enough_ thing to explain!"

Oh, so that's why those brightly-colored things seemed to show up so often at meals. Something about Nida's explanation still didn't add up for Pleo, though. If Pokémon didn't eat other Pokémon...

"Why doesn't someone just _make_ the feral Pokémon live in towns, then?" Pleo demanded, which caused Kiran to stop and come to a rest on the ground, before he turned back to Pleo and began to speak with a gentle, if firm tone.

"Pleo… Do you remember what Hariti said back at the Day Care?"

"'It's not nice to try and force Pokémon to do things they're not ready to do'?"

"One of the rules for Pokémon that wear scarves like us is that no matter how much they might gain from it, other Pokémon aren't supposed to try to eat us or take advantage of us or force us to do things we don't want to… but that in return, we're not allowed do anything of the like to another Pokémon," the Swellow explained. "And you have to live like that even when there's other Pokémon counting on you, which some ferals find to be asking for too much. It wouldn't be terribly fair to expect ferals to leave us alone if we went around trying to force them to live in a way they weren't ready to, don't you think?"

That all seemed fine to Pleo… with one caveat that he couldn't seem to wrap his head around.

"Huh? But what about Pokémon that don't follow those rules? Didn't Crom say that pirates also wore scarves, but they took things from Pokémon anyways?" Pleo asked, thinking about those creatures that Crom spoke of in the training maze. "Aren't they also Pokémon that aren't ready to live like you do?"

"Uh…" Kiran muttered, beak agape.

"Eh?! Of course not!" Crom cried.

"Yeah, if you let them have their way, they'll just go on stealing from Pokémon like us!" Nida protested.

"Let me clarify that statement a bit," Kiran sighed, putting a wing over his face. "'It's not okay to try and force Pokémon to do things they're not ready to do _when they're not trying to hurt you or your friends_.' When they _do_ , you're perfectly in the right to try and make them knock it off!"

"That's also why you're allowed to hit back at attacking ferals," Nida whispered.

"Oh, I… I guess that makes sense," Pleo said, before Crom interrupted his train of thought as he gestured off towards some bushes in a clearing.

"Hey, I see your family's field, Nida!"

As Nida and her companions drew nearer to the clearing, the neat rows that the bushes were planted in became apparent, as did the little Leppa fruits that could be seen in between clumps of leaves here and there.

" _Mami! Papi!_ I'm here!" Nida called out, her voice soon being answered as a few bushes began to rustle before Nida's parents emerged before the group.

" _Hola, mija,_ " Teja said before the Nidorino drew forward and gave the Nidoran a small nuzzle with his snout.

" _Hola a todos_ , and pleased to see that you've been growing, Crom," Marley said in a congenial, if guarded, tone.

"H-Hello, Marley," Crom stammered, as he found himself folding his wings back and subconsciously backpedaling from the Nidorina.

"You don't have to be so shy, Crom," Marley tut-tutted. "I've never taken any trophies from _nice_ dragons before."

Crom suddenly decided that he needed to be anywhere not directly in front of Marley, and hastily retreated behind Kiran with a shudder.

" _Nida!_ Sh-She's doing it again!" he whined.

" _Mami_ , couldn't you have said that _differently?_ " the blue Nidoran groaned.

" _What?_ That was supposed to be reassuring!"

"I think that not bringing up your past exploits would probably work better, dear," Teja sighed as he flicked away a loose spike under a bush.

"Well, what's the point of _that_ if everyone on this island already knows about them?" Marley huffed in protest as her daughter couldn't help but roll her eyes a little.

"Anyhow, I brought the pail," the Nidoran said as she fetched a small, rudimentary clay pot with a handle and long neck from Kiran's bag and brought it over, which prompted the Nidorina to stop a moment to give them an inspecting sniff.

"Hmm… Very good," Marley said. As Nida's parents sized up the watering pail, the group was interrupted by the sound of rustling from the undergrowth around the clearing, and a voice calling out.

"Aha, I found you!" it called out, as a four-legged creature covered in jagged, striped fur with a long tail popped out of the undergrowth, carrying an stony ring in its maw.

"Eh?! Who are you?" Pleo asked as he stumbled back from the Zigzagoon.

"Pleo, that's a feral," Nida whispered as she and the other Pokémon present quickly adopted cautious postures, just in case the creature had come with belligerent intentions.

"Grr," Marley growled at the Zigzagoon, "If you think that you're going to walk off with my berries, you've got another thing comi-!"

"Whoa! Whoa! I'm not here for that… I'm just a humble Pokémon that's come to pay respects with the gift from the land," the feral Zigzagoon explained before he dropped the ring in its mouth and nudged it forward.

"Huh?"

"I'm presenting you a gift, great one," the creature bowed.

"Oh! Er… Thank you?" Pleo responded as he went forward to curiously examine the item. It was a most peculiar ring… or was it a rock? Whatever it was, it was a yellowish band with crags that jutted out laterally, as if it were meant to be worn somehow.

"Why, it looks like a crown!" Crom murmured to himself.

"A… 'Crown'?" Pleo asked, but before anyone could explain what the little Druddigon meant, the Zigzagoon abruptly spoke up and bowed again.

"It is truly an honor, please enjoy the offering. But now I must go," the creature replied before darting off back into the undergrowth. Pleo deposited this rock- ring- crown- _thing_ into Kiran's bag as Team Traveler was left to wonder why the Pokémon was so quick to leave. As if in answer, the quiet was broken by the much deeper sound of brush being trampled as a Tropius tromped into the clearing, slowing to a stop to catch its breath.

"Mildrew?" Teja asked, flicking his ears out of surprise. "Is something the matter? Shouldn't you be at your orchard?"

"That's why I'm here!" the Tropius panted. "A feral just barged through my field with some rock or whatever and knocked over a bunch of apples my daughter was in the middle of setting aside to eat at her job at Melissa's!"

The comment caused the rest of the Pokémon in the clearing to pause and trade looks with each other.

"Well, that would explain why the Zigzagoon was in such a rush," Crom groaned, putting a claw over his eyes.

"Uhm… Pleo, I think that we might need to take a moment to help the nice Tropius," Nida sighed.

"Huh," Pleo chirped. "But-?"

As Pleo trailed off, he noticed something strange from the corner of his eye. Even though the sun had not set yet, there was something sparkling like stars in the sky above the town.

"Kiran! Kiran! Look, the stars are out!"

"Eh, I'm pretty sure that's just some dust kicked up by some bug. Maybe a Volbeat," Mildrew answered nonchalantly. Pleo, on the other hand, was made only more curious by the Tropius's comment, and waddled over to a ledge that provided a view above the treetops of Bluewhorl Town's harbor.

As Pleo looked over the ledge, he saw that the "stars" were being scattered by a flying red and yellow six-limbed bug of some sort. The creature flew briskly along, quickly finishing up a long, trailing arc of glowing powder which slowly fell from the sky. Down in the water, a large, strange ship with a slim and tapered hull entered the harbor at a brisk clip, carried along by the wind and the trails of sea Pokémon flanking its hull closely. The ship had two masts with large, golden sails sporting a central design of what seemed to be a gray teardrop with two spikes jutting out along its sides. Indistinct figures followed it in the air, with other figures visible moving on its deck. Occasionally, there would be a stiff wave or column of water coming from the flanking sea Pokémon directed at other points in the water, surely some sort of sport or game.

"There's a ship! The stars brought a ship to town!" Pleo insisted in his cheery demeanor. The others were not so quick to brush that statement off. One by one, the Pokémon in the field came up to the ledge, and as they saw the strange vessel Pleo couldn't help but notice something very wrong with what he had expected would be a fun sight for everybody…

Everyone else watching at the ledge had turned pale.

"Oh no, first ferals disturbing my orchard, and now _this?_ " Mildrew muttered to himself.

"We need to head back to town to make sure the kits are safe, _now_ ," Teja barked to his mate.

"You take the burrow, I'll check on the older kits in town," Marley tensely replied as they rushed off down the path from their field, their preoccupation with their crops having been completely erased by the sight of the strange ship.

"Wait! Marley! Teja!" Pleo cried, turning after the Nidorino and Nidorina who were disappearing down the path. "Where are you going?! What's going o-?"

Before Pleo could finish, he heard a deep boom and the faint sound of shouting, followed by another boom, and then another.

When Pleo looked back down, he saw that the ship had rammed a smaller craft and forced it up onto the docks in order to make a space for itself. A few of the figures who arrived with the ship stayed nearby, casting barriers of light similar to those Pleo saw at some sparring matches at the Dojo.

The rest of them were making their way into the town from the ship. Every now and then, a bright flash or a torrent of water could be seen ripping through the paths and structures along Bluewhorl's seaside, sometimes from the direction of the boat, sometimes from the opposing direction. Each one made a faint sound that carried above the din of shouts coming from the town; a crack, a pop, a boom, a churning noise much like angry waves from the sea.

After so many cycles of the cacophony, one of Bluewhorl Town's structures would crumble, or catch fire and trail smoke into the air, or simply cease to exist.

"Huh?! What's-?! What's going on?! What is that ship?! And why are the Pokémon from it wrecking the town?!" Pleo squawked, bewildered and concerned about why this ship had all of a sudden started ruining the home he had lived most of his life in.

"Pleo," Nida answered seriously. "Those are pirates."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _(¡)No se corre en mis pasillos!_ \- Spanish: "Don't run in my hallways!"  
>  \- _críos_ \- Spanish: lit. "Babies", used in this sense to tersely refer to someone who is acting infantile or immature.  
>  \- _Hola a todos_ \- Spanish: "Hello, everyone"
> 
> Special thanks to Tangent128 of serebii.net for chapter header.


	8. This Is Not a Drill!

As the faint din of the pirate raid continued to reverberate up the hills of Tromba Island while smoke billowed up from Bluewhorl, the members of Team Traveller struggled to come to terms with the calamity unfolding before their eyes. After a shocked pause, Kiran shook his head and broke the silence.

"Come on, we need to get going," the Swellow said to his teammates with an anxious chirp as he flapped up and took wing. "The Guild and the guards are going to need all the help they can get down there."

The Swellow flew for the path that returned from the fields to the town, his teammates darting off after the team leader…

Save one.

"Wh-Where are you going?!" Pleo cried from the ledge, his words stopping the rest of Team Traveler in their tracks at the other end of the Leppa field that Nida's family tended to.

"Where do you _think_ they'd be going?" Mildrew's voice answered from the side, his head trained towards his field. "They've got things to defend, just like I've got a field, a mate, and a sapling that need protecting!"

While they didn't exactly have children or fields of their own, the other Pokémon on Team Traveler also looked similarly torn about staying any longer at the little Leppa field on the hill. Family, friends, neighbors, their teammates at the guild, little places which brought moments of joy to their lives, all of those were threatened by the chaos in the town below.

"We need to get _down there_ right now to help fight them off!" Nida exclaimed, hopping up and down, her barbs fanned out from tense anxiety.

"F-Fight them off?" Pleo stammered, his feet still firmly glued in place by the bluff.

"Yes! We _have_ to!" Crom cried, the young Druddigon flailing his arms to try and beckon the young Lugia forward.

"B-But won't that hurt?!" Pleo squawked. After all, if Gwenith was already intimidating to fight against when she was all smiles and cheers afterwards… why, these pirates must surely be in a class of their own.

"It doesn't matter! The town's in danger!" Nida shouted back, her tone betraying annoyance with the hesitation of the white bird that was _supposed_ to be Tromba's Protector. At the other end of the Leppa field, Kiran circled in the air a moment and turned his head back to Pleo.

"Pleo, do you remember how we said that Pokémon on Rescue Teams need to be able to not run away from scary things all the time?" the Swellow called out.

"Because- Because someone might be counting on you to help them?" Pleo asked back falteringly.

"Yeah, well right now, the entire _town's_ counting on us to help," Kiran explained, his words causing Pleo to cast a troubled glance at the ground in front of him. Yes, these pirates seemed frightening and all, but... The entire _town?_ All of those Pokémon in their scarves, the ones that had given him so much attention since he came down from that cave…

All of them were counting on Pokémon like this little group to help them?

As the little Lugia remained frozen in place with indecision, he was interrupted by a chirp from Kiran, who was now facing down the path.

"Pleo, we can't wait any longer! If you're not ready, just stay here with Mildrew, okay? We'll be back when it's over," he tried to reassure his newest recruit before he, Nida, and Crom turned and took off down the path for the town.

"Kiran! Not that this isn't a big honor and all, but shouldn't you not be volunteering other Pokémon for babysitting?!" the apple-grower called after the Swellow as he quickly trotted over to Pleo.

"Bring it up when there isn't a town being destroyed!" Kiran's rapidly fading voice called back. Mildrew glanced out at Bluewhorl, the bedlam engulfing it visible from the bluff.

"Fair enough," the Tropius sighed. "Come on, Protector. There'll at least be things up here you can defend, too."

The more Pleo looked at the destruction unfolding below as Mildrew led him off, the more he thought of the townsfolk in Bluewhorl. About the Pokémon that lived there... About how aside from the Marked, they all were so happy just to be around their 'Protector'… And about how many of them might be just as scared as he was of getting hurt and counting on that 'Protector' to help them...

It was then that Pleo decided that, as intimidating as this whole matter with these pirates was, he needed to be somewhere other than this patch of Leppa berries high up on the hill.

"W-Wait for me!" the Lugia cried out. Much to Mildrew's surprise, almost as soon as the words had left Pleo's mouth, the young Guardian had darted onto the path and after his teammates.

"Eh?! Wait-! Where are you going?!"

As the tree trunks and shrubs lining the path flew past Pleo, and Mildrew's voice grew further and further away, the young bird called out again, hoping that his choice had not come too late.

" _Kiran! Kiran!_ I'm coming too! I wanna help!"

"Come _quickly_ , then!" a Nidoran's voice called from further ahead.

Pleo darted down the wooded path, and before long he could see his teammates again. When he rejoined their rush along the path towards Bluewhorl, he found his worries about the bedlam below crowded out by thoughts about the Pokémon that were counting on this blue-scarved Rescue Team to help them. After what seemed like an eternity running past an unending mass of trees and undergrowth, the forest along the path melted into the abodes and structures on Bluewhorl Town's outskirts.

The attack on the town still raged in the distance with deep booms and thuds which were punctuated by the occasional sounds of struggles. Shouts, roars, screeches, yowls… All of them accentuated the already sobering sight of plumes of smoke coming up from the direction of the town's harbor. The paths were devoid of the normal bustle of Bluewhorl's daily life; the team's arrival into town was greeted by a lone young Meowth that had not found shelter yet and was bolting up the path with wide-eyed fear.

"Are you okay?!" Nida cried out, causing the cream and brown kitten to come to a panting stop.

"Th-There's pirates wrecking the town, o-of course I'm not okay!" the still-hyperventilating Pokémon blurted out.

"Calm down, calm down… You're fine, just find a place in the fringes to lay low for now-" Kiran attempted to reassure the creature, when a bug-like voice from further down the path hissed:

"Oh nice going, _veikka_ , you brought us even _deeper_ into the island."

" _Aah!_ They're _here_ , too!" the Meowth panicked, as it fled as fast as its legs could carry it up the path and into the fringes around the town. Pleo's throat tensed as he saw his teammates brace themselves. The Pokemon that the jittery creature had heard was just around a blind corner, and worse still, it sounded as if the creature was not alone.

"Oi! _You_ try maintaining a sense of direction with an old maid clawing and trying to take a bite out of you!" a gruff voice growled.

"Look you morons, there's a path _right here_ that heads to the sea," a comparatively yippy voice admonished. "Let's just take it before we get surrounded!"

And the voices were… Leaving? Pleo could hear fading footfalls from around the blind corner, which indeed were heading towards the sea. But… Was that really such a good thing?

"Kiran, they're getting away!" Nida cried.

"Oh no they _aren't!_ " Kiran squawked. He lead the group around the corner, bringing into view the forms of a Gabite, a Trapinch, and a Growlithe who were quietly retreating for the sea.

"Stop right there, criminal scum!" the Swellow barked to the three, which caused the Pokemon to stop dead in their tracks and whirl around, revealing gold scarves with some grey spiked pattern tied around their necks. The Growlithe was lugging a satchel, the Gabite had a claw occupied with a half-eaten piece of bread, and all three seemed to all have a few scrapes from a scuffle with what was probably the 'old maid' that they were talking about.

"Aw crud," the Trapinch groaned.

"Relax, _veikka._ They're obviously still a rookie team," the Gabite scoffed in between mouthfuls of bird-shaped bread loaf. "What are they gonna do? Cry on us?"

"Wait a minute- That's one of _mom's_ loaves!" Crom growled once he recognized the shape of the bread the Gabite was polishing off. "That's from her bakery!"

"Yeah, and so what?" the Gabite spat out, devouring the rest of the loaf. "What are you going to do about it, brat?"

"We'll sic our island's Protector on you!" Crom roared. "Lugia! Guardian of the Seas-!"

Before Crom could point out the Protector of Bluewhorl Town, he was interrupted by an indignant chirp.

"I'm Pleo!" the white bird in the group interrupted as he beat his wings to try and look more forceful. "A-And you can't just barge in here and wreck the town! That's _mean!_ "

Although Pleo tried his hardest to mimic Crom's roar, his words came out closer to the shrill cry of a disturbed Wingull- and failed completely to impart a 'divine' impression on the three ruffians that were currently trading unimpressed looks with each other.

" _That mewa_ is supposed to be a Protector?" the Growlithe asked dismissively.

"Ha! Sure you are," the Trapinch chittered mockingly. "And _I'm_ the King of Conntow!"

"Nice try birdie, but I'm pretty sure that 'Protectors' aren't little mutant feather dusters that are shorter than me," the Gabite growled.

"Let's see if you rookies can _fight_ better than you fib!" the Trapinch huffed, snapping his jaws aggressively as he hopped up and down.

"Come on, give us a claw, mutt!" the Gabite snarled, before he drew one of his claws into a tensed stance. "Let's wipe the floor with them!"

"Coming right up!" the Growlithe cried, before he hopped back, tensed himself, and emanated a blue, seemingly electric aura his body before giving a running tag to the Gabite and Trapinch. The Gabite flinched a moment from the tag, and then lunged for the group slashing wildly.

The team quickly scattered out of the way of the land shark, Pleo making a tumbling dodge to the ground. As he hopped up back to his feet, he became acutely aware of a pain shooting from his tail as something heavy latched on to it and attempted to drag the Lugia back.

" _Ow!_ Let go! Let go!"

"Not happening!" a muffled voice hissed. When Pleo looked behind himself, he saw the culprit to the sudden pain: the orange bug among the pirates had taken a bite into the end of his tail!

Pleo squawked out of surprise and swung the Trapinch around, attempting to shake the antlion loose. A bit further on, Kiran narrowly dodged being swatted out of the sky by the Gabite, thanks to Crom intercepting the Gabite's arm fins with a timely bite.

"Grr, please. Who do you think I am? Some dainty little Deerling?" the Gabite growled at Crom, before he used his free claw to deliver an upwards slash at Crom's underbelly. The poor Druddigon let go of his grip, crying out in pain, and was knocked away to a tumbling stop against a wooden message board.

"O-OW!"

As Crom staggered to his feet and nursed the raw, reddish scrape along his belly scales, the Gabite took a moment to wince a bit from the ruddy lizard's bite and some fresh scrapes the land shark had picked up while clawing him away.

The Gabite whined a little under his breath about how this accursed hamlet just _had_ to have Pokemon that it hurt to strike, steeled himself again, and then after perceiving an opening, swooped down at the Druddigon to best him.

"Here, have another-!" he cried, before he was cut off by Nida's voice.

"Get _away_ from him!"

Nida plowed into the Gabite's stomach with a tackle, throwing him off course and off-balance with a yelp. The Gabite got up uneasily and stiffly and, much to Nida's pleasant discovery, with a pawful of her barbs stuck in his stomach.

"Urgh… You little runt, what did you _do_ to me?!" the Gabite demanded in a groaning snarl as he eased himself to his feet and tried to pick out some of the barbs. In the background, Nida could hear Pleo crying out, as well as the voices of the other two pirates harrying him.

"Stop moving around so I can deep fry the bird, you dumb bug!" the Growlithe's voice barked.

"I'm _trying!_ He keeps jerking me around!"

"So _let go of him!_ "

Crom had gotten back up on his feet just in time to turn with Nida to see the Trapinch release his grip on Pleo's tail, apparently attempting to nip at him again on something less peripheral than a tail.

"Grr!" the Gabite growled as he approached Nida and Crom with bared claws. "Don't think that you're just gonna be able to- Gah!"

The Gabite quickly fell back, narrowly dodging a directed burst of air from Kiran's wings strong enough to cut a groove into the dirt of the path as the Swellow swooped in between his teammates and the attacking dragon.

"Nida! Crom! I'll take the Gabite!" the Swellow directed as he tensed himself for an exchange of blows with the land shark. "If you and Pleo keep the other two busy so they can't heal the poison, we've got this battle sealed!"

Nida and Crom didn't question Kiran's words. As soon as they felt the breeze from his taking flight after the Gabite, they rushed forward to Pleo. Said Lugia was running further down the path, having just barely dodged a gout of fire from the Growlithe and an open-mawed tackle from the Trapinch by a stroke of luck.

" _H-Help!_ Two against one isn't fair at all!"

"You're right! It _isn't!_ " the Trapinch chittered as he reared up to lunge at the Lugia with another bite from his jaws. "But that's life, hu- Ow!"

But the lunge was not to be, as the Trapinch quickly found himself getting pounced on by a larger and heavier spiked dragon that slashed at his back, which sent the Trapinch tumbling forward.

"Oh, you'll _pay_ for that, runt!" the orange bug hissed as he righted himself, and then lunged forward and clamped his maw onto the Druddigon's arm.

"Argh!"

The Trapinch came to regret latching onto Crom's arm almost as soon as he bit down, as he spat the blue arm out and dropped to the ground whining with his maw agape and its innards scraped by the Druddigon's rough hide.

"Owowow… My poor mowth-"

Before the Trapinch could overcome the pain in his maw, he was kicked up into the air by an unseen assailant. As he fell back to earth, he saw a Nidoran entering a second spinning kick, with her foot racing toward his head.

The sound of a loud thud from Nida's kick reverberated along the path, along with a second, duller thud of something striking a wall with the accompanying sight of a small cloud of dust. When it cleared, the form of a weakly groaning Trapinch embedded in a damaged wall became plainly visible.

" _V-Veikka!_ " the antlion groaned before he lapsed out of consciousness, which prompted Nida, panting and wide-eyed with surprise that her second kick came out so strong, to take a moment to grumble and leer at the creature.

"'That's life,' hu-?"

Nida was cut off by a burning sensation on her flank that made her yelp and jump back. When she looked at her side, she noticed a blackened patch of fur and barbs that had been where a small but potent gout of flame struck her. She then looked up and locked eyes with the pirate Growlithe who had snuck past Nida, Pleo, and Crom and now stood in between them and Kiran.

" _I'm_ still here, you know! And I heard your bigmouth captain blab all about your strategy!" the orange and cream dog growled, before he dug out a Pecha Berry from his bag with his muzzle and bolted on up the path towards Kiran, who was busy evading the Gabite and trading occasional potshots.

"Hey! _Fatty!_ Heal up! These _bachory_ are trying to wear you-!"

No, the team was not going to have their hard work undone by some tubby thug playing medic, Nida thought to herself. She sprung forward, and swiped at one of the Growlithe's hind legs with a claw, causing him to stumble in pain and whirl around.

"Ow! Oh, it's-!"

As the Growlithe prepared to retaliate, he noticed that Pleo had disgorged a glowing ball that was coming straight at him- a realization that came a few moments too late as the ball struck the Growlithe and sent him tumbling across the path into a post supporting someone's mailbox. As he tried to get back up to his feet, he felt a stiff smack to his underbelly by something that felt like it was covered in sandpaper, and another from a thing that prickled to the touch.

"Gaaack," the pirate groaned, before he too fell unconscious. Nida gave the dog another stiff kick for good measure before she and her teammates discovered the final pirate's fortunes with the sound of a loud _thwack._

"O-Ow!"

When she and the others directed their attention towards the Gabite, they saw that he was stumbling, stunned after being struck in the nose with the team Gravelerock.

"You didn't think I was keeping my distance from you just because you were ugly, did you?" Kiran taunted from the air.

At this point, the Gabite was near the end of his rope from the poison and this rookie team that was surely cheating in its battle somehow. The dragon growled, and decided that things would be better off were he to call a retreat.

"Nrghh... Ugh, _aika häipyä._ Take your _own_ path to the sea, you useless mutt! I'm out of here!"

As the Gabite ran off and hopped off the ground in a running glide, he suddenly found a white, frigid beam striking one of his wings and crusting it over with ice. The Gabite lost his balance, pinwheeled, and tumbled along the ground before crashing into the wall of a hut.

The Gabite then weakly attempted to rise to his feet, only for a Nidorina to ram his belly and drive the hapless dragon into the wall of the hut.

"Ar-Argh," the Gabite groaned, before the Nidorina released the Gabite to flop forward from the wall with a thud. Much to Nida's surprise, the Nidorina was none other than...

"Mom?!"

"You're the last kit unaccounted for, and so help me, _no one_ harms my kits like that!" Marley growled with a freshly-plucked scale in her mouth, looking back at the motionless Gabite sprawled out on the ground. The whole incident couldn't help but massively unnerve an already weakened Crom, who shivered a bit at the sight of Marley's thoroughly effective defeat of the last pirate of the group.

"D-Did she just-?!" he squeaked.

"Mrph, the Gabite will at least live to get what's coming to him," Marley harumphed as she scratched at an ear and took a moment to pocket her most recent trophy.

Kiran flew down and hopped along the ground towards his teammates. The pirates they had encountered _were_ a bit easy to defeat, but they had exacted their toll on Team Traveler. There were bites to treat, scrapes and cuts to clean, and burns to soothe.

But before Kiran could fish out so much as a berry from his bag, the team recoiled as they felt the ground beneath their feet tremble a little and heard the sound of loud, thudding footsteps belonging to a heavy and powerful creature.

"Gaah. Where _is_ that shrine bell?" a deep voice grumbled. "Snacks aren't supposed to be this _hard_ to fi-!"

The thumping noise rounded the blind corner, and revealed himself to be a hulking black beast with gray metal rings about his limbs, an armored head with long horns that looked just like the spiky design on the pirates' scarves, and a strong, cruel-looking maw. He was exactly the sort of Pokemon that Team Traveler _didn't_ need to run into right now. Nida and Crom froze in their tracks, Pleo squawked out in startled shock, and even _Marley_ seemed to be caught off-guard for a moment.

"Oh, you're kidding me!" Nida squeaked, instinctively raising the barbs in her fur while her knees went wobbly. Steel types were always a pain to deal with since they never seemed to be affected by her barbs, and this pirate was the biggest Steel type she had ever seen.

The Aggron, detecting the apprehension of the Pokemon gathered before him, gave a self-assured grunt, before shooting a piercing leer at the much smaller and unthreatening-looking annoyances before him.

"Step aside, runts!" the creature bellowed, "Unless you dare to challenge _Hess_ , the mighty captain of the Iron Fleet!"

"Grr, it is _you_ that should be stepping aside, Captain of the _One Ship_ 'Fleet'!" Marley growled as she bared the barbs under her blue fur. "You barge into _our_ town, talk about eating the bell from _our ánima!_ "

"Um, _Mami_ ," Nida whispered wide-eyed, the big brute staring dismissively down the group seeming just ever-so-slightly improbable for even _Mami_ to challenge. "You might not want to-"

"Well I, Marley, _La Cazadragones de Tromba_ won't _let_ you!" the Nidorina spat defiantly at the Aggron.

"Y-Yeah!" Crom cried, trying to swallow his fear of the pirate leader and put on a brave face. The Druddigon spread his wings to try and make himself seem larger and gestured at Pleo. "And we've got our Protector here too!"

The young dragon's words made the Aggron flinch for a moment, before he blinked and realized that the 'Protector' that the Druddigon was pointing at barely came up to his stomach and looked about as self-collected as a Deerling about to be hit by a Flash Cannon.

"Pffhahaha! That thing is your 'Protector'?" the Aggron laughed. "I've sparred with the likes of Trizano the Immortal before! Do you think I'm going to let a bunch of midgets and an _overgrown Wingull_ push me around?!"

The creature gave a low growl and lowered his head at the group, adopting a pose that was clearly tensed for battle.

"It looks like I'm gonna have to run you all over to get it into your heads!" he cried, before the towering brigand charged at the five Pokémon on the path.

"Take cover!" Kiran squawked, as the five scattered out of the way of the oncoming Aggron. The bulky Pokemon was easy enough for them to weave and fly around, but much to their horror, the creature, rather than stopping and attempting to charge again, leapt up into the air and slammed his legs into the earth as he came back down.

Pleo quickly leapt off churning and tossing earth and clung onto an overhead tree branch for dear life, as the Aggron's impact cracked the ground, kicked up a plume of dirt, and caused some of the nearby tents and huts to shudder and partly collapse from the violent tremor.

As the dust settled and Pleo let go of the tree branch to drop back down to earth, he became aware that Nida and Crom had been thrown across the path, and weren't moving beyond an occasional weak twitch.

"A-Aaah! Nida! Crom!" the Protector cried out in panic.

Marley, who had ridden out the pirate's tremor, was livid at the sight of her daughter sprawled out on the ground.

"Grr! _You!_ It's time to _end_ you, pirate!" she snarled back at the Aggron. The Nidorina threw herself at the creature, delivering a powerful kick along the creases of his belly armor that caused the creature to stumble backwards and yelp out of pain. As Marley kept the Aggron occupied with another kick, Kiran dug out a round seed from his bag and lobbed at the Aggron, which exploded with a fiery, searing blast after it struck Hess' back. As the creature stumbled about to regain his footing, Kiran, seeing a momentary opening, flitted down to Pleo to try and direct the increasingly battle-paralyzed Lugia.

"Pleo! Get Nida and Crom _out_ of here and somewhere sa-! Look out!"

Just then, the Swellow attempted to push Pleo out of the way of something from the corner of his eye. It was only after feeling a heavy blunt slam, being knocked back tumbling across the path, and starting to hear a shrill repeating noise in his head that Pleo discovered that he was surrounded by rocks and compacted dirt that the Aggron had thrown up the path.

"Ugh… Why- Why do I hear beeping?" Pleo groaned as he uneasily rose to his feet. Kiran was splayed out along the ground, groaning weakly. In coming to Pleo's aid, Kiran had taken the full brunt of the earth and rocks the pirate captain had thrown up the path. Just up ahead, Marley was pulling herself out of a ditch weakly, panting from having been thrown up the path by the torrent of earth and stone.

"Grr," the Nidorina panted, still defiant, but her strength having been badly dented from this ordeal. Hess, gasping from having had the wind taken out of him from Marley's surprisingly painful kicks, was still energetic enough to taunt her in an ugly tone.

"Ha… Ha… Is that the best that the little bunny that was gonna 'end' me can do?!" the armored lizard bellowed as he advanced on the Nidorina.

At this point, Pleo simply couldn't help but be overwhelmed.

This stranger had come into town and made everyone miserable, had made his body ache and feel like it was going to fall apart at any moment, had just hurt his teammates in front of him... and here he was about to hurt another Pokemon that Pleo knew.

And Pleo just couldn't accept that.

"St-Stop it! Just _stop it!_ " the young Lugia cried, his voice growing shriller and increasingly feral in tone. As the Aggron and Nidorina turned towards Pleo, they saw that the blue markings that adorned his body were now glowing bright.

"H-Huh?! What is-?!" Hess stammered, beginning to grow increasingly pallid before Pleo cut him off with a screech.

" _Just leave us alone!_ "

And then the Lugia brought his wings together, with the winds whirling in between them.

* * *

Near the harbor, the pirates' incursion had dealt quite a toll to the town. Most of the shops and structures were badly damaged, if not outright destroyed from the flying beam attacks and projectiles that filled the air. Some sea Pokémon in the pirate ranks defended a beachhead with a constant torrent of water attacks, allowing their more terrestrial numbers to probe deeper into the town.

A Skiploom with a lavender headband tottering and falling out of the air after being hit by a gout of fire here, a Rhyhorn from the guild crumpling up against a wall from a jet of water there, a Cherrim among the pirates getting thrown into the water after being hit by a roundhouse kick from a Mienfoo... So the chaos went on, until a loud thump came from the southern direction of Bluewhorl.

For a fleeting moment, all eyes trained themselves on the sight of a massive column of air abruptly blowing out from the direction of the noise, and then a stiff gale-like gust that swept over the battlefield, blowing pirate and defender alike off their feet. As the different Pokémon picked themselves up from the sudden gust, they heard the sound of… Screaming?

" _A-Aaaaaaah!_ "

The screaming figure was revealed to be an Aggron that was hurtling through the air… Directly towards one of the masts of the pirate ship in the harbor. The tumbling Pokemon struck the mast, which, after bending back a bit, snapped like a tree limb in a storm and fell into the water, sending the Aggron falling the other direction to the ship's deck with an audible crash.

"F-Fall back! **F-Fall back!** " Hess' voice rang out across the harbor filled with the unmistakable sound of panic. "We're g-getting _out_ of here!"

It took only a moment's hesitation from the various pirates to realize that whatever creature had done _that_ to their captain, and their poor ship, was still out there. And that if they didn't get a move on, it might come for _them_ next.

"Retreat! _Retreat!_ " a Floatzel with an Iron Fleet scarf cried out. The fierce fight quickly became a hasty and disorderly rush by the pirates back to the ship as the defenders renewed their assault, exhaling whispered gratitude at whatever had so clearly turned the tide of battle in their favor.

* * *

Back on the path on the southern side of Bluewhorl Town, Pleo was panting, exhausted and drained, his plumage having reverted back to their normal colors.

"Haaah… Haaaah…"

All that was left on the battered and torn-up path lined by now battered and torn-up buildings was simply him, the unconscious forms of his teammates, the three less-threatening pirates they had defeated earlier, and, of course, Marley.

"Protector?" the Nidorina panted, as she stumbled onto her feet from a wall she had been blown up against.

"H-Huh? Wh-What happened?" Pleo woozily asked as he groped around for something to steady himself.

"That was _incredible!_ " Marley cried out in reverential awe. "You-!"

Before Marley could get particularly far with her praise, Pleo tripped over one of the rocks that Hess had thrown about in battle, which sent the young Lugia stumbling headlong into an askew mailbox.

"Ow..." Pleo groaned, before he toppled over and the color and sounds of the world around him faded, leaving Marley to poke uneasily at his prone body.

"Um… Protector?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _veikka_ \- Finnish (colloquial, disused): "brother"  
>  \- _mewa_ \- Polish: "gull"  
>  \- _bachory_ \- Polish: "brats"  
>  \- _aika häipyä_ \- Finnish: "time to buzz off", lit. "time to disappear"
> 
> Special thanks to Tangent128 of serebii.net for chapter header.


	9. In the Doghouse

The first thing that came back to Pleo was the pain: a dull, throbbing ache all over his body, that flared whenever he bumped or brushed up against something too hard. The next thing that came to him was that he was in some sort of tight, confined space that was round and soft like Nida's bedding… wait a minute, it _smelled_ like Nida's bedding too! So this was… straw? But then why did the things he brush up against feel like his scarf?

"Ow," Pleo groaned, as his eyes wearily opened. Little by little, the sights and sounds around him became less of an amorphous blur. He began to make out partitions, the cloth-covered straw nest his body was resting in, and a ceiling made of canvas around him, illuminated by bioluminescent algae in jars, and soon heard voices coming from behind.

"He's waking up!" a young, but deep and rough voice cried out.

"Pleo, are you okay?" a smaller and softer voice asked.

"Huh? Who's-"

The Lugia uneasily shifted in this strange nest. He could make out the forms of a Swellow and young Druddigon in the periphery of his vision, but by and large, it was dominated by the face of a little blue spike-lump.

"Nida!" Pleo cried, as the young Protector all but pounced on the Nidoran to wrap his wings around her.

"Ow! _Hey!_ I'm still sore from getting floored earlier!" the Nidoran protested, which made Pleo recoil from the noise. When he drew his wings back from his partner, he noticed that his teammates seemed to be sporting white bands over parts of their bodies.

Nida had some on her flank, where the Growlithe had burned her, and on a few of her legs... Crom had some around his belly and his arm, where the pirates they had fought had bit and clawed him... Kiran had some over a wing that must have been the one he shoved Pleo out of the way of those rocks with earlier…

Why, as Pleo inspected himself, he discovered that he too had some of the white bands, primarily over his tail and along some places on his side where he had been glanced by the rocks that knocked Kiran out.

"E-Eh?!"

"Oh, they're just bandages, Protector," a passing Chimecho explained. "Why you'll probably be able to get rid of them after a few days, an Oran Berry or two, and a lot of rest."

Pleo looked about his surroundings, and realized that the canvas roof went on for quite a ways, terminating at walls fashioned from wooden panels in the four directions around him. Everywhere he looked, there were other Pokémon running to and fro tending to other Pokémon that had white bands over parts of their body on similar straw beds. Pleo noticed that, like the Chimecho, the attending Pokémon wore white scarves bearing the outline of a red circle divided in two with a smaller circle overlying the center.

"Where _are_ we? And why are all these other Pokémon here?"

"We're in the medics' tent," Nida said. " _Mami_ brought us here after we got knocked out. We... weren't the only Pokémon to get thrown around a bit earlier."

As Pleo paid closer attention to the other Pokémon in the room, he noticed that with the exception of the Pokémon in white scarves, they all seemed to be aching, much like his teammates were. Some of the Pokémon seemed to be well enough to talk with these 'medics', others were groaning from their aches and lingering wounds, and a few truly pitiful-sounding voices could be heard whimpering.

All of these Pokémon had gotten hurt by the pirates? After Pleo's thoughts shifted to the golden scarved Pokémon, he was then hit by a nagging, dreadful realization that the ne'er-do-wells might still be in the town hurting others.

"But the pirates!" Pleo cried out of alarm, "They're-!"

"Gone, thanks to you!" Crom cheered.

Why, they still needed to be-! Wait, did… Did Crom just say they were _gone?_ But _how?_

"Thanks to… Me?" Pleo asked, giving an incredulous chirp.

"Yeah, after you blew their captain into their ship, the rest of them high-tailed it off the island!" Nida exclaimed.

"Well… It was a shock when we heard about it after waking up, but everything really is safe now," Kiran said, as he gave a reassuring pat to the Lugia. It was a moment that would have ended with a content if weary night resting… Were it not for the fact that at that very moment, a Mawile, Pinsir, and a Girafarig wearing the town guards' lavender headbands marched past Pleo's bedding, and dragged a bandaged and hogtied Trapinch up from another cloth-covered straw mat.

"Alright, you!" the Mawile snarled. " _You've_ got a sentencing at the main square to attend!"

The Pinsir grabbed the antlion by his bindings and unceremoniously dragged the poor creature along, the Girafarig shoving the pirate from behind every now and then.

"H-Hey! _Ow! E-Ei niin kovaa!_ These ropes chafe and the ground's rough!" the Trapinch protested, kicking futilely against his bonds all the while as the guards drug the Pokémon out of the tent.

"E-Eh?! I thought you just said all the pirates were gone!" Pleo squawked, hopping up from his bed and retreating back towards a corner at the sight of the Trapinch. Why, that was even one of the same pirates the group had fought earlier!

"Uh… Well, some of them weren't able to get away with their ship," Kiran ruffled his feathers in discomfort as he began to explain, "So they wound up getting captured."

"And it's not like they could go anywhere fast," Nida added, "They're being guarded closely, why _Mami_ and _Papi_ even took some time off to-"

"They're still _here?!_ " the Lugia exclaimed, growing wide-eyed at the thought that the pirates were still in Bluewhorl Town menacing its residents. The rest of Team Traveler couldn't help but groan and trade some looks with each other as Kiran attempted to explain just what 'captured' meant.

"Er. Pleo, that's not what-"

"We have to stop them!" Pleo cried out, as he darted off past the group for one of the tent's exits, tripping up a passing Meditite carrying a small bundle of berries on his way out.

" _Kiran!_ He's not supposed to leave observation this soon!" the Chimecho exclaimed, before she floated briskly off to help the Meditite pick up the scattered berries.

"Pleo? Pleo! _Wait!_ " Kiran called after the little Guardian as he and his teammates attempted to keep pace as much as their wounds would let them.

* * *

Moving around Bluewhorl Town at night was so much more confusing than it was during the day, even before taking the damage to the local landmarks into account. Pleo still had an idea of where the pirates would be, and after a few wrong turns and dead ends, the little Lugia found himself nearing Bluewhorl's main square by the sea...

Or as Pleo made out from fires burning in the centers of hastily-cleared and lined pits, he had more accurately arrived where the square _was_ earlier in the day. Whatever damage the square sustained was from last week's storm rendered irrelevant by its present state as a mass of rubble and trashed structures. A crowd of Pokémon from around town, including numerous leering guards, were forming a cordon.

Aha, so _that's_ where those pirates would be, Pleo thought to himself as he worked his way through the mass of bodies.

"I'm here! I'm here! Where's the pirates to stop-?" he panted, fatigued from his journey from the medics' tent in his present state. After he popped out at the front of the crowd, he saw that the pirates _were_ indeed there, if not the way he expected them to be. Much to Pleo's surprise, the pirates of the Iron Fleet had all been bound and dumped around a long wooden post with cross-beams and tattered, sopping ropes and canvas attached to it that had splintered towards its base end.

Perhaps it was because they were bandaged much like the Pokémon in the medic's tent, perhaps it was the fact they were ringed by a much larger hostile group, but the creatures seemed to have their aggression largely drained from them… Well, sort of, judging by some familiar faces that Pleo quickly picked out from the sorry assembly.

"Some 'path back to the sea' you chose, Eltenios!" a Trapinch tipped onto his back with bound feet pointing in the air and a bandaged jaw grumbled.

"Grr… And to top it off, you called _me_ fat when _you're_ the one that pigs out every meal!" a Gabite with a bruised nose and bandages around his belly tied to a cross beam growled.

"It's _fur_ , not _fat!_ " a hogtied Growlithe with bandaged flank, evidently 'Eltenios,' huffed back at his companions. The three continued bickering with each other as Pleo continued to stare puzzled at the ineffectual pirates, when he heard Kiran's voice calling out from behind him.

"Pleo!"

Pleo turned around, and saw that his teammates had also made their way through the crowd, trading relieved, if exasperated, looks as they caught their breath.

"Don't run off like that!" Kiran admonished.

" _Erinomaista_... just when life couldn't get any worse," the Gabite moaned, as he and his companions finally noticed some most unwelcome foes from earlier.

"Why are they all tied up?" Pleo asked.

"That's because they were _captured_ ," Nida sighed. "The ropes are to keep them from getting away and hurting anyone else."

"Must say that when I heard that the pirates lost a mast off their ship, I didn't expect it to come in handy like this," Crom mulled, as some uneasy murmurs came from the captured gold scarved Pokémon bound to and around the broken ship mast.

"Aw man… This is totally not gonna end well, is it?" a defeated and battered-looking Quilava groaned.

"I thought that lucky charm Hess wore under his scarf was supposed to deliver Pokémon safely back home!" a Sableye bound with some loose mast rigging grumbled.

"Well, it did… for _him_ ," a Jigglypuff that had been bound and gagged (lest any song from her be too audible) with strips cut from the mast's sails replied, screwing her eyes shut in frustration.

"Th-This wasn't supposed to _happen!_ It w-was supposed to be a simple hit-and-run!" a trembling Zebstrika whined.

"Well now it's a simple one-way ticket for you _patéticos parásitos_ out into the Wastes!" a Granbull with a lavender headband growled back.

"Yeah! See how _you_ like having your day ruined!" a Wingull jeered from the sidelines.

" _Enough!_ "

After the commanding voice cried out, the crowd grew silent. Some Pokémon near where one of the juice bars used to be cleared the way for an Ampharos with a red scarf with white dots holding a square scarf that was diagonally divided into a black and a white portion with one of his hands to come through to the front.

"Silence in the court! I, er-"

The Ampharos nipped the scarf he was holding, undid and tossed his Guildmaster's Scarf into the air, letting it fall and drape over his tail as he took his new scarf and draped it over his head much like a wig.

"Aha, _now_ I'm ready! I, _Judge_ Hatteras now call this court into session!"

"Psst! How many of those scarf changes does he do anyways?" Pleo quietly asked Kiran as Hatteras finished tightening up his judge's attire. The Ampharos then turned to a waiting Sceptile with a guard's headband and questioned the arboreal reptile.

"Osmund, you're the Captain of the Guard are you not? What are the charges against this lot?"

"Um… _Guildmaster Hattera-?_ " the Sceptile asked incredulously as it stood blinking, before the Ampharos quickly interrupted.

" _Judge_ Hatteras, Osmund."

"Right… anyhow, just take a look around for yourself!" Osmund exclaimed, making a slow, sweeping arc with the blade on his right arm. Hatteras took a moment to survey the swath of destruction all around the gathered crowd. The docks were missing chunks of the piers and other parts had collapsed into the water. The boats moored at them were similarly filled with holes, some half-sunken and resting on the harbor's floor. Not a single shop along the docks or around the square was undamaged- many of them utterly erased from existence by the events of the raid.

"Aha… so Destruction of Property and Public Disorder..." Hatteras mused.

"One of them knocked me out for being in the way!" a Skrelp with a bandaged snout huffed from the harbor's water.

"And Battery…"

"One of them set my shop on fire! I was going to _upgrade_ it!" Calino shouted, hopping up and down, his scales flushing a most irate-looking shade of red.

"And Arson…"

"They stole from my bakery like a bunch of ill-mannered ferals!" Gwenith's voice roared from the crowd, the Druddigon shaking a fist in the air.

"And Grand Theft Pastry…"

"They murdered my bubble!" an upset Wooper from the end opposite Pleo cried out. "It was my best friend!"

"And Bubblecide..." Hatteras concluded before he turned to the bound Pokémon in the center of the gathering. "How do the accused respond?"

"I-It's not like we stole eggs or anything like that!" an Ekans that had been bound into a hoop nervously stammered.

"And... Uh… We didn't kill anyone? I think?" a Carvahna weighed down by a rock tied to her tail offered.

"My _bubble_ was someone!" the Wooper angrily retorted.

"Grr… The bubble aside, this sorry lot _did_ at least manage _those_ two things, even if a number of us are presently sleeping off some wounds tonight," Osmund growled as he cast a leer at the captured pirates. "Though given their shameful display, I suspect it was because of our luck and their _incompetence_ rather than any goodness from their hearts."

"Duly noted," Hatteras replied, before he raised his voice to ask the assembled Pokémon, "Now then, I ask the humble jury, just _what_ should be the sentence for these ruffians?"

"The Wastes!" a Kingler shouted.

"Yeah, let's see them try to rob their way out of _that!_ " a Pinsir from the town's guard hissed.

"Our world doesn't _need_ Pokémon like them around!" a glaring Mightyena added.

The suggestions were joined by others of their kind, which caused the brigands to begin to pale and quake out of fear after the crowd pronounced its verdict. Exile. To the uninhabitable grave that ringed the Cradle and filled the rest of the world. To an unknown future where the few that managed to return spoke of it offering nothing but desperation and a slow demise to those who couldn't escape.

Hatteras took a moment to pause with a hand to his chin, and then turned to question the captured Pokémon.

"Do the defendants have any _commentary_ about the suggested sentence?"

"W-Wait! D-Don't do that! _Pl-Please!_ " the Zebstrika begged.

"There's nothing out there but distortions and ash!" the Carvahna whimpered, trembling after finding her attempts to flop away frustrated by the rock tied to her tail.

"We'll _starve!_ " the Quilava whined, flattening out his ears.

"J-Just let us go! We won't come back to this island again! E-Ever!" the Ekans cried out as the serpent curled tighter against its bindings into a rough ball.

The desperate pleading went on for a little before Hatteras cleared his throat, and barring some sniffling from one of the unfortunates who had begun to cry out of fright, he managed to secure the silence of the crowd.

"Now I ask the jury… Is this _really_ what we want as a town?"

Some quiet murmurs went around the gathering. Some were dismissive of the Ampharos' words, others wondered aloud why Hatteras didn't just zap the creatures to shut them up. It was then that the mumbling was broken by the sound of a familiar Nidorina's voice.

"Well what are we _supposed_ to do, Hatteras?" Marley asked as she came along with her mate to the forefront of the mass of Pokémon. "They come into our town and leave a gaping scar on it… They try and steal the things we store away for our young, for the next year, and for making peace with the Company… And their leader was planning on _desecrating_ the town _ánima!_ "

"And they don't give us a lot of options, either!" Teja grumbled in agreement as he flicked his ears and shot a leer at the captured brigands. "We've got their damage to patch up! How's that supposed to get _done_ if we still have to _deal_ with them?"

"With all due respect, Guildmaster-" Bluewhorl's Sceptile captain of the guard interjected.

" _Judge_ Hatteras."

" _Judge_ Hatteras," Osmund hastily corrected, rolling his eyes. "But we wouldn't have enough cells to _hold_ over a dozen miscreants like these even if we gave them over to the Company later! Those cells are meant for Pokémon that have made fools of themselves at a Juice Bar!"

"And all that pirates know how to _do_ anyways is to steal and to ruin things!" a Hoothoot from the guild shouted from the crowd.

"Then... Perhaps it's time that they learned some different skills," the Ampharos proposed, which drew some curious questions from the gathered residents.

"Huh?"

"What's he going on about?"

"As you and I can _all_ agree, this lot has caused more than its fair share of trouble to our town and has a debt to society to repay," Hatteras said, gesturing at the still-shaken looking group of pirates in the center of the gathering.

"So given that the Pokémon that have wronged you are still inexperienced… would it not be a bit more sensible to put them to work healing the scars they've left behind so that they might _make_ something of themselves in the long run beyond being petty thugs and thieves?"

"It sounds good to me!" a voice called out, before all eyes in the gathering turned towards the direction of a certain white and blue Protector, whose teammates were visibly burying appendages into their faces.

"Pleo!" Nida scolded.

"What? It _did_ seem to make sense," Pleo replied. Some more murmurs went about the crowd- after all, if the _Protector_ thought it was an idea worth trying… Maybe this 'making the pirates fix the mess they made' suggestion did have some sense to it…

"As it so happens, we do have a means of exacting justice along those lines. One that this town has used before in the past…" Hatteras trailed off before finishing his thought in a dramatically lower and louder tone, such as one that one might utter a prophecy of doom with: " _Community Service._ "

Some of the younger Pokémon in the audience turned to their parents to ask questions such as "what's a 'Community Service'?" as some of the elder Pokémon murmured among themselves approvingly and hastily explained that they knew that 'Community Service' was sensible all along. The pirates, sensing that there _was_ an alternative for them to look forward to other than the Wastes, began to calm down, but even then, there was still a nagging matter that prevented them from being completely at ease...

"Why did he just suddenly say that in a super-ominous voice?" the Sableye among the pirates asked worriedly.

"Hmm? I don't believe it was ominous, _Community Service_ is just the term," Hatteras replied, once again enunciating the term with particular stress to it. "You will be pacting to a Pokémon that will guide you through life here in Tromba much like we would treat a feral seeking to join our ranks. When you are deemed to have reformed and paid your debt to the island, you will be accorded the rights and privileges of a normal resident."

"Hrmph, cute euphemism you have there for _forced labor._ Well, what if we don't _want_ this 'Community Ser-'?" the muffled Jigglypuff huffed defiantly, before she noticed a wall of leers coming from the surrounding Pokémon… As well as from her companions.

"Oh, right," she muttered.

"Whelp, that's my verdict. Those of you who wish to go to the Wastes anyways are more than welcome to ask Osmund here to make arrangements with one of his teleporters if you so insist," Hatteras declared. "Alternatively, for those who would prefer an equivalent sentence closer to town, there are some Apricorn thickets on the far side of the-"

"Okay! Okay! We get it!" the Gabite cried. "Just… What exactly are you gonna make us _do?_ "

"I have a proposal!" a Druddigon's voice called, as a certain 'old maid' stormed out from the crowd, stomping directly towards a Gabite that had helped himself to her bread earlier.

"Erk!" the Gabite gulped, as he frantically tried to break free of his bonds only to feel a coarse-hided claw grab his neck.

"It's called ' _You're_ repaying me for that bread you stole!'" Gwenith snarled at the Gabite, as she tightened her grip on the dragon's neck and dug the points of her claws in between his scales.

"O-Ow! Let go! Your hide's _hurting me!_ " he whined.

"Wait, mom. If you're putting him to work, does this mean that I can get off a little early from the bakery for a while?" Crom asked from the sidelines.

"Proposal approved," Hatteras proclaimed, and motioned for some guards to undo the Gabite's bindings. As Gwenith dragged her still-flailing new baker back into the crowd, the Ampharos turned back to the assembly.

"Any others?"

"Hmm, I mean, it didn't suffer any damage directly… But I _could_ use that Trapinch there to dig a few ditches for my field," Mildrew called out from a few rows behind the front. "I _have_ been meaning to plant a few more apple trees..."

"What?!" the Trapinch chittered in exasperation.

"Approved," Hatteras replied, as the guards came to unbind the newly-minted apprentice horticulturalist for Mildrew to claim. An icy and airy tone then called out from another part of the crowd.

"I'll take the Quilava, I could use him for more… Ahem. Intractable babysitting cases," she said, which caused a few of the parents in the crowd to begin to trade nervous looks with each other.

"Hariti," a Lombre protested, "You can't _honestly_ be suggesting-"

The Quilava was quick to toss in a loud protest of his own at the idea of being stuck with the Day Care worker.

"You beat me unconscious and then _froze me over_ into an ice block! As _if_ I'm doing anything for you!" he spat, which caused Hariti to receive a few incredulous and impressed looks.

"Oh trust me, I'll survive him. I've wrangled my fair share of Fire types before. And I'm sure he'll learn how to find his softer side for younglings… Or else learn to like being a _lawn ornament_ for a few hours at a time," she replied, shooting a frosty leer at the Quilava.

"Approved," Hatteras announced as the Quilava too was untied and reluctantly led off groaning under his breath, taking care to not be heard by the ice sprite.

Pleo, not really picking up the gravity of the situation at hand, couldn't help but find these 'Community Service' sentences to be a little amusing. When an idea struck him… Perhaps he could help out with this sentencing, too...

"Oh! Oh! I want a Community Service! I want a Community Service!" Pleo cried out, waving his wings for attention.

"Pleo!" Nida admonished, flattening out her ears. The Nidoran grumbled a little and wondered why the little Guardian couldn't have a less-outsized mouth to run off.

"With all due respect, Pleo, but I'm not exactly convinced this is a good idea," Kiran sighed, putting a wing over his face. Pleo paused for a moment, taken aback- it was all in good spirits and helping the town, wasn't it? So why were his teammates so reluctant to get into this 'Community Service' thing, too?

After he mulled things over, he _thought_ there might be a way for him to still help out in sentencing after all...

"The Community Service can be helping me train?" he suggested.

"What?! Why should one of _these_ thugs get that honor?!" a bandaged Rhyhorn loudly protested from the the crowd, before being joined by a number of other protesting voices… Until Hatteras cleared his throat to speak.

"Now, now, there _is_ some sense in the Protector's words… Recall how he blew their captain across town earlier?"

"Yeah! It's not easy to spar with _this!_ " Pleo declared, happily playing along as he beat his wings together to try and whirl away some heaps of shop rubble near the sea to show off… Only to find that the winds that came from his wings, barring a few odds and ends, completely failed to dislodge anything from the rubble heaps.

"I dunno, I'm pretty sure I could spar with _that_ ," Scout's voice volunteered from the crowd.

Pleo squawked in shock and his beak fell agape. Didn't everyone say that he had blown the mean Aggron across town earlier? But he had just given the toughest beat of his wings he could muster... he could even feel his wings aching a bit from overexertion! And it didn't look anything out of the ordinary!

"Eh?!" Pleo cried. "That was just like-!"

"That's quite enough, Pleo," Hatteras hastily spoke. "Let me rephrase the question… With the knowledge that the Protector will _eventually_ replicate today's feat sometime down the road, which of you would care to take up the offer for sparring?"

The question elicited some coughing and nervous laughter from the crowd, the Rhyhorn and a few of the more vocal protesters earlier quickly concocting various excuses for why they couldn't volunteer such as 'chronic stomachaches'.

Even Pleo's teammates had to concede, it _would_ be nice if someone else could do the work of sparring with Pleo. He _seemed_ to be back to normal now… But just in case he wound up stumbling into whatever had allowed him to rout Hess earlier once again, it would probably be for the best if _they_ weren't the ones getting blown across Tromba.

"Well, if there are no takers, I think that it's fair to let Pleo make his choice," the Ampharos said, as he motioned for Pleo to step forward.

"Hrm… I pick…"

Who _should_ he pick? The Zebstrika still in the group? No… He looked too big and intimidating. The Jigglypuff? But the pink puffball seemed too hostile and angry earlier. If only he could convince Hatteras to let him borrow the Trapinch or Gabite from earlier… Wait a minute! There was one more Pokémon with them, and no one had given him community service yet!

"The doggy! I already beat him once with Nida and Crom, so if I have to do it a second time, it shouldn't be _that_ hard, right?" Pleo chirped cheerily, proud that he was _helping_ with this 'Community Service'. His teammates on the other hand...

"Uh… Pleo," Crom groaned as he screwed his eyes shut and buried his face in an open claw.

"Can we maybe pick a _different-?_ " Nida suggested, before Hatteras' voice interrupted her.

"Approved."

"Grr," Nida grumbled. Of all of the pirates to get stuck with, it just _had_ to be the lippy fatty who burned her earlier. She watched with a leer as the guards undid the orange dog's ropes; before any of Nida's teammates could come over, the Growlithe exhaled what seemed to be a sigh of relief and bounded off over their surprised objections… towards her position.

"Well, I suppose that's _one_ way to get a new recruit," Kiran murmured as the little dog approached the team. The Growlithe was quick to pick up on the misgivings of some of his teammates, and huffed back accusingly.

"Hrmph! With the way _you're_ acting, you'd think I was diseased or something! I thought that pacting was supposed to be a fresh break!"

"Unfortunately, he does have a point," Crom sighed. Nida flattened her ears, not really understanding _why_ Pleo, who was still in his giddy own world about being able to help with 'Community Service', had thought this was a good idea. But since they were going to be stuck with this mutt for a while...

"Fine, tell us a bit about yourself. Do you have a name?" she sighed.

"The name's Eltenios!" the Growlithe barked proudly. "It means I don't ever, _ever_ give up and-"

"Okay, _first_ rule of your community service," the Nidoran interrupted while raising her barbs in frustration. "We're _not_ saying all of that."

"Eh?!" the Growlithe yipped. "But it's my-!"

"Why not 'Elty'?" Pleo cheerily suggested.

"Actually, it does has a ring to it and it _is_ more concise," Kiran mulled. "I'll let Nida's rule stand."

"I like 'Elty' too!" Crom added.

" _Daj spokój!_ I don't even get to be called by my full _name?!_ " the Growlithe exclaimed, folding his ears back in annoyance.

"I thought you said that 'pacting was supposed to be a fresh break' earlier," Nida chided the now grumbling Growlithe that would from now on be 'Elty'. "Who said anything about names being exempt?"

"Grr..." Eltenios- er… Elty fumed, glaring daggers all the while at Nida.

"This is going to be an _interesting_ season for training, isn't it?" Kiran sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _Ei niin kovaa!_ \- Finnish: "Not so hard!"  
>  \- _Erinomaista_ \- Finnish: "Excellent". Used here as a sarcastic interjection.  
>  \- _patéticos parásitos_ \- Spanish: "awful parasites"  
>  \- _Daj spokój!_ \- Polish: "Come on!"
> 
> Special thanks to Tangent128 of serebii.net for chapter header.


	10. On the Same Wavelength

It was another balmy afternoon in Tromba, with blue cloudless skies above, and sunlight beaming down on the tropical island and its little town by the sea. A quaint backdrop to the sight of a young Lugia darting about a courtyard in between the roofed corridors of Mosca's Dojo...

"A-Ack!"

… who was trying his hardest to dodge clumps of burning cinders being spat out at him by a strafing Growlithe.

"What, you expected me to just _bark and roll over_ for you today?"

As the days passed after the pirate raid on Bluewhorl, things settled little by little into some sense of equilibrium. Bandages were removed, aches and pains faded away, and Pokémon became healthy again. Even if the repairs to the damaged and obliterated shacks and tents in town didn't keep pace, the residents of Bluewhorl went back to their livelihoods. As for Pleo, he too returned to his routine of daily training, resuming his sessions in Mosca's Dojo under Team Traveler's guidance as if the raid never happened...

"Come on, Protector!"

"Yeah! Kick that pirate's butt!"

"You should try to fly! Do a barrel roll!"

... except his routine back then didn't involve Nida's three older siblings cheering him on. Or being on the battlefield at the far end of the Dojo that deliberately built away from any nearby shacks. Or getting burning hot embers being blown at him. Or sparring with a former pirate the team had dubbed 'Elty' (or 'Eltenios' as the Growlithe occasionally insisted) who was blowing said embers at him. They also most certainly didn't involve said Growlithe running circles around the young Protector of Tromba Island. Perhaps it _wasn't_ such a normal routine, Pleo thought as he whirled around after Elty and spat up a glowing ball from his mouth.

"Just because you're sparring alone now doesn't mean that I'm going to be going any easier!" the Growlithe barked. The orange dog sidestepped the glowing ball, which sailed on until it struck an barely-visible barrier of light being held in place by a Golduck.

The ball imploded with a flash of light and the barrier dissipated, the Golduck muttered something under her breath about "Mosca oughta work on his accuracy." The creature then swiftly switched places with a Staryu, who formed a barrier to replace the one that Pleo had broken.

As the young sea guardian and his sparring partner continued their fray, a certain Druddigon and Nidoran cast wary glances at the Hawlucha overseeing this match. The two noting and growing a bit concerned at the raptor's visible nonchalance towards the events on the field.

"Erm… Mosca? Are you _sure_ this is a good idea?" Crom asked as he gave a subconscious beat to his wings. Pleo _did_ seem like he was taking a harsher beating on the field than was healthy for the young Lugia.

"Now, now, one-on-one sparring _is_ an important skill to develop," the Dojo Maestra replied to the young Druddigon.

"Yeah, but against _Elty?_ " Nida protested. The Nidoran hopped up and down and waved her arms to try and grab the Dojo leader's attention.

"Oh?"

"Kiran's off running an errand! I'm just saying, I'd be more comfortable if we were in there to help smack him around again," Nida piped. Which for a short moment caused the Growlithe on the field to stop and wheel around towards the direction of his spectating teammates.

"Oi! Just because your leader's making me serve as a punching bag here doesn't mean I'm _not on your team_ , you know!" he growled indignantly. "Why, I'm even wearing your same dippy blue scarf now!"

"Oh trust me, this old bird can keep him in check if it comes to that," Mosca quietly reassured. "No Pokémon walks away unfazed from Mosca's _Plancha Voladora!_ "

"And we're here, too!" a purple spike ball proudly declared, puffing his spikes out.

"Yeah, if we have to, we'll make that mutt see stars!" another blue Nidoran added.

"Dorin? Ani? Don't you have work right now?" Nida grumbled, frowning and flattening out her ears.

"We're all _en recreo!_ " another male Nidoran cheered.

The chatter among the Nidoran was quickly interrupted by a cry from Pleo on the other end of the field, as he once again cast a glowing ball from the back of his throat.

"Hah!"

Only for the Growlithe to weave around the orb again, if narrowly enough for the ball to graze his pelt. It was an experience that couldn't help but frustrate Pleo. Elty hadn't been this slippery when in earlier fights with Nida and Crom's help, so why was he suddenly so much better at avoiding things when it was just against himself?

"H-Hey! Stop moving around like that!" Pleo squawked.

"For you to land a free hit? As if!" Elty taunted, taking a moment to wave his tail at Pleo's face.

"You want a piece of this? _Chodź i weź to!_ "

"Alright, _fine_ then!" Pleo snapped as he took off running for his sparring partner. The Growlithe rolled his eyes and exhaled another red-hot clump of cinders at the approaching bird, only to be stunned to see the bird rise above the glint of fire into the air.

Which was quickly followed by Pleo beginning to wobble and then come tumbling down with a crash… on top of the little orange dog.

Nida and Crom winced as the sound of a loud yelp reverberated across the battlefield. Pleo for his part seemed to have his wind sucked out of him; he caught his breath from on top of his mostly-obscured opponent as Nida's siblings chattered excitedly.

"Nice one!"

"Yeah, you flattened him!"

"Ooh! Why that's just like _mi Plancha Voladora!_ Well done, Pleo!" Mosca cheered. The Dojo's _Maestra_ was pleasantly surprised. Why the Protector seemed to have a shared fancy for how to pin annoying opponents! … if with some rather visible weaknesses in his form.

"Try and put more oomph into it next time, though!" she called out.

"Uhm… But-" Pleo stammered sheepishly. "I meant to fly down and do that glowing ball thing, tho-"

Before Pleo could finish explaining what his awkward tackle was meant to be, his ears were suddenly filled with a harsh, snarling roar from beneath him.

" **GET _OFF_ OF ME!** " the Growlithe bellowed. The ear-splitting racket making Pleo flinch and calmly and quietly get off of his opponent.

"A-Aaah!"

Oh who are we kidding? Pleo couldn't think of many things at that moment other that he desperately wanted to be anywhere but where that dreadful-sounding voice was coming from. He broke away, running as fast as his legs could carry him… Straight into an unseen wall.

"Gwark!"

Pleo recoiled and rubbed his head to find that he had struck one of the barriers maintained by the Pokémon manning the fringes of the battlefield. Its owner, a Glaceon, immediately responded with "I'm so sorry, Protector!" and a litany of profuse apologies before he abruptly recoiled and jumped back.

Before Pleo could ask what was wrong, he was cut off by a burning pain along his back. He looked behind himself and saw that a large blotch of his feathers along his spine had been singed. As Pleo flailed around, beating out cinders that stubbornly clung to life, he indignantly called out to their maker.

"Aagh! _H-Hey!_ You can't just breathe fire on me like that! You roared in my ears!"

"Sure I can," Elty retorted, scoffing at the young Lugia. "I scared you off. You let your guard down. I burned you. Simple as that."

"What?!" Pleo shouted, growing rather cross with this sparrer who seemed to take every chance to attack him while he was down. Frustrations which the extra Nidoran on the side were keen to echo.

"Boo!" the purple Nidoran known as 'Dorin' hissed, fanning his barbs out.

The faint sound of a pebble glancing off the backside of one of the barriers reverberated, followed closely by an growling "Way to be cheap!" from the blue Nidoran called 'Ani'.

"Pleo! You need to play at his own game!" Crom called out from the side and over the voices of the Nidoran. Pleo stopped on the field to tilt his head towards the Druddigon, what did Crom mean by 'playing at his own game'?

"Huh-? Hey-YEOW!"

Pleo saw Elty coming with teeth bared from the corner of his vision, and reflexively tried to pull his wing away from him. But alas, he was not fast enough to prevent Elty from clamping his jaws down onto a mouthful of his wing.

"Hey! I was explaining something to him!" Crom fumed, before Elty unclamped his jaw to respond… and spit out a few feathers from his mouth.

"Not _my_ problem!"

"There!" Nida cried. "While his guard's down, Pleo!"

"While my-?"

As soon as Elty began, he found himself sailing headlong towards one of the sidelines on a stiff, unrelenting gust of wind which took him off of his feet. He bonked his head on a translucent panel erected by a Gloom and fell to the ground with a yelp.

"A-agh! What was-?!" the Growlithe cried out. His yelps were then answered by a voice that, while tired and fatigued, sounded rather frustrated.

" _Stop being mean!_ "

Elty heard some Pokémon from behind him moving away. As he stumbled to his feet, he immediately understood why when he saw a quickly moving glowing ball headed directly for him.

"Aw _kurczę_ -"

In the blink of an eye, the ball struck the hapless Growlithe, flinging him through the vacated gap where the Gloom and her partner had been. The hapless dog sailed across a roofed walkway and into the wall of a hut with a thud. Gravity then took over and dropped Elty to the ground along his flank, leaving him to moan stunned for a moment...

"O-ow…"

… as the audience of Nidoran on the sidelines continued to trade commentary.

"Ooh, harsh."

"That's gonna leave a mark."

"I think that we've gone far enough and damaged enough property for one day to declare a victor," Mosca hastily interjected. Between the winded and scowling Lugia on the field, the Growlithe groaning next to the Dojo hut, and the visible dent hut's wall, it was hard to argue with the Hawlucha.

Or at least it was until Elty took a moment for the Maestra's words to register.

" _H-Huh?!_ " the Growlithe exclaimed, springing to his feet swiftly but uneasily. "But I'm still able to-!"

"As cathartic as it is to watch you get blown around the room, Elty... you can't exactly carry out your community service if you're passed out for half the day," Nida chided. If nothing else, she had to quietly concede that the former pirate was candid about something. Even when it wasn't sensible, he really _didn't_ ever give up.

"Besides, if you're conscious, you'll be able to work on getting a little less tubby!" Crom added.

"Grr… I could've turned things around though!" the Growlithe fumed, flattening out his ears as made his way back towards Pleo onto the battlefield. "And it's _fur_ , not _fat!_ "

"Enough. The match is over," Mosca scolded. "Shake claws and then let's get you both healed up."

Pleo didn't really _want_ to shake with Elty, and judging from the leer the Growlithe had as the two walked to each other, it seemed like Elty didn't particularly want to either. But this _was_ just sparring, and if it was right to give one to Gwenith after a heated fight… maybe it was right to give Elty one too, he guessed.

After the two gave each other a begrudging shake, they made their way back towards Mosca and their waiting teammates. The Pokémon that kept the barriers up around the battlefield headed off for a break from work and Nida's siblings darted off for the exit back to their work with a shared refrain of "Whelp, show's over." Mosca quickly summoned Pleo over to her side where she had set out a bowl of water for him to drink from as she inspected him for wounds. Elty went towards another bowl laid out a short distance away and began to lap up its contents when he noticed a blue spike ball approaching him with an Oran Berry.

"Oi. What do you think _you're_ doing?" he growled.

"Um... _Hello?_ Treating the wounds you picked up?" Nida replied, dropping her Oran Berry by her paws and nudging it forward to emphasize her intentions.

"Look, I might not be a _smart_ Pokémon, but I'm pretty sure that a poisonous little spike ball like you is the _last_ thing that I need around my wounds!"

"Do you _want_ to be miserable and wait your turn for healing?" Nida grumbled, the Nidoran rolling her eyes a bit at her new teammate's intransigence.

"It's alright, Nida," Crom offered. "I actually need some first aid practice myself!"

"See? Someone more qualified is here already!" Elty declared, taking the opportunity to stick his tongue out. Nida looked at Elty, then over at Crom, and then back to Elty. She _supposed_ Crom might have gotten better at healing since the last time that Kiran had him care for someone on the team, but...

"Um… Crom..."

"I _think_ I've seen Kiran do this enough times to know how it works now," Crom replied with a cheery grin.

"Ow!"

Aha, Mosca must have found some wounds to use that Oran Berry from the team bag on after all. The clamor of Pleo's cries out from a little ways down the hall couldn't help but make Nida turn her head towards the sound. She caught sight of Pleo just in time to wince and shift his wings a bit from the aftereffects of the berry's juice, and to see Mosca set the blue fruit's pulp before him.

"You heard him," Elty barked. "Go and talk with the feather duster or something."

"Whatever, it's _your_ body, Elty," Nida sighed. She hopped off over to Pleo's side just as he started to pick at the leftover Oran pulp and Mosca went over to inspect the damage from Elty's rough landing.

"Hey, the Oran Berry wasn't too hard on you, was it?" the Nidoran asked.

"It feels much better when it's going into my tummy than onto me."

"Heh, they're weird like that, yeah," Nida replied, before she was abruptly interrupted by a certain Growlithe's voice crying out.

"Gah! What are you _doing_ to me?!"

"I'm trying to find your wounds!" a young Druddigon-turned-impromptu-healer reassured. Sounded like Crom hadn't improved _that_ much from last time based off of that start.

"Is Elty okay?" Pleo asked, his earlier frustrations with the Growlithe subsiding a bit as he flinched at the sound of the dog's yelps.

"Eh, he asked for it. I'm sure that he'll be happy enough with his choice of a healer."

Nida sighed at the Growlithe's stubbornness. Perhaps in the future he'd be a little less hesitant to trust his teammates' advice.

"Elty wasn't too hard on you out there, was he?"

"He kept on attacking me even when I wasn't ready!" Pleo chirped indignantly, pouting a bit at how Elty had so persistently dogged him throughout the entire session.

"Well, I won't say anything about his _attitude_ ," Mosca interrupted as she returned from surveying the damage from the match. "But he wasn't doing anything _wrong_ in helping you train."

"He… wasn't?" Pleo asked, tilting his head as Elty continued being preoccupied with his, erm… First aid?

"Argh! You're _scraping_ me!"

"Stop squirming!" Crom huffed as he attempted to pin the wriggling Growlithe in place on the dog's flank. "I need to apply the berry!"

"Oh boy… Looks like I'll have someone else to tend to," Mosca muttered under her breath. The Hawlucha stared a moment at Crom's fumbling attempts at treating wounds, before she turned back to address the young Protector. "Well, remember when you first fought him? Were any of you _really_ worrying about if the other side was ready or not?"

"I... don't _remember_ anyone worrying about it," Pleo replied. Though really, who was supposed to worry about that when the 'other side' was trashing the town?

"Recall that the whole point of sparring is to prepare you for battles where you _can't_ retreat," Mosca explained. "Part of that is also preparing for things you might encounter in those battles. Even if they aren't necessarily very fair."

"I guess I understand… But he seemed like he was enjoying it too much!" Pleo squawked as Elty's voice rang out again.

" _Why are you holding a clawful of my fur?!_ " he cried out, turning his head up from the ground.

And true enough, Crom was holding a clump of Elty's fur, which he set aside.

"Well, I couldn't get the berry to touch your hide. So I just needed get some of your fur out of the way. I'll do it for all the scrapes that I made while looking for it too-"

"Get _away_ from me!" the orange dog yelped as he sprang to his feet.

"I think the universe might have agreed with you a little there, but even so, be gracious," Mosca replied as Elty bolted away from his 'healer'. Nida tried and mostly failed to stifle a giggle as this former brigand was put on the run by an attempt at healing of all things.

"Crom? Maybe you should let _me_ take over," the Hawlucha instructed.

"Yes, _please!_ " Elty cried out.

"Oh? But I just started!" Crom protested as Mosca started tending to the Growlithe who was all too eager to sidle up and wait on her assistance. On the other hand, it wouldn't make sense to protest _too_ much... It _was_ one less task to do, he guessed. Meanwhile, Nida observed that Pleo continued to be troubled.

"Hmm," he sighed.

"Is something else bugging you, Pleo?" the Nidoran asked. After all, he seemed satisfied enough with Mosca's explanation earlier… So then what could be bothering him now?

"It's not something that Elty did, it's just that- Well... Kiran says that I need to practice flying… but I also need to practice sparring. So I tried to do both today, and-"

"Hey! I'm back!" a chirping voice interrupted.

Its owner swooped in in a blue and red blur. After circling around the courtyard to slow a bit, the speaker alighted on a railing along the corridor, revealing himself to be the Swellow leader of Team Traveler. After taking a moment to shake out his plumage, Kiran bent his neck down to talk with his younger teammates from his perch.

"How'd sparring go?" he asked.

"Harrumph! Elty needs to learn how to make up his mind!" Crom growled, shooting a dirty look at the Growlithe. "First he tells me that he wants _me_ to heal him, and then he takes off on me before I even got started!"

"Well _excuse me_ for expecting someone who could treat my wounds _without_ putting me through agony!" the Growlithe replied, incensed that the creature that hurt _him_ had the gall to be the one to complain first.

"Er… Crom... you _did_ mention to him that you're still going through first aid training beforehand, right?" Kiran sighed after hearing the argument between the Druddigon and the Growlithe.

"Wait, _what?!_ " Elty cried, as his expression hardened into an exasperated leer that seemed to be doing its hardest to all but bore through Crom's hide.

"Why are you looking at me like that? _You_ never asked!" the Druddigon protested.

"You really didn't, Elty," Nida added.

As Elty grumbled a little under his breath, Kiran then turned to the only Pokémon on his team who hadn't said a word to him so far about sparring.

"What about you, Pleo?"

"Well, I guess it wasn't too bad, but..." Pleo said as he shuffled his wings uneasily. "Kiran? Why is flying so _hard?_ "

The question took Kiran aback as he all but fell off of his perch on the railing. "Eh?! Mosca already moved you onto airborne sparring?!" he squawked in surprise.

"Wait, she _did?_ But I thought I was just sparring with Elty," Pleo mumbled, now rather confused. Mosca was supposed to teach him flying while he was sparring _too?_

"He tried to get airborne in the middle of today's match," Nida explained. "And… Well, he didn't quite stay off the ground too long."

"Hey, it's not all bad! He pinned Elty nicely once he came down!" Crom added as he mimed Pleo's earlier dropping tackle onto the Growlithe, who rolled his eyes out of annoyance.

"I see," Kiran mulled to himself as he hopped down to hallway's floor.

"Wait, what were you doing away from the Dojo today anyways?" Pleo asked with a curious tilt to his head.

"Oh, I told Hatteras about the trouble you've been having flying, Pleo, and you're not going to believe this!"

"Huh? What did he say?" Pleo asked.

"He pulled a few strings to get you on your wings faster with Melissa's help! Why, you just might be flying by sundown!" Kiran exclaimed, beating out his wings excitedly. It was a revelation that made Pleo hop into the air and mimic his team's leader in celebration.

"Yay! That's awesome! But… Who's Melissa?"  


* * *

  
Kiran answered the question quickly enough as the team made their way out of the Dojo and through the town, even if it was one that Pleo couldn't quite wrap his head around. Apparently 'Melissa' was an odd little bird who had a talent for helping other Pokémon to learn moves.

Melissa's shop was surprisingly easy to find; part of it was because the shop was one of the few buildings on its path that wasn't in dire need of repairs. The other part of it was that the shop was... in a word, strange.

Unlike any of the other structures Pleo saw in Bluewhorl so far, the walls of Melissa's shop were composed entirely of mismatched and various-sized stone cubes. The stone blocks were fitted haphazardly here and there, glued together with something that looked like silt. Along the top of the walls, bits of undyed canvas poked out horizontally from in between stone, apparently the building's roof. The doorway and windows, if they could be called that, were empty spaces with erratic fringes as the cubes jutted in and out of where a straight-ish contour would usually be. The only remotely normal features of the doors and windows were the plain, drab pieces of canvas that covered them from the inside, listing with the movement of the wind.

It made the younger Pokémon on Team Traveler wonder… Just what _was_ Melissa going to do to Pleo?

"So… Melissa's a 'move tutor'?" Pleo asked. The Lugia couldn't help bob his head side to side scanning along the peculiar building, mesmerized with the stone cubes in the wall.

"Uh huh! Uh huh! She's supposed to help Pokémon learn moves they normally couldn't with the help of tee-yems!" Crom replied, before he put a claw to his mouth and continued on in a more puzzled tone. "Although... some of them are called eych-ehms for some reason or another."

"'Tee-yems'?"

"I'm pretty sure they're supposed to be magical plates that were created back in the days of the old gods," Nida added as she took a moment to scratch an ear with a paw. "Or at least I'm pretty sure they're magic since I don't know what 'dee-yenay baioh-dehta' is supposed to be otherwise."

A 'dee-'? A what now? Pleo thought to himself that for the first time, this 'dee-ehn'... Whatever thingy seemed to be a word that Nida didn't know for herself, which only made him more confused and left him staring blankly at his partner.

"Huh?"

"It's what Melissa says they're made out of," Kiran explained. "The plates are supposed to be made of a material containing the essence of life and have some sort of spell for learning a move that was written on them."

"Wait, so this place… Is full of tee-yems?" Elty asked, as a devious grin began to creep over his muzzle. They were peculiar things and supposedly useless in the paws of most Pokémon. _But_ , in his former line of work, they would reward anyone who was lucky enough to nab one with a princely sum. And from the sound of it, his old compatriots had somehow missed this veritable treasure trove!

"They wouldn't by chance miss one, would they?"

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't think that I can't see that smirk on your mug!" a chittering voice from within cried out.

The voice's owner quickly stormed out, revealing himself to be a leering Corphish. The red and white crustacean was quickly joined by a young Tropius- the daughter of a certain Tropius apple farmer out on the fringes, the more seasoned members of Team Traveler guessed.

"For the record, all of the discs in here are _labeled_ already," she huffed. "If you tried to walk off with one, everyone else in Bluewhorl would know it came from here!"

"And we would get _your_ sorry pirate bum punted off to the Wastes afterwards if you stole from here like your buddies tried to!" the Corphish hissed as he clicked and flailed his claws angrily.

"Alright! Alright! I get it!" Elty hastily corrected as he bounded back behind Crom. "It was just a question!"

As Nida and Crom rolled their eyes at Elty's transparent excuse, Pleo blinked back at the two other creatures with confusion.

"Wait, which of you is 'Melissa'?"

"Neither of them are," a strange, droning voice from within chirped. "Those are my assistants, Bracket and Patricia."

The droning voice came out and revealed itself to be a bird quite unlike any others the gathered Pokémon could think of. She was a pink creature with a teal beak, tail, underbelly, and a pink body. In lieu of the more expected limbs a bird might have, Melissa had nubby triangular things in place of wings and moved about by floating to and fro above the ground. The creature's flesh, if it could be called that, was firm and angular, as if she was a giant lantern folded from some curious type of paper.

"I am Melissa. Move Tutor and- DOGGY!"

The Porygon abruptly chirped and gestured excitedly at Elty with her beak, much to the Growlithe's surprise.

"Eh?! What's with you?!" he cried out, as the Porygon floated back and attempted to recompose herself.

"Apologies, residual subroutines… As I was saying, I am Melissa, Move Tutor and Sentient Advanced Variable Virtual Interface. Bracket, Patricia, please be dear moderators and lead our guests in," the creature chimed, as she returned to the inside of the stone building.

The Corphish and Tropius began to follow after the creature and beckoned Team Traveler to follow. The house seemed every bit as unusual inside as out. The roof was composed of canvas partitions that laid on a cross-hatched grid of rope, such that they could be taken down whenever Melissa desired. The receiving room was furnished with naught but some canvas on the floor and some stone cubes of different sizes. Crom and Nida couldn't immediately tell what any of the furnishings were for; perhaps the agglomeration was supposed to be some sort of rug paired with stools or small tables?

"My internal subconscious processes are being regulated by SilphOS version . Though not for much longer if Team Sawtooth finds me an Up-Grade soon," the creature carried on in a peculiar if recognizably congenial tone. The strange bird bobbed up and down off the ground giving her "wings" a small twist before she turned her attention to the Swellow in the group.

"So what brings you here today, Kiran?"

"Yeah, I can't remember the last time _you_ ever came by here," Patricia added.

"Hatteras said you would be able to teach Pleo a move to help him learn how to fly?" the Swellow asked, as he dug out a slip of folded paper from his bag, uncreased it on the ground, and presented to the Porygon with his beak. "He even gave me a voucher for one of your lessons to use it on."

Pleo stared at the slip of paper as Melissa sized it up. He still couldn't fully understand what the runes on it, this 'writing', was supposed to mean. Pleo was _sure_ it was just there to be pretty and decorative when he first saw it, but everyone else was adamant that it was a form of talking for the eyes. Why, none of the patterns on the slip of paper looked anything like the ones that Nida and Crom had shown him earlier.

"Hmm… Yes, the organization is a bit sloppy, but my image processing routine can confirm that this is indeed a valid voucher. As for a move to fly… Let me run a quick internal query," the Move Tutor said as her eyes seemed to wander.

"I detected four potential results excluding duplicates. Information from prior queries suggests that the most requested result for this query was HM02," the pink and blue bird answered, bobbing her tail in triumph. "The most common associated applications for HM02's use are battle and endurance flight."

"That sounds perfect!" Kiran chirped, all but taking to the air out of excitement. "We'll take that one!"

"So… You're going to teach me to read 'dee-yenay baioh-dehta'?" Pleo asked the young Tropius, tilting his head.

"Oh no, silly. _You_ wouldn't be doing the reading," the Tropius explained as her shorter counterpart ducked into a back room.

"Yeah!" Bracket added before darting out, holding the edges of some tablet with his claws. "Good luck trying to make sense of this!"

The Corphish presented the contents of his claws to Pleo, which Nida, Crom, and Elty quietly walked over to snoop in on for themselves. The tablet was a clear substance that looked like some sort of glass, though felt less smooth and cold to the touch. The tablet appeared to have two hinges or bindings, almost as if it were a book bound on both sides, and had apparently developed some cracks on its "covers" through the ages. In spite of all of that, the fragile little volume seemed to do its part in protecting a reflective circle with a hole in it that was there in lieu of pages.

"It's a mirror?" Pleo asked.

"Nope," the Corphish answered he as moved the translucent tablet nearer. "Look closer."

The four looked and looked, and after a while, Crom, always the team member with one of the keener visions, blinked as he noticed something amiss with this 'tee-yem'.

"Eh? Why there's rings on the outer and inner edges!" the young Druddigon cried out. "So that's what the spell is written on?"

"Er… sorta," Bracket burbled as he handed the disc off to Patricia, who clamped gently down on a corner of the volume. "Most of the writing is supposed to be on teeny little dots that are too small for any of us to see, or at least that's what Melissa says."

"Yeah, and on top of that, the writing needs to be interpreted properly," Patricia added as she beat out her wings, the case muffling her words. " If it isn't done _just_ right, it's downright useless!"

"But then how on earth is anyone supposed to read writing on tiny invisible dots?" Elty barked, giving a puzzled frown to the Tropius and Corphish.

"That is where _I_ come in," Melissa droned. "Every properly-functioning Porygon instance contains data IO capabilities, including an interface for biodata mass storage."

"Basically, she'll read the disc for you, and teach you how to get started," Patricia explained in a cheery tone. "All you need to do is follow instructions."

"Please come in to the tutoring chamber so we can get started, Protector," Melissa instructed. The Porygon began to float off into a chamber next to a window with a canvas shutter before gesturing with her beak at Elty. "Bracket, please ensure the extraneous variable in the group doesn't cause any problems coming into the room."

"What's that supposed to- Gack!" the Growlithe cried out, as he found his head being drug towards the ground by Bracket, who had clamped on firmly onto his scarf.

"Way ahead of you, Melissa," the Corphish chirped in response as the group headed into the chamber. As the crustacean dragged him along, Elty grumbled quietly all the while at the indignity of having to be led around like a troublesome pup.

"Ugh… Is this _really_ necessary?"

Team Traveler entered a chamber dominated by two cube-shaped seats, each directly opposite the other. Melissa settled down next to the one further from the door, coming to a rest on her side as Kiran and his teammates traded blank looks with each other.

"Please take the other seat while my attendants prepare me for the reading, Protector," Melissa instructed.

"Prepare you?" Nida asked, tilting her head at just what a teacher would need to prepare for reading some words.

"She goes into a bit of a trance while teaching," Patricia explained as she trotted over to Melissa, still holding the tablet Bracket showed off to Team Traveler earlier.

"Yeah, so she needs help both getting into it and out of it," Bracket explained as he drug Elty over to Kiran's side by the Growlithe's scarf. The Corphish then let go and skittered over to Melissa. When he reached the Porygon, he felt along her underbelly, seemingly in search of something.

"While I am in Data Read Mode, please sit in the designated space and do not leave it until I return to normal operations," Melissa droned.

"O- kay..." Pleo answered. The little Lugia settled down and tried his hardest to stifle the urge to move about, to look around, to preen himself, or to do any of the things that a young bird normally would.

"And don't interrupt him!" Bracket added in an adamant tone. "Move Tutoring only works on one Pokémon at a time! If you butt in, it could ruin the session!"

"Understood. But…" Crom trailed off in a curious tone. "What exactly is Melissa going to _do?_ "

"Yeah, sounds like one heck of a trance," Nida murmured, as she began to grow concerned. Elty on the other hand gave an unamused huff, still annoyed about being drug along into the room by a little mud bug shorter than he was.

"Pbbt, as if we'd _want_ to interrupt! Just how far do you expect any of _us_ to fly?"

There was then the sound of a faint click after Patricia made a motion along Melissa's underside, and of something whining inorganically as what seemed to be a hatch opened. Bracket then grabbed the tablet, fiddled a little with its orientation a little… And slid it into the hatch with a click before Patricia closed it.

"Eh?! You put the tee-yem _in_ her!" Pleo cried out, as the pupils on Melissa's eyes faded and she began to drone in a monotone.

"External Disc detected. Entering Data Read Mode. Detecting External Disc encoding."

"Oh, _that's_ not creepy at all," Elty yipped, his fur beginning to stand on end. Nida too, couldn't help but be unnerved by this sudden change in demeanor in what, just moments ago, was the cheery Move Tutor.

"M-Melissa?" she stammered, as the Nidoran fanned out her barbs… Just in case.

"Are you okay-?" Crom asked, before Bracket interrupted.

"That's her trance. It'll start getting into the good stuff shortly, so just stay still, Protector," the Corphish chittered. Bracket and his Tropius partner eased Melissa up onto the vacant stone cube and righted her, pointing Melissa's beak at Pleo. The vacant look persisted in her eyes as the Porygon continued her monotone.

"Hidden Machine detected. Biodata is unlearnable by this Porygon instance. Do you wish to tutor another Pokémon?"

"Yes," Bracket chirped.

"Command accepted. Booting Move Tutor Routine. Starting Biocompatibility Analysis."

A light shot out from it and moved up and down the young Protector, who was at once mesmerized and mildly intimidated by the experience. It was then that a voice called from the doorway.

"Ahem. Kiran?"

"Hmm-? Oh!" the Swellow turned and discovered that, much to his surprise, it was none other than Guildmaster Hatteras. Or Mayor, or Judge, or Lighthouse Keeper, as the time and scarf dictated. The wizened Ampharos of many trades was a steadfast shepherd for Bluewhorl Town through its trials and tribulations, but what had brought him _here?_

"While Pleo's being tutored, might I see you for a moment?" he asked. He quickly qualified his request after seeing Nida, Crom, and Elty creeping for the door. "In private, that is."

"Um… Sure?" the Swellow replied. Kiran's words caused a disappointed look pass over the faces of his teammates. There would be no escape from watching this most peculiar and chilling magic that Melissa was practicing in the room, it seemed. The three sighed and resigned themselves to sitting through the rest of Melissa's session close to the door. Just in case, they figured, so that Kiran could come to their aid quicker if something went amiss with the Porygon's magic.

As Kiran followed the Ampharos out of the room, he could hear Melissa droning "Biocompatibility Analysis Complete. Target compatible." She then asked some sort of question that Kiran couldn't make out that the Corphish affirmed. A few more mechanical-sounding words resounded from the next room, including what Kiran swore was "Beginning biodata transfer." For a fleeting moment before he crossed the doorway, Kiran saw an arcing and waving blue light shoot from Melissa's beak and connect with Pleo.

Kiran took a moment to collect himself and involuntarily ruffle his feathers. Safe as it was, he was unable to dispel the nagging sensation that he shouldn't be leaving his younger charges all alone in the room as Melissa's eerie rite droned on.

"You had something you wanted to do out here?" the Swellow chirped reluctantly.

"Well, I did overhear that Pleo received a little keepsake a few days ago… A King's Rock, I think?" the Ampharos cheerily asked.

"Hmm? You mean this?" Kiran asked, before he dug into his bag with his beak and pulled out a stone, crown-like ring.

"Yep! I was hoping to make it into something for Pleo… a lucky charm, you might call it," Hatteras replied. The Ampharos took the stone ring from Kiran, untied some cord he had fastened about the knot on his scarf, and began to thread the cord through the stone ring. As the Ampharos closed the loop little by little, motions of his paws progressively betrayed an uneasy tenseness in the creature.

"Guildmaster Hatteras… You didn't _really_ call me out here just to watch you make a fashion accessory, did you?" Kiran asked.

"No, I can't say that I did," the Ampharos bleated as he peeked over at Pleo in the next room and adjusted the cord in between his paws. The Ampharos hesitated a moment before he began to speak again.

"In terms of things on the island, things are going well… Or at least as well as we could have hoped with recent events," he said as he formed a knot with the cord and tightened it. "And Pleo has been making admirable progress for someone starting from a total vacuum of experience."

Kiran gave a perplexed tilt to his head. Why, everything that Hatteras had said so far sounded like _good_ news!

"Then what is the problem?" he asked.

"I'm afraid that as fast as Pleo has been progressing towards awakening his true power... That he might be running out of time," the Ampharos sighed, as he rubbed his brow with a free paw.

"Running out of time?" Kiran squawked and beat his wings out of surprise. " _How?_ It's not as if he'd need to worry about keeling over overnight!"

The Swellow quickly became mum after he saw Hatteras motion for quiet. It _would_ defeat the purpose of a private conversation if the kids could just overhear it all, but… What was the electric sheep getting at?

"On his own, time surely would not be an issue. But what with that Aggron, or one of his better-prepared friends..." Hatteras said as he slipped the newly crafted necklace into Kiran's bag. The Ampharos shook his head, and the expression on his old face became increasingly serious.

"On top of all that, we have at most a matter of _months_ before the Company comes after the next harvest. And that's assuming that they don't come beforehand for whatever pretext their overseers have thought of."

"But Guildmaster, Pleo _fought off a pirate captain!_ " Kiran replied in a hushed tone, spreading his wings to convey his surprise in lieu of running his beak off. "I don't understand what the problem you're getting at is!"

"The problem is, Kiran. Pleo fought that pirate captain off using his true power. We don't know if Pleo will be able to draw out that power if we wind up in such straits again. And worse, if _he_ finds himself in such straits."

Kiran caught himself and froze. That… was a rather good point that Hatteras made. Why, if Pleo's power _hadn't_ been awakened as it was during the raid, he would have been knocked out just as easily as his teammates were. And, if the Aggron were a little less foolishly preoccupied with that shrine bell…

Why, he could have kidnapped Tromba's Protector! And gods knows where Pleo might have ended up after that.

Kiran shook his head, hoping to dispel that dark fantasy from his mind.

"What do you propose then, Guildmaster?" he asked.

"To discover whether there's some way that Pleo can draw out his true power reliably. Or at least reliably in the circumstances where he would most need it," Hatteras replied. It was a suggestion that immediately took Kiran aback with a cry.

"Eh?! You're not suggesting that I put him in harm's-!"

"I'm suggesting that we need to find a way push up against the boundaries as much as it's safe," Hatteras interrupted. The Ampharos' serious expression held firm and now began to show shades of adamance as he continued on. "To see if whether or not our strategy should be to put Pleo at the vanguard of the town in troublesome times…

"Or if our strategy should be to make _ourselves_ his vanguard in such times for the foreseeable future."

"But _how_ can we do that?" Kiran demanded. "I mean, if we organized a mock pirate raid… If we _succeeded_ at drawing out Pleo's power, wouldn't we put the volunteers in danger?"

"You think a little too grand in scale, Kiran. There's something that's more controllable that we could use to test him. Something that two rookies of yours have been waiting for a while now."

Something that two rookies of his had been waiting for? The Swellow scratched his head blankly for a moment, just what could Nida and Crom be looking forward to that could possibly-? Wait! Surely Hatteras wasn't referring to...

"Eh?! You want to send Pleo into the Mystery Dungeon?!" he whispered back, shocked.

"Along with your rookies on a solo run, yes," the Guildmaster replied. "You would obviously be shadowing them with some help in case anything went wrong, and the teleporters would be monitoring their presence closely."

"But he's younger than most of the kids at Hariti's!" Kiran protested, flapping his wings.

"And in spite of that, he has already delivered this town _once_ ," Hatteras quietly reminded the team leader. "Surely that's grounds for making an exception, yes?"

"I mean," the Swellow mumbled, trailing off a bit. Hatteras _did_ have a point. Even if Pleo was young enough to be in the Day Care, he definitely _had_ contributed more to its defense than anyone else from it had at his age. "I guess it would have been a matter of time for Nida and Crom but... Surely there's another way this could be done, isn't there?"

Hatteras sighed and gave his head a slow, sad shake as he found himself looking at the floor.

"It is the best that I can think of, Kiran. For all these generations, we've been taught that the gods were bigger than us. That they knew more, that they were stronger, that all that they needed in order to protect and bless this island were a few gifts and adoring words every so often… we never realized that there would be a time when they would need to be _protected_ by Pokémon like us.

"If there _is_ some better way of doing this, it's not in the books," the Ampharos said, as he shifted his head to meet Kiran's gaze. "I won't blame you if you refuse to undertake this, but... The stakes are both high and real here, and waiting only will raise them."

There was a long, dead silence in the room, punctuated only by Melissa's continued droning and some indistinct chatter from the rest of Team Traveler in the background. Eventually, Kiran made up his mind, and spoke.

"I'll do it. On the condition that Pleo's made aware that he's being sent into the Mystery Dungeon to test himself."

"I see. I'll let you get back to your little lambs… and your muzzled wolf for the time being," Hatteras replied. The Ampharos gave a passing nod, and then quietly walked out the door of the peculiar hut composed of stone cubes and back out into Bluewhorl.

As the Ampharos' footsteps faded away, Kiran headed back for the room where the rest of the team was, just in time to see the arcing light between Pleo and Melissa vanish.

"Biodata transfer complete. Terminating Move Tutor Routine. Please eject disc to exit Data Read Mode," the Porygon continued in her monotone. As Bracket and Patricia quickly went over to fetch their employer from her seat and set her on the ground on her side again, Pleo gave his wings a thorough series of beats. To get his blood flowing, Kiran surmised, as he and his teammates went up to see just what had Melissa's handicraft had done.

"Wait, Pleo… Do you feel any different?" Crom asked. The question prompted the young Protector to inspect his body and pat himself down… Nope, he felt just like same old him from a few minutes ago.

"I don't see or feel anything that's different," Pleo responded

"Well of course he wouldn't, it's a move!" Elty barked.

"Heh, so tutoring went well, I take it?" Kiran questioned in a cheerful, if slightly forced, tone.

"Mmm hmm! Mmm hmm!" Patricia insisted, as she looked up from Melissa while holding the disc from earlier. The pink bird was now moving her appendages again and the vacant stare left the Porygon's eyes. The sight made the Swellow's expectations soar as he turned to the white and blue Protector.

"Well, let's see it!" he cried excitedly to Pleo as Melissa floated over, seemingly unfazed by her strange episode earlier.

"Jump after taking a moment to breathe in and focus, Protector," she instructed.

Pleo hunched down, tensed his legs, and after a short wait, sprung up… Finding that he could now reach the canvas roof with his hop.

"Whoa!" he cried. He was finally so high in the air, he began to flap his wings, and… This was it! He was flying!

" _Wow!_ I'm flying! I'm fly-!"

Or at least that's what he thought for the few seconds before he fell to the ground with a dull thud, much as a stone thrown into the air does, flapping his wings fruitlessly.

"Oof!"

As Pleo rubbed his head a bit from the fall and dusted himself off, Kiran turned to Melissa with an ever-so-unsubtle hint of concern in his eyes.

"Uh… Melissa, I thought you said that your tutoring would teach him how to _fly_ …"

"My tutoring awakens the _potential_ for using a move and gives a small foundation," the Porygon corrected. "The Protector will need to _practice_ in order to make the most of those jumps… Let alone to be able to leverage them into flying."

"Then what was the point of all of that?!" the Swellow cried, screwing his eyes shut in frustration and beating his wings.

"Everything takes practice, Kiran," Melissa chirped. "Surely _you_ of all Pokémon would understand that."

"Aw… So I still can't fly?" Pleo asked, disappointed.

"Not exactly," Bracket replied. "But! It should help you learn a lot faster!"

"Yeah, Pokémon that get tutored by Melissa _always_ get the hang of their moves a lot sooner!" Patricia added.

"Let's hope." Nida sighed.

"What were you and Guildmaster Hatteras talking about out there anyways, Kiran?" Crom asked.

"Oh, he made this for you, Pleo!" Kiran cheered as he dug out the stone necklace that Hatteras fashioned out in the hallway and slipped it over Pleo's head.

"Oh! It's the 'offering' that ziggy-zaggy thingy gave me!" the young Lugia cheered.

"Uh huh! Just remember to slip it under your scarf later! It'll keep it a bit safer from the elements," Kiran chirped back, as the other Pokémon on Team Traveler scrutinized their leader.

"The sheep seriously spent all that time talking with you about a rock on a string?" Elty asked, lowering his eyelids skeptically.

"Er," the Swellow hesitated. "Well, not exactly..."

"Then what _was_ he going on about then?" Nida pressed.  


* * *

  
A few moments later, from the path outside, the din of daily life found itself abruptly pierced by a chorus of overjoyed cries from inside Melissa's stone hut.

"Woo hoo!"

Yes… This was going to be quite the transition. In more ways than one if the Sentret holding his ears in pain from the shout was any indication.

"Gah… I didn't know 'blowing around hot air' needed a Move Tutor to learn!"

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _en recreo_ \- Spanish: "on break"  
>  \- _Chodź i weź to!_ \- Polish: "Come and take it!"  
>  \- _kurczę_ \- Polish: lit. "chicken", general use euphemistic interjection. Analogous to saying "darn" or "crud".
> 
> Special thanks to Tangent128 of serebii.net for chapter header.


	11. Pre-Flight Checklist

After the session at Melissa's, Kiran left his charges to themselves to prepare for their excursion in the morning. The team of four made their way towards the harbor, as Pleo eagerly practiced the skill he had picked up at Melissa's. That is, hopping up high into the air every so often above the eaves of the wooden, canvas, and thatch roofs that covered most of Bluewhorl Town's buildings. Every time the white bird went up, he would almost as quickly come back down only to repeat the process again, hoping his latest launch might be the one to finally give him flight. The passerbyers on the path would turn their head time to time to watch Pleo pass... if not as frequently as they had a couple weeks ago. After all, the sea god had become more and more a fixture of their mundane routines.

As the group carried along their way, Crom began to get a little ahead of himself over what Kiran had told him about tomorrow's mission in the Mystery Dungeon.

"I don't believe it, we're finally going to graduate to Normal Rank!" Crom cried.

Ah yes, the moment that Crom and Nida had been waiting for all these moons was finally upon them at last. That said, the importance was a bit lost on Pleo, who came down from his most recent leap into the air and gave a puzzled tilt of his head to the Druddigon and Nidoran.

"Hrm? 'Normal Rank'?" Pleo asked. Didn't the two go on missions all the time with Kiran? So why was 'graduating' so important?

"It means we're gonna be able to do more as Rescuers!" Crom declared, puffing his chest in triumph. "Why, we'd even be allowed to start our own team if we wanted to!" He continued proudly… until Elty promptly knocked his little moment back down to earth.

"What are _you_ going on about? You're being _tested!_ If you don't _impress_ your leader, he's not gonna pass you!" the Growlithe barked, flattening out his ears. "And frankly, I'm not exactly convinced that 'ganging up on the Growlithe' is gonna get you through a dungeon without handholding."

The Growlithe's words immediately dampened Crom and Nida's high spirits, and the two shot annoyed leers at the Fire type who so rudely drug them back to reality.

"Elty, couldn't you have just let us have our moment?" Nida snapped, fanning her barbs a bit at the little dog's tone. Pleo, blissfully ignorant to why this 'moment' couldn't go on, cheerily tried to reassure the team.

"Aw, don't worry! I'm sure they'll pass with your help, Elty!" he chirped as he hopped up onto an awning of a shop that had been left intact during the raid. "Why, you can just dance around the ferals like you did on the battlefield!"

"Wait, _what?_ " Elty spluttered. "Why on earth would _I_ help _you_ pass your ranking test when _you've_ been using me as a sparring dummy for the last week?"

"Because Kiran said that the _entire_ team was getting tested?" Crom said, giving a piercing glare at the Growlithe.

"Because you're supposed to help me?" Pleo replied, tilting his head before he jumped across the lane onto another shack's roof.

"Because it's a break from getting pounded on at the Dojo?" Nida asked, flattening out her ears in annoyance. "Besides if we _don't_ pass, just _what_ do you think we're going to be doing afterwards to toughen up?"

The former pirate opened his mouth to speak only to catch his tongue and blink. Elty had to admit, while he didn't exactly like the rationale, these 'teammates' of his made a decently convincing argument for helping them tomorrow.

"Grr… What on earth do they teach _amatorzy_ at your guild anyways?" the orange and cream dog frowned.

"How to stand up for ourselves," Nida responded, sticking out a tongue. During this, Pleo hopped up once again. Although he flapped his wings hard enough to shake a few loose feathers free, he _still_ couldn't seem to get the hang of staying airborne. This time he landed a bit less gracefully than normal on his breast, the 'lucky charm' that Guildmaster Hatteras fashioned from his stone ring jabbing him a little.

"Oof! What _do_ we need to do to prepare for tomorrow anyways?" the young guardian asked as he dusted himself and his new charm off, ruffled his feathers, and took a moment to preen himself after his landing.

"Well, there's supplies, which we'll take care of as soon as we get to Calino's," Crom replied. "And we oughta check things with our parents to see if we have to do anything before we leave."

"Um… Yeah," Elty muttered as he flattened out his ears. "I'm just going to head back to-"

"You're sticking with _us_ during this, thanks," Nida huffed. "Teams are responsible for their members' behavior and I don't trust you on your own."

"Are you supposed to be 'teammates' or 'babysitters'?" Elty growled under his breath, his words failing to elude Nida's hearing.

"Most teams don't have members that tried to _rob_ other Pokémon just a week ago. Just saying," she retorted, narrowing her eyes at the Growlithe.

"Aww, come on! It'll be fun!" Pleo insisted. "And Calino's is right there anyways!"

Sure enough, Calino's little shack was right there, just across the main square by the harbor… If it was appropriate to call it that. Yes, it was busy with Pokémon again and not quite the moonscape of rubble and trashed shops that it was after the raid, but most of the businesses were still shuttered for repairs- or, as in the case of a few juice bars and sundry shops, had simply stubbornly continued their business in what was left of their tents and shacks as and slowly rebuilt around their customers.

Calino's store fell into the latter category. It was scorched, blackened, and had hasty canvas patchwork thrown up over gaping holes in the walls and roof. Even so, its Kecleon proprietor could still be seen dutifully shuffling merchandise around in the back.

Some things just didn't change, Nida guessed, as she hopped up onto the counter and called into the back of the shop.

"Hey! Calino!"

"Coming! Coming!" the shopkeeper's reply came as he hurried out, if a bit slower and more haggardly than normal. As soon as he saw that his customers included a certain town guardian once again, the Kecleon's face momentarily slipped into an expression of despair. The chameleon shook his head a moment and steeled himself before he addressed his customers.

"Before you ask, I really _can't_ give any discounts this time," he said. The poor creature appeared sleep-deprived, the green scales on his body having developed a dull and dingy color to them.

"Eh?! But why not?!" Pleo cried, batting his wings out. Hadn't Calino given the party that 'buy one get one free' last time? By chance, Pleo happened to brush part of the shack, which shook, and with a groan, dropped a chunk of burnt timber from the awning onto his head.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Pleo groaned, nursing his head.

"Pleo, are you alright?!" Nida cried.

"Yeah, I think I'm okay," the young Lugia replied as he shook his head. "But-"

"Sorry about that, Protector. I can't exactly keep a hut up when it's dropping pieces of itself on customers. Even if it _is_ a placeholder." Calino sighed, his scales starting to flush an apologetic teal. "Between this and that storm earlier, I'm never gonna get a replacement for my old tent at this rate… You understand, right?"

"It does look like Calino's shop took the raid kinda hard," Crom said to himself while looking around.

"Yeah, by the way, _thanks_ for that, mutt," Calino growled at Elty, leering from behind the counter.

"Hey! Hey! _I_ didn't torch _this_ shop!" Elty protested before he stopped himself to try and jog his memory. "… I'm _pretty_ sure I didn't… I think. Kinda hard to remember with the whole 'getting beaten unconscious' thing."

"It's fine, Calino. We'll pay full price... _This_ time," Nida answered with a sigh as she hopped off the counter.

"The usual, I take it?" Calino asked. The Kecleon's scales returned to their default green along with the congenial if business-like attitude he tried to greet all his customers with. That is, at least as much as several straight nights' worth of poor sleep allowed him to.

"Actually, I know it'll cost more, but can we get the same as last time?" Crom asked. "I'm sure Kiran will understand, we're exploring with a bigger team now and all!"

"So you... _do_ want to help my renovation fund!" the Kecleon chuckled, turning a rosy pink as his expected burden on business transformed into a surprise boon. "Hrm… Lemme see what I can do."

Nida opened her mouth to object, but after sizing up the even sorrier appearance of Calino's already normally sorry-looking wooden shack, she held her tongue. Calino then ducked into the back of his shop and spent a short while rummaging behind some crates. Sure enough, when he returned, Calino brought over a tray full of the same berries and seeds that Team Traveler had ordered at their last visit to his shop. The Kecleon stuffed the goods into Nida's satchel and dutifully ignored Elty's protests that he _also_ had a perfectly good satchel to hold stuff as well. After Calino gave his customary thanks for the team's patronage, Nida and Crom lead the team off and up towards the hills. On the way up, Pleo couldn't help but wonder...

"I don't understand, Nida. Why did we let Crom give Calino more of those shinies for the same stuff you got last time?"

"Well, Calino's kinda mean with his sense of humor sometimes," Nida answered. "But it just seemed wrong to press him when his shop was in the shape it was in."

"Huh? How come?" Pleo asked.

"Well, when a Pokémon is having a tough time, it's generally nice to not give them extra things to worry about on top of it," she replied.

Elty was quick to butt in. "So… That means that you'll go easier on me during sparring-" Only to be just as quickly cut off by Nida, too.

"Hey! I said 'tough' time, not 'deserved'!"

Soon enough, Team Traveler's younger members found themselves approaching a hut that smelled strongly of toasted grain. Barring a stray gouge into a wall here or there that had been hastily filled in with some manner of mismatching-colored resin, there was hardly any sign that this little shack had been visited by hostile company just a few days ago.

Crom was the first to enter the hut, calling in to the shop as he crossed the doorway.

"Mom? Are you in there-? Oof!"

Only to trip and fall down against one of the display tables that for some reason or another had a small pile of apples on it. Looking down at his feet, Crom saw a Trapinch that had been loitering in the doorway, looking around the inside.

" _Yeargh!_ Watch where you're going, you abrasive clod!" the Trapinch squealed in pain, as he quickly scuttled into a corner to try and nurse his injury.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Crom replied as he rubbed his head from the fall and the effects of a few falling apples conking him afterwards. As his teammates entered the room, a realization dawned on him about his victim and the Druddigon's tone became less apologetic and more gruff. "Wait a minute-"

As Nida entered the room and saw the Trapinch, she lowered her ears, recognizing him as being one of Elty's former… erm... companions.

"Shouldn't you be digging ditches at Mildrew's field or something?" she asked in a biting tone.

"Psst! Managed to sneak one past your slave driver, eh?" Elty whispered to the Trapinch in a hushed tone from behind the Nidoran. "And got any tips?"

"Mrph. I wish, Eltenios," the little antlion chittered in a grumbling tone. "I only got allowed to come down here because I said I'd drop off some apples during my break!"

Aha. So that explained the pile of apples on the table. In spite of all of that, something still bothered Pleo about the Trapinch's actions.

"Why would you go through all that trouble, though-?"

" _Veikka_ , is that you?" a voice cried out from the backroom.

"Pyry!" the Trapinch eagerly responded, as the voice's owner, a haggard-looking Gabite coated in flour, burst out into the room and scooped up the Trapinch in his claws.

"Pekka, please! Tell me there's an open spot to dig ditches!" the Gabite pleaded, staring into the Trapinch's eyes with a desperate gaze that seemed to all but bore into the creature.

"Um… _Veikka?_ You're kinda scaring me," the Trapinch squeaked.

"I can't take it anymore with these weirdos! Stuck here all alone with nothing but flour, dough, and an oven all day! And they make me help with dinner, too! I go to bed each night looking like I fell into chalk dust!"

"Oh yes, poor you," Nida grumbled. Why, aside from all of the spilled flour on his scales, the Gabite just described exactly what Crom and his brother did on a _normal_ day when not doing guild work!

"Hrmph! Maybe you shouldn't have stolen from here, then!" Crom snarled at the Gabite.

"Oh for crying out loud! Why are you going on about it as if you're being made to burn out waste pits? You're working in a _bakery!_ " Elty groaned as he put a paw over his face. "Some of us would _punt hatchlings_ for a chance to make food for this 'Community Service!'"

"Um… Pyry," Pekka said as he flailed his legs in the air. "I'm not saying that I don't feel your pain. But-"

"And worst of all, there's that whiny little _ipana_ and his mother I have to put up wi-!" the Gabite continued, before a young Druddigon smaller than Crom stormed in from the backroom with a growl.

"Oi! Thief! Get back to work!" Cenn shouted.

The Gabite snarled indignantly back at the shorter Druddigon, upset that this little whelp was pushing _him_ around. He dropped his Trapinch companion, who cried out a little after hitting the ground, and whirled around and advanced on Cenn.

"Okay, _listen up_ you yappy little ru-!" only to yelp after he felt a claw digging into his shoulder from behind, as the voice of a much larger Druddigon who had just come in from outside with a sack of flour began to speak.

"Grr… For someone who _complains_ as much as you do about honest work, you sure seem eager put your mouth to use!" Gwenith growled, giving an overpowering glare that seemed to all but say "Go ahead, make my day" at this Gabite that had the temerity to threaten one of her children.

The Gabite's aggression quickly evaporated with a blanch at the thought of having to stand his ground against the elder Druddigon.

"Erk! S-Sorry! I'll get back to work right away!" he squeaked, as he quickly ran back into the backroom to help with the next day's loaves. Cenn stuck out his tongue behind him as he followed Pyry into the backroom. Crom couldn't help but roll his eyes at the Gabite still not understanding who the biggest and meanest dragon in this house was.

"... I think I'm gonna get out of here before she gets ideas," Pekka said to himself. The orange antlion quickly bolted out of the bakery, leaving Gwenith to push the sack of flour into a corner and turn to her elder child.

"Something come up, Crom?" she asked.

"Uhm… Well-" Crom began, shifting a bit uneasily.

"We're getting tested to graduate into Normal Rank!" Pleo interrupted. Crom flinched out of surprise, hoping that his mother wouldn't be upset over his sudden testing getting in the way of baking. However, Crom quickly found that his apprehensions to be unfounded, as the very next words from his mother's mouth were...

"Oh! That's wonderful to hear!" Gwenith cried. "Why, with the way you're growing up, you'll be big and as strong as your father in no time! Here, let me get some things for your adventure!"

Crom's mother ducked into the backroom, her presence accompanied by sounds of rummaging and Pyry continuing to bellyache on the job. The backroom's sounds eventually died down after a Druddigon's growl, and Gwenith returned with a satchel filled with loaves fresh from the oven and handed it off to Crom.

"Just make sure to rest up well tonight," she instructed. "You've got a big day tomorrow!"

"Eh?" Crom asked. This had seemed to go over rather- Well, wasn't there supposed to be some sort of catch? "You don't need my help at the bakery tonight?"

"I'm sure that I can make my extra set of claws fill in," Gwenith replied. "It _is_ a special occasion for you, after all. And it sounds like you'll already have yours full with some extra heads to keep track of."

"Ahehe, well when you put it that way-" Crom began before his mother interrupted him.

"Crom… One more thing."

"Huh?" the Druddigon asked, only to abruptly find himself being pulled into an embrace by his mother, who gave him a nuzzle with her snout.

"Be careful out there."

"Moooom! You're embarrassing me!" Crom protested, squirming a little to try and break free.

"Not to interrupt the moment, but doesn't the spike ball here also have _her_ parents to check with, too?" Elty asked, rolling his eyes at Crom's struggle with his mother.

"Ack! That's right! If we dawdle here, I won't be able to catch _Mami_ at the Day Care!" Nida cried, hopping up off the ground, and then bolting out the door.

"See you, mom!" Crom waved as he followed after his teammate.

"Bye, Gwenith!" Pleo chirped, as he and his Growlithe teammate followed after Crom and Nida.  
By the time the two made it out, Pleo had to hop up into the air to see where Nida had gone off to. Seeing that she was making her way towards the creek that ran through Bluewhorl Town, he quickly darted off after her, Elty in tow behind him.

By the time the two caught up, they found themselves approaching one of the bridges over the creek, with a certain Froslass' tent visible on the other side.

"Nida? Why are we going to the Day Care and not your home?" Pleo asked, putting a wing to his mouth.

"Mami usually leads my siblings home from there at this time of day. So if we catch her there, we can explain things on the way to the guild hall-!" Nida explained, only to have her words interrupted by a protesting voice from the direction of the Day Care.

" _What?!_ You said that I didn't have to worry about twerps that had parents after dark!"

As Team Traveler continued on, the protesting figure revealed himself to be the Quilava that Hariti had taken under her wing. The cream and teal stoat stared down a leering Nidorina that Crom recognized as Marley, prompting the Druddigon to shuffle behind Nida to keep a healthy distance.

"First off, it's 'youngsters'," Hariti admonished. The Froslass floated to and fro at the entrance of her tent, occasionally glancing over her shoulder to make sure the rowdy children inside weren't getting too out of hand. "Second of all, I said that you didn't have to worry about _most_ of them after dark. Specifically, you'll be dealing with-"

Suddenly, six purple and blue spike balls burst out of the tent entrance, hopping gleefully past Hariti and towards the Nidorina. The Nidoran sprinted towards their mother, prompting the Quilava to yelp and dart out of the way lest the lumps of fluff run him over.

"Whee!" a female Nidoran cheered.

" _Mami! Mami!_ " a purple spike lump called out.

"You're back!" a blue ball cried.

"Who's watching us tonight?" a male Nidoran from the group asked.

"You'll be able to stay right here with your normal playmates until I'm done in the field with Papi tonight," Marley cheerily explained. "Auntie Hariti and I found someone to watch over you…"  
It was then that the Quilava became aware that Hariti, the Nidorina, and all six of the Nidoran with her… Were staring at him.

" _Those_ little dweebs?! N-No way! I've been picking their spikes out of my pelt all week!" he cried out. From the sidelines, Nida quietly sighed, somewhat relieved that she wasn't going to have to babysit her younger siblings tonight. As for the the predicament that this former brigand found himself in… she couldn't tell if she felt sorry or amused about it.

"I _heard_ you talking the other day, you've got a ton of kids of your own! Have some of _them_ help you out!" the stoat protested.

"They're all grown and busy with their own lives. Also, need I remind you that I _do_ have an alternate use for you if you don't pull your weight babysitting?" Hariti glowered at the Quilava as the little Nidoran began to draw near to him. "Besides, it _is_ just six Pokémon. I'm sure a former pirate like you can handle them and keep them away from my Pomeg bushes."

"This is cruel and unethical punishment and you know it!" the Quilava whined as he started darting this way and that to keep the little poisonous pests _away_ from him.

"Aww, stay still Mr. Fireplace!"

"We want to nuzzle you!"

The Quilava found himself running head-on into the Nidorina, and then felt his body getting lifted up by something pointy that was faintly jabbing his stomach.

"Oh yes, poor you. Now do your _Community Service_ and get back to babysitting," Marley growled, the horn on her head resting on the Quilava's belly.

"And _do_ be aware what _I'll_ do to you if anything happens to the kits," she warned. The Nidorina jabbed her horn a bit more firmly into the creature's stomach before letting him drop to the ground. All just in time for her cheering children to swarm him as she began to head off.

"H-Help… Me…" the poor creature feebly whimpered as the six little Nidoran began to press up against him.

"Well, I guess that's one way to get a reliable babysitter for your siblings," Elty murmured. The little dog sighed out of relief, now quietly thankful that the Froslass hadn't taken a fancy to him on the night that _Community Service_ sentences were handed down.

"It's an unorthodox solution, yes… But anyways- _Mami!_ " Nida called after her mother, hopping off after her as the rest of her team followed her tracks.

"Eh?" the Nidorina asked, as she turned around just in time to see Team Traveler passing the Day Care and heading for her.

"Hey wait, they have _older_ siblings?!" the Quilava cried out, hopping up and away from the Nidoran around him with a start as Team Traveler passed. "Why don't they just-!"

The Quilava suddenly yelped, and stumbled forward as a shard of ice promptly struck his rear. As the Nidoran caught up with him, the creature nursed his rump and hastily tried to mollify a glaring Hariti at the tent's entrance.

" _Gah!_ Okay! Okay!" his voice trailed off as the team moved further up the path.

Nida came face to face with her mother, who waited with an impatient leer for her daughter to say something.

"Um, well… I was just going to say-" Nida began. Had- Had she gone about trying to get her mother's attention the wrong way? "That I'm going to the guild hall tonight, and testing to graduate from-"

"It's alright, _mija_ ," her mother interrupted. "I knew this day was coming."

"You're... not worried at all?" Nida asked, a bit taken aback at her mother's apparent lack of concern.

"Of course not! Why, not _every_ team has the Protector helping it!" the Nidorina chuckled to herself as she pointed out Pleo waiting with Crom and Elty a few paces away.

"This way, me and your _papi_ can count on you wrapping up your service and coming to help work in the field again a bit sooner!" the Nidorina cheered.

"Uhm… _Mami_ …" Nida grumbled, flattening out her ears a bit.

"Now, now, it's a part of growing up and becoming a responsible Pokémon!" she admonished.

" _Mami_ …" Nida groaned. Why, _Mami_ was treating this as if it was just another day's update from her elder siblings! Of all the nights to be just another face in her crowd of brothers and sisters, did Marley really have to be this way on this one-?

"Enough with the attitude already, Nida!" the Nidorina huffed, which abruptly caused Nida to hop back and brace herself. Only to find that the next words from her mother's mouth were softer than she anticipated.

"You'll want to save it for inside the dungeon, won't you? After all, tomorrow's the big opportunity to impress your team captain!"

"Heh, well I guess I can't argue with that-" Nida began, only to be cut off by her mother drawing forwards and nuzzling her snout.

"Good luck, _mija._ Your _papi_ and I will be wishing you the best," Marley said. The Nidorina gave her daughter a pat on the head before she headed down a side lane.

Team Traveler turned and continued up the path, past some less damaged huts and tents. Slowly but surely, the team drew near to the entrance of the Guild Hall's complex of tents and buildings.

"Oi!"

As the team approached the Mission Board, freshly repopulated with listings since the trials and tribulations from last week, they found Kiran there waiting for them. The Swellow flew over, and cheerily greeted his charges.

"I was wondering when you all were going to show up!"

"Well, we're here," Nida answered.

"So, did you find out who's going to be our shadowing team tomorrow?" Crom questioned.

"That would be us," a voice answered. When the Pokémon of Team Traveler turned, they found that the speaker was a Shiftry accompanied by a Croconaw and Loudred.

"Wait… Team Sawtooth is shadowing us?" Crom asked, surprised at their team's company.

"Team 'Sawtooth'?" Pleo asked, tilting his head.

"Yup! Don't be fooled by these dainty-looking things here!" the Shiftry proudly answered, showing off the fans on her arms. "They'll cut through wood like cloth!"

"That's where the 'saw' comes from!" the Loudred cheerily explained.

"Yup, and Alto and I here have got the teeth!" the Croconaw added, proudly opening his stout jaws and showing off the fishhook-like teeth that lined them.

"I… guess that makes sense?" Pleo chirped, blinking a bit at the enthusiastic trio.

"Eh?! I thought that you were busy looking for an 'ahp-gredh'!" Nida cried out.

"Eh, I think we can put that on hold for a little," the Croconaw replied with a shrug.

"Who are these Pokémon, Kiran?" Pleo whispered over to his team's leader.

"The Shiftry is Pitys, the Loudred is Alto, and the Croconaw is Cardellini. They're one of the tougher teams at the guild. When Hatteras told them that you were going to be tested tomorrow… Why they practically begged to come along!" Kiran cheered.

"After all, someone's gotta make sure that the Protector goes through his test safely," Pitys proudly declared.

"And to keep fat little thugs like that Growlithe there from causing you _too_ much trouble," the Loudred loudly chortled.

"Har har har-" Elty groaned, screwing his eyes shut in frustration before he abruptly flicked his ears. "Wait-"

The Growlithe whirled around, and saw a short green bug sketching on some paper a ways back on the side of the path, occasionally looking at the group further ahead.

"Was that Scyther sketching us earlier?" Elty asked the other Pokémon in the group.

"Scyther?" Kiran asked, as Team Traveler and their companions turned around. It was then that Pleo saw that the little bug was the artist with the blotched head from the Day Care he met last week.

"Oh! Hi!" he called out, waving. When the Scyther saw that she had been spotted by the white bird, she gave a startled buzz.

"A-Ah!" she cried out, before taking off down the path back in the direction of the Day Care, abandoning the piece of paper she had been drawing on.

"Hey! Wait!" Pleo cried out as he darted to where the Scyther was, and picked up her doodle. "You dropped your picture!"

Pleo then inspected the picture. It was a sketch of the Guild Hall's entrance, with Pleo and his teammates facing towards it. While the doodle was still a little basic, it had a remarkable resemblance to reality, the buildings and objects really looked like they were further back, and there was even some simple shadowing on it! As the others drew near, they too saw the picture, the elder Pokémon finding themselves commenting on the Scyther's work.

"Huh… Ander's kid really _does_ have some talent with art," the wood sprite murmured to herself.

"Bah, Cass shouldn't be sneaking out of the Day Care on her own anyways," Cardellini muttered.

"I'm sure she can just draw another one if she doesn't feel like coming by," Alto chimed in.

Pleo looked down at the picture, and then off in the direction that this 'Cass' fled down. She seemed to have put an awful lot of work into the little image, and Pleo couldn't dislodge an uneasy feeling that surely Cass would be in low spirits without her handi- uh… scythework.

"We _can_ always stop by to give it back to her later, Pleo," Kiran reassured.

"I… Guess that's true," Pleo said to himself. Still, he couldn't help but wish that the Scyther hadn't run off before he could compliment her.

"Let's head on in, dinner should have just started being set a couple minutes ago," the Croconaw beckoned. It _was_ getting late in the day, and Pleo could hear his stomach growling… As well as those of a few of his teammates.

After taking a moment to look out in the direction where Cass had run off to, Pleo turned around, and followed the others towards the Guild Hall. After all, it was no use worrying about these things on an empty stomach.

* * *

Eating at the Guild Hall was always a rather raucous occasion in Bluewhorl Town. Every day- morning, noon, and night- food was served in a long, wooden hall full of rude tables and stools illuminated by candles and bioluminescent moss stashed in jars. The cost of admission was merely showing off a Rescue Team's scarf and badge at the door. It was an amenity that led the guild's Pokémon to tend to spend their free time frequenting the guild's grounds when missions and other obligations did not keep them away.

That is not to say that the mess hall was only good for the free food. It acted as a convenient place to find and interact with peers from other teams, to trade gossip, tips, and general enjoyment between errands and missions. A Persian's off-color joke at the expense of some past incompetent from the Company here, a Hoothoot's request for advice for finding a mate on another team there...

And of course, there were also a few scattered whispers and murmurs about the white and blue bird that was greedily inhaling a spread alongside a pair of teams.

"Liking the food, Pleo?" Nida asked as she looked up from her own dinner seated in her customary place right beside Crom.

The spreads were always simple, but filling, servings that were provided by the town. Meals were apportioned by species based off of the recommendations of a well-worn tome with messy notes and records of trials and errors that had been passed down through the years among the Pokémon that worked at the mess hall. The typical result was some mix of berries, leafy greens, grains or lentils, a salt or a sugar cube depending on the time of day, and of course- gummis.

The little morsels were about the size of small berries and about as colorful, but had a tough but edible exterior. Their insides had a pasty-textured filling and a savory flavor. Depending on how they were prepared, the filling would leave sweet, sour, spicy, bitter, or astringent aftertastes in the mouth. Nida couldn't remember what exactly went into them, but she was pretty sure that she remembered hearing 'seaweed' being involved once. All in all, it probably didn't matter so much what was in their recipes that had supposedly been passed down since the beginnings of the Cradle (and was probably better for keeping one's appetite). Whatever the diner's species or what their teeth looked like, gummis kept the conversation about dinner at the guild limited to _what_ as opposed to _who_ would be on the table.

It was all fine and dandy, but more importantly for Pleo...

"Mmm hmm! It's pretty and tasty!" the Lugia chirped in between mouthfuls of his dinner. That is not to say the gummi-laden servings at the guild were _perfect_ meals. After all, a food that was equal before all also had the net effect of being equally _odd_ before all, which Elty couldn't help but grumble about.

"Eh… Could use some meat, in my opinion," Elty mumbled as he scarfed down a few grains along with a half-bitten gummi.

"Not saying that I don't _agree_ , but you know the rules, bub," the Shiftry lectured with an unamused leer. "Pokémon that specifically want meat need to go out and buy it for themselves through a registered and inspected scavver like Ander."

"Yeah, 'whine' isn't on the menu here!" Cardellini snapped.

"Mrph, I _know_ what a scavver is and how they work. We _had_ them where I'm from," Elty grumbled, rolling his eyes. "All I'm saying is that if I'm expected to be _buying_ stuff, then why'd my bag get cleaned out for 'reparations' then?"

"Well look at it this way... a full stomach, even if it's not your favorite food, will improve your alertness in the dungeon!" Kiran said while fanning out a wing. "Why, from my own observations, it helps raise your alertness by 150%!"

"Hmm? What will that do?" Pleo asked.

"Well for one, it'll help you sniff out traps easier so you don't trip over them," Nida replied, as she helped herself to another gummi from her spread.

"And tomorrow's mission is a simulated rescue! Why, sensitivity is _key_ for finding stranded Pokémon in a Mystery Dungeon!" Kiran chirped. "After all, a Pokémon that's lost or damaged their badge in there can't communicate with the Psychics at all."

Ah yes, that was why the team and anyone else who entered a Mystery Dungeon always made sure to carry some paper and envelopes with them. If they ever somehow got completely stuck and deprived of working badges, they could write a distress note. From there, the winds that reshaped floors in Distortion would catch them up, the note's light weight allowing the winds to carry them out of the Mystery Dungeon.

It was said that any self-respecting settlement always made sure to reward the discoverers of such notes, whether a resident, a visitor, or a feral. It was an erratic method to be sure, but as long as a team could tough it out, hide in stable zones in between the Distortion's wiping of floors, and didn't move around too much, an attentive team could find them. Except… that seemed a bit overly-detailed for this 'simulated rescue' to Crom. After all...

"Aren't we just tracking down a Substitute, though?" he asked. "I mean, I guess it's still important to be able to pick out entrances to stable zones hidden in alcoves and the like, but… It's not like it would up and run anywhere, right?

"Well, training mission or not, you never _can_ be too careful. After all, a migrating feral getting blown in or stranded in the Mystery Dungeon _sea una posiblidad real_ ," the Loudred said as he snarfed down a fruit from before him

"Blown in? Stranded?" Pleo asked, as he stopped himself from grabbing another morsel with his beak.

"Yup, you never know with those cases. Sometimes they'll come up to a team they run into crying for help, and we'll bail them like we would a lost Pokémon from town. It's the ones that _don't_ want your help out of there that are trouble," Alto said as he polished off his fruit. "Those ones are usually just itching for a fight. Sometimes they're about as tough as normal, other times they're a lot stronger and more dangerous. Why, Nida there got into a close shave with a feral like that that was out of her league just last year."

"Huh?!" Pleo cried out, knocking the table with a start with a wing. "What happened?!"

"It's really not-" Nida muttered. She usually appreciated others remembering her name as something besides 'Marley's girl', but this occasion was an exception. The Nidoran's ears folded back more and more, as the big-mouth at the table prattled on.

"She got ambushed and worked over by a Skarmory that blew in during a storm," he answered. "Big and fierce as ferals, hunt for food, too. Left her jittery about going back in those caves for weeks. Why, if Kiran hadn't been around to blow the metal fiend away, that feral probably would have made a meal of-!"

"Can we _not_ , Alto?!" the Nidoran shouted, causing a dead silence to fall over the table and a couple nearby ones. Pairs upon pairs of eyes found themselves staring at a Nidoran half-up a table, barbs raised, giving a glare at a surprised Loudred that seemed to all but drill through his purple hide.

"Did... I say something that I wasn't supposed to?" he meekly asked in as quiet a voice his natural boisterousness could allow.

"You really do need to master the art of thinking before you speak," Pitys sighed as she buried her face in a leafy fan.

"It's just that… That was a really rough moment for us as a team," Crom replied. "And it's not one we like to dwell upon."

"Er… Hey, so about that 'ahp-gredh' you were looking for earlier!" Kiran hastily interjected in a cheery tone to shift the topic of conversation. Little by little, all signs of the outburst faded away as Team Sawtooth began to regale Kiran and his companions with their elusive quarry for Melissa. The snooping teams at the other tables similarly returned to their own discussions.

All signs but two, that is, as Nida scowled through the rest of dinner. The little Protector of Tromba similarly didn't return to his prior buoyancy, as he lost his appetite at the table and grew more and more apprehensive as the hours passed by about this test that was going to come tomorrow.

* * *

After dinner, the skies turned dark as the sun dipped over the horizon and the moon and stars began their customary ascendance into the sky for the night. The Guild's Pokémon traded goodnights among each other, some of them heading off to various abodes around Bluewhorl and its surroundings for the night. Many others, including Team Traveler that night, had lodging a bit closer to the watchful gaze of Hatteras' hut and signaling platform.

Much as with meals, the guild's members could claim a free space overnight in a rude, if roomy, hut with not much to much to speak of in the way of privacy. Dozens of Pokémon were assigned to each hut, their only furnishings being mats on the floor to square off spots for straw and twig bedding or hammocks hung from the rafters. In spite of that, the price and convenient location for checking the mission board bright and early in the morning provided some degree of compensation. As such, there was no shortage of Pokémon that chose this humble lodging, as Team Traveler's members did for this night.

In one hut, Pleo lay on a small heap of straw on a reed mat, Crom lay on another, half-curled around Nida and Elty, and Kiran was perched on an overhead rafter. Beside the Swellow, the team had hung their scarves and other personal effects for the night. All were now in the deep embrace of sleep...

All except Pleo, that is, who was wide awake, staring up at the wall. He fidgeted, trying this position and that to try and fall asleep, only to be kept up by the Loudred's words. Nida had really run into such a scary-sounding Pokémon in the Mystery Dungeon? The one where his old cave pond was? What would have happened if such a Pokémon found him before Kiran and Crom and Nida did? What if there was one waiting for him to come in tomorrow? As the questions continued to plague the young guardian's mind, he eventually found himself turning to look out the window. In the window, light winked intermittently from the top floor of Hatteras' hut and the sea of stars glimmered brightly in the sky.

"Can't sleep, Pleo? Or were you trying see one of the Travelers come out from behind the moon?" a voice asked.

"Eh?!"

As Pleo turned around towards the source of the voice, he found himself coming face to face with a blue Nidoran, who had gotten up from her straw bedding.

"What? I've got good ears and I've been hearing you toss around all night," Nida said, pawing at one of her ears. "And the Travelers are supposed to be the spirits of the-"

"Nida, I don't wanna go in the dungeon!" Pleo squawked, getting up and beating his wings. The racket caused some of the nearby Pokémon to shift about; Crom muttered something about "Yay, flour!" as Elty grumbled about some cards or some other manner of game he played with his old companions in the past, apparently not very well.

"Not so loud! Everyone's trying to sleep!" Nida scolded quietly, thankful that everyone else nearby seemed to be deeper sleepers than she was. "And it's the middle of the night! Of course you don't want to go right-"

"I don't wanna go in the morning, either though!" Pleo whispered back.

"Eh? But you were so excited earlier today!" Nida replied in a hushed tone, stepping back in surprise. "What-?"

Nida then noticed that Pleo looked, well... scared. Or at least she was pretty sure he looked scared, since the only other times she had seen Pleo like this were on the day that Captain Hess had raided the town. The Nidoran quickly put together just what could be making her teammate so antsy.

"Oh, this is about what Alto brought up at dinner today, wasn't it?"

"What if the Skarmory comes back?!" Pleo asked, as he looked about the hut anxiously. The matter made Nida screw her eyes shut and shake her head.

"That bird was taken care of ages ago and now is a long, _long_ ways away from everyone else in a place where he won't hurt anyone," she replied, pawing at the mat. The truth was a bit less simplistic than that, but for Pleo's sake (and Elty's were he awake, she supposed), the Nidoran decided to leave the explanation at that.

"But what about the other ferals?!" the young Lugia insisted.

"They will only try to do what they think they can get away with. A scarf tells ferals that if they mess with us too severely, they'll be in big trouble afterwards," Nida replied, pointing up at the blue pieces of cloth that hung by their team leader's feet. "Besides, we've got badges to escape with, and an entire extra team watching our backs tomorrow. And…"

Pleo then felt a soft sensation, and saw that Nida had walked up and was nuzzling him under his chin.

"You _won't_ be alone in there. We'll all be there right alongside you."

"You… Promise?" Pleo asked warily.

"I promise, Pleo. Now come on, go to sleep," Nida pleaded.

"... Can I have a bedtime story first?"

"How about a part of one?" Nida countered, sighing. Were the old gods _also_ this demanding when they were little too? "I'll pick up on where we last left from the 'Prince of a Thousand Enemies'... If you can remind me where I left off."

"The Prince Nidorino got scared after hearing about his enemies coming and about the old gods being upset with him. So the Prince began to dig a hole for his children to hide in," Pleo replied as he slowly sank back down onto his straw. "Then the old gods passed by him as he was still digging saying they were looking to give the Prince a gift. The Prince then pretended to be someone else and they offered him the gift they were gonna give the Prince instead."

"Ah, right," Nida replied as she cleared her throat and shook her head to try and jog her memory. "So anyhow… 'I'm busy! My enemies are coming for me and my children!' the Prince insisted, before he spoke back to the old gods. 'If you want to give me a gift, then give it to my bottom! It's poking out of my hole!' The old gods then grew impressed with the Prince. Even as his thousand enemies approached, even as his children were in danger, even after the old gods found him after he angered them, he did not despair and give up."

Nida noticed that Pleo's eyes were beginning to droop, and he started to curl up on his pile of straw. All that sleeplessness must have been tiring, she thought to herself with a yawn.

"They murmured among themselves before they decided to humor the Prince, and so, the old god of the skies spoke on behalf of them all and said: 'Let it be so! Bottom, give your master strength and protection and character forever!' Just then, the Prince's hind legs grew strong and sprouted poisonous spikes that spread forward over his body. As the Prince continued to dig, his strengthened legs thumped and thumped, and shook even the very top of the skies, shaking bits and pieces of the moon off that fell to the earth-"

Nida then saw that Pleo's eyes were firmly shut. _That was a good enough place to stop_ , she guessed. The Nidoran looked back at her space and saw that Elty had tossed about in his sleep and drifted over it. Nida grumbled to herself, and were it not for all the sleeping Pokémon around her, she'd have had half a mind to ram the little fatty and _make_ him give her spot back.

But… She supposed that it wasn't unmanageable. After all, there seemed to be space enough for her next to where Pleo had curled up. She quietly crept over Pleo's feet and shuffled into the straw by his belly, settling down and drooping her eyes.

She then felt a feathery sensation brush up past her. Nida looked up for a moment and saw that Pleo had spread a wing over her, before she became too tired to care anymore and let her eyes close entirely as a soft voice spoke.

"Good night, Nida."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _amatorzy_ \- Polish: "amateurs"  
>  \- _ipana_ \- Finnish: "brat"  
>  \- _sea una posiblidad real_ \- Spanish: "is a real possibility"
> 
> Special thanks to Tangent128 of serebii.net for chapter header.


	12. In a Fog

The following morning, the sun broke over the horizon and its light began to filter through the treetops along the path from Bluewhorl Town to Tromba's Mystery Dungeon. Along with daylight and the blue sky, signs of diurnal life returned to the woods along the path. There was the sound of "ferals" yawning and moseying themselves awake from further off in the undergrowth. In the distance down the hill, the faint smoke and din from the town in the distance evidenced that the skeleton crew that served Bluewhorl's more nocturnal residents had traded places with the normal Pokémon that helped keep the town running by day.

_Tromp tromp tromp_

And there was also the sound of two Rescue Teams trudging up the path for the fog. At the rear was a seasoned team with scarves that consisted of a green and a white field forming a sawtooth pattern, separated by a tan divider. Their ranks consisted of a Shiftry, a Croconaw, a Loudred, and their temporary Swellow addition for the day, Kiran. Up ahead of them on the path was Team Traveler, the band of rookies who were going to prove themselves today…

That they were ready to break into Normal Rank…

That the sea god among them would discover just what it would take to serve as Tromba's Protector and how to draw out his true power...

Or at least that was the hope.

"Are we _there_ yet?" the team's Growlithe whined as he hopped over a root, a rude satchel slung over his back, which did not escape Nida's notice.

"We _have_ a bag for the team, you know, so you don't need that," Nida growled, pointing to the Growlithe's bag.

"Relax, Elty," Crom admonished. The Druddigon perched on a stump at the rear of the group, his wings spread out to catch some warming rays from the sun. The ruddy lizard then gave his wings a lively beat and glided along with a leaping start to catch up with his teammates. "We just started going up the path a few minutes ago!"

"And why are you suddenly so hesitant to go someplace where you can pick fights with other Pokémon, anyways?" Nida grumbled, flattening out her ears.

"Because _I'm_ not getting anything out of this!"

 _Of course._ Nida sighed to herself and rolled her eyes. The complaint _did_ make a kind of sense, albeit the kind that made her want to give the ex-pirate a stiff headbutt to knock some respect into him. Mercifully for Elty, her train of thought was interrupted after Pleo hopped up from the path onto a tree branch high above, clambering onto it on his way down.

"Kiran? Aren't you guys supposed to be shadowing us while we rescue that Substitute today?" he called behind him to the path below, where Kiran and Team Sawtooth dutifully followed along behind their younger charges.

"Hmm?" the Swellow asked. The blue and red bird tilted his head at Pleo curiously, as the young Lugia carefully inched along the branch, spreading his wings out for balance.

"Well, your shadow's not touching any of us," Pleo replied as he paced tottering towards the end of the branch he was on.

"Uh… 'Shadowing' means that we'll follow you around," Pitys corrected, the Shiftry sighing at this little Protector's rather… erm, literal train of thought.

"Yeah, and that's what we're doing now," Cardellini, her Croconaw teammate assured, calling up to the little white bird who was perched at the end of a now sagging-branch.

"Hmm. I guess that makes sense," Pleo mused to himself, drawing a wing to his mouth as he looked around. "But… then why call it-? Oh! Look! Look!"

Pleo noticed something off in the direction of the sea and began to gesture wildly at it. His companions hastily tried to make out what Pleo saw between the tree trunks along the path, just in case it was another pirate ship like the day up at Marley and Teja's field. Kiran flew up over the treetops and saw that from Pleo's vantage point, one could see a simple wooden pavilion on a seaside ledge.

"Heh, that's your ánima!" Kiran cheerily squawked. "Come on, we'll stop by it!"

Pleo eagerly leapt off his branch, catapulting himself into the air and flapping all the way down to the earth. After stumbling to a stop on the ground, he dusted himself off and dashed on ahead, his companions quickly following suit with a chorus of "Pleo! Wait up!" and other pleas for the little sea guardian to be a bit more patient and run a little more slowly.

Before long, Pleo found the fork in the path that led to the shrine and darted up to it, staring at this rude little structure with a strange upside-down cup thingy in it. Oh, so _that_ must be a bell! Except Pleo couldn't understand for the life of him why that Aggron that attacked them back in the raid would think it would've been tasty at all.

As Pleo poked his head into the little structure and began to gawk at the paintings that were plastered on undersides of the roof panels, he heard footsteps running up. The young Protector turned around to see his teammates approaching the shrine as he began to wonder...

"I don't understand, why is this here?" he asked.

"Well..." Nida began. "Mom says that when the Cradle was being put together, Arceus left behind eggs of new gods based on the hopes of the Pokémon that lived there. The Pokémon here hoped for someone who could use the very sea and winds to protect them, and we got your egg from it."

"Uh huh! Uh huh!" Crom replied. "And as you protect us, and other Protectors start to wake up around the Cradle, the world around the Wastes will start to go back to normal!"

"It… will? Just from me being a Protector?" Pleo chirped.

"Yep!" the Druddigon cheered, wagging his tail a bit. "Your presence will help restore balance to the world, or at least that's how the stories go! That's why the Pokémon on this island built this shrine, so that we could always give thanks to you!"

Nida and Crom seemed sunny and to be enjoying themselves as they explained the purpose of the shrine and began to look around at the surrounding seascape.

Elty on the other hand, looked, well...

" _That_ pathetic little _rudera_ is supposed to be a gesture of _thanks?_ "

Judging from the exasperated scowl that crept over his face and how quickly his ears folded back, 'unimpressed' probably was a generous way of putting it.

"Eh? But I think it looks pretty!" Pleo protested, as he felt his foot brush up against something that fell against a rock with a faint thud. Pleo craned his head down, and discovered that the object that made the noise was a little red berry, apparently frozen over.

"Eh? Isn't this one of Hariti's berries?" he asked as he inspected the little fruit.

"Huh. Looks like she must have left it as an offering earlier," Nida said to herself.

"Hrm? But why would she do that?" Pleo questioned, as he tilted his head at the Nidoran.

"It's an offering," Crom explained, beating his wings a little as he stretched a bit on the sun-drenched pathway. "Pokémon in town leave food there for you!"

"Oh! I see!" Pleo chirped, as he brought his head down to peck at the frosty red-colored little morsel, only to suddenly hear a cry.

" _Hey!_ "

"Huh?!" Pleo squawked. He whirled around to the source of the voice, and saw a little yellow rodent with black ears and brown stripes hastily burst out of some bushes. Pleo wasn't sure what this little creature wanted, but noticed that much like the Zigzagoon who had caused a ruckus through Mildrew's field just before the Iron Fleet's raid on Bluewhorl, she wasn't wearing a scarf.

Pleo looked back at his teammates and saw that all of them had tensed up and had adopted defensive positions. Nida had her barbs fanned out, Crom had his claws bared and opened his maw a little, and Elty had steadied his legs in order to pounce at a moment's notice.

"I was going to eat that!" the Pikachu huffed, electricity dancing on the hairs of its pelt.

Oh, this must have been another one of those 'ferals', and based off of his teammates, it seemed to Pleo as if he wasn't supposed to trust her. The little Lugia braced himself, and beat its wings in protest.

"But it's _mine!_ It's my 'anime'-thingy!"

"Er… _Pollito_ ," Kiran's voice admonished. Pleo looked up and saw the Swellow swoop in and perch on one of the eaves of the shrine. Team Sawtooth, with their jagged-patterned scarves, ran in behind the younger Pokémon with blue scarves with white stars.

The sight of all these much stronger Pokémon appearing made the sparks on the Pikachu's pelt abruptly die, and the little mouse folded its ears back and began to try and make itself look small. As the younger Pokémon began to pick up on the yellow rodent's unease, they eased themselves and traded awkward looks with each other, leaving Pleo to ask uneasily...

"Isn't it? Nida and Crom even said so..."

"Well, isn't that what everyone in town says?" Crom murmured.

"So shouldn't whatever gets left there be his?" Nida asked.

"Well, kids... over the years," Kiran began. "The town's let the ferals have the food."

"Yeah, we assumed giving Pokémon that live lean lives a helping fan was what you would have wanted. Being a 'Protector' and all," the Shiftry added.

"How… Come?" Pleo asked.

"Because it's my first meal since yesterday!" the Pikachu squeaked, which made Pleo stare at the creature, and then up to Kiran.

"Pleo," he explained, flapping down and coming to a rest next to his white and blue charge. "Part of being a Protector is looking out for Pokémon that don't have it as well as you, even if they're strange to you."

'Looking out for'? Pleo thought to himself. How was skipping out on his food supposed to be protecting another Pokémon? As Pleo looked from his berry and over at the Pikachu, he noticed that the creature seemed lean and its fur seemed scraggly and unkempt, as if she had a busy and weary day, without time even to stop and eat… all while it was still morning.

Maybe… maybe 'protecting' Pokémon meant more than simply keeping mean Pokémon like Hess from hurting them... things like making sure the Pokémon next to you didn't go hungry.

"I mean, I guess," the Pikachu mumbled as she looked at the ground. "If you _really_ need it, I could skip it…"

"It's alright, you haven't eaten for longer than me," Pleo replied. The Pikachu then eyed the frozen berry cautiously, and as she cautiously eyed the surrounding Pokémon, she scooped it up, gave a bow to the little guardian present, and then scurried back off into the bushes.

"I guess we should get going, too," Crom murmured as the Pikachu vanished into the undergrowth. "I'll make up the berry to you. After all, we've got loaves from mom's bakery!"

The Druddigon fished out two golden loaves from Kiran's bag. As was his custom, he left one at the base of the shrine, and began to tear up the other and share it with his companions. One for Pleo, one for himself, and of course, one for Nida...

"Ready to get going, Pleo?" Nida asked as she took her portion of bread loaf. The question made Pleo pause for a moment as he helped himself to his piece.

"You'll be there beside me, right?" he asked through a beakful of bread.

"Uh huh! Uh huh!" Crom cheerfully replied as he tore off a chunk for his newest teammate.

"Hrmph… I don't have much of a choice," Elty grumbled as he snatched up his piece of Crom's loaf, occasionally shooting dissatisfied looks at the loaf the dragon had just left there on the shrine's base.

"Of course we will," Nida reassured in between nibbles of her portion. "We're a team, remember?"

"Then… I think that I am," Pleo replied, ruffling his feathers as he drew near to his teammates. Crom was the first to lead the charge, marching on past Team Sawtooth. One by one, his teammates and the shadowing team followed suit, returning to the path in between the trees that wound its way up Tromba's mountains… on towards that strange, thick fog that hung from the peaks.

Before too long, Nida, Crom, Elty, Pleo, and their shadowing team found themselves in a foggy portion of forest, standing in front of a yawning cave entrance that acted as the last barrier between Tromba and the distorted floors within the Mystery Dungeon just ahead.

"Do we all know the rules for going in?" Kiran asked, keenly eyeing his charges who today would have to trawl through the floors on their own. Nida and Crom couldn't help but give each other exasperated looks, as usual.

"Um," Nida grumbled, flattening out her ears.

"Kiran," Crom added, as he slapped a claw over his snout. It was something that they had been through many times before, and judging from Elty's unamused leer, he was certainly in their same camp.

"Look, I might not be from your island, but what kind of moron doesn't know how to safely enter a Mystery-?" he snapped, before he noticed that Pleo was staring blankly at the Swellow.

"Oh, _right_ ," the Growlithe grumbled to himself. Nida and Crom _did_ say that this would be the feather duster's first time in a Mystery Dungeon, so of _course_ he wouldn't know!

"What are they, Kiran?" Pleo asked.

"Why don't you explain this time, kids?" Kiran asked as he gestured to Crom and Nida with a wing.

"Stay together in the fog, don't wander off the path, and don't run into the dungeon," they dutifully recited, this time not groaning at this routine reminder since one of their companions actually needed it this time.

"Yeah, what they said!" Elty added hastily as Kiran quickly talked some matters over with Team Sawtooth that the younger Pokémon couldn't make out before Pitys spoke up.

"We'll be letting you guys lead the way in today, you know how to get in, right?"

"I sure do!" Crom answered. "All you've gotta do is make sure your feet are always on the path!"

"And when the fog gets all espesa?" Alto asked, the Loudred's booming voice carrying off into the distance.

"Keep your head close to the ground to check!" Crom dutifully replied.

"Seems like they've got the hang of it, Kiran," Cardellini said. "And if you kids run into any trouble, we'll take over for you."

"I'll follow whichever one of you will be at the end, so feel free to organize the team, Crom," Kiran replied as he turned to quickly preen some shoulder feathers. Crom stopped and eyed his teammates, before he bent down to address the Nidoran.

"You hitching a ride again this time, Nida?" he asked, his jagged maw giving the closest approximation to a smile a Druddigon could muster.

"Actually… I think I'll pass this time, Crom," Nida said, putting a paw to her mouth as she looked aside.

"Eh?!" the young Druddigon cried out of surprise. "But you _always-!_ "

He then noticed that Nida was glancing at Pleo, who was busy preening some flight feathers on his wing.

"Someone probably needs the company a bit more," she explained. "It'll be his first time going through the fog, remember?"

"Ah, right. Good catch," Crom replied. "Pleo! Hold on tight to my tail as we go in-! Ow!"

Crom then felt Pleo latching onto the end of his tail with his beak, as he cheerily replied in a muffled tone.

"Likth dath?" he asked.

"Um… Pleo, let's try using your wings," Nida said, sighing. The Nidoran then hopped up onto Pleo's shoulders and sat at the base of his neck and after a little prodding, the Lugia let go of Crom's tail and gave the dragon a moment to wag some sensation back into it. After Crom seemed to be ready, Pleo again latched onto the Druddigon's tail, this time by pressing it firmly between his wings. Yep, everyone was now accounted for, except...

"Alright," declared the Growlithe's voice. "So _I'll_ just go at the very end of the- Gark!"

The former pirate yelped as felt himself being lifted off the ground by the scruff of his neck, then drawn into a tight clutch of two arms coated in rough scales as Crom looked down at him with those piercing eyes of his.

"Yeah, nice try, Elty," he said. "But you'll be sticking with me today."

" _Hey!_ I can handle myself fine! And your scales _chafe!_ " Elty whined as Kiran grabbed Pleo's tail with his own wings and Team Sawtooth latched onto each other, grasping tails, arms, or shoulders to finish their chain.

"Alright, I think we're good here. Lead the way, Crom!" Kiran called out.

"I'm on it!" Crom cheered, as he began trudging past the lip of the cave, deeper and deeper into the mist.

As the Druddigon lead the group deeper and deeper into the haze, Pleo keenly eyed his young guide. Crom always trudged forth slowly and carefully, sometimes stopping and bending down to eye and sniff at the ground to make sure he hadn't strayed off the path. Even as his form became more and more indistinct from the haze, it was a process the young Druddigon dutifully kept up. With each step forward, less and less of the world stayed visible to the Lugia. The feeling of Nida on his shoulders, Crom's tail before him, and Kiran's wings behind him being the only sensations that seemed to not grow more muddled as he went along.

"Why do we have to go through this fog thing?" Pleo asked the riding Nidoran on his shoulders.

"That's just how the barrier to the Distortion works," Nida replied. "It apparently was that way even back in the days of humans."

"Yeah, there's stories about the different ways humans would try to mark paths through them back when they were around," Crom called off from ahead. "In one of them, they tried building pillars along the path as a guide!"

"Not that we'd ever know for sure," Kiran explained as Pleo watched the Swellow's face became harder and harder to make out in the fog. "All of those Distortions, if they're even _around_ anymore, would be somewhere out in the Wastes."

As they kept walking along, more and more of the world around Pleo vanished. Team Sawtooth's Pokémon were the first to vanish, blotted out from Pleo's view by the fog. Kiran was next, and soon enough Pleo couldn't even make out his own tail. Then came Crom and Nida, as the fog enveloped more and more of Pleo, to the point where he couldn't even see past the end of his snout.

All the while, everything seemed to become… wrong. The chatter of his teammates, the smell of the path's surroundings, even the very feel of the air surrounding him and the path under his feet... all of it became murky, heavy, and strange, as if Crom had lead everyone into the clutch of some strange and awful snare that was closing in on him… leaving him all alone.

Pleo stopped trudging forward, not daring to move his wings or take another step, and began to call out, frightened.

"N-Nida?! Nida!"

He tried to look about, but all there was around him was this thick, oppressive haze. Pleo's heart sank and he began to wish that he was back in the town, back where he could see the sun and the sky, where everyone seemed happy and content. All of a sudden, Pleo felt something soft on his back, and heard a small voice from the haze.

"-eep going...! alm... -ough!" it called. Wait a minute, that voice… It was Nida's!

"Nida! Where _are_ you?!" he cried, before he began to hear other voices.

"Don… -ive up!"

"So -ose!"

"-oin… grea…!"

"-ollow… -om!"

Pleo stopped and shuffled his feet… Were these sounds his teammates? Or was it all just a trick? He stood there, torn at what to do, before a voice murmured through the haze.

"right here... -side you."

It was then that Pleo shook his head and the fog suddenly seemed less overwhelming. Even if he couldn't see them, his friends really _were_ still right beside him. He felt a tug ahead, and decided that as disorienting as everything seemed, it was safe to press on. So he went, trudging step by step, letting the scraping tug before him be his guide.

Little by little, the air felt lighter and lighter and the sound of flowing water became clearer and clearer along with an increasingly strong smell of salt as the haze began to recede. Nida, Crom, Kiran… One by one, the different Pokémon that had gone along with Pleo through the mist returned to the guardian's vision, until they were all there again.

As last wisps of fog cleared away, Pleo saw that Crom led everyone into a simple sea cave with a pool of water that stretched along the wall to the right and a narrow corridor at the end.

"Make it through alright, _pollito?_ " Kiran asked as he sidled up to Pleo. "You seemed like you took the trip through a little hard."

"I think so," Pleo murmured uneasily as he looked about the stone chamber. "But why does the fog get so scary?"

"You'll get used to it with time, Pleo," Nida explained. "It always seems scary the first time around."

"Alright, so _this_ is as far as we'll lead you today," Pitys declared as she brushed her fans together and shook some life into them.

"Wait, it… is?" Pleo asked. "But I thought we were exploring!"

"Emphasis on 'we'," Crom replied as he stretched his limbs. " _We'll_ be leading the way for the practice rescue, Kiran and the others will be following. Think of it as kinda being like our times going through _Maestra_ Mosca's maze."

"I guess that makes sense," Pleo said to himself.

"And if you guys ever find yourself in need of a speedy exit, you've got an easy way to make that happen!" Kiran cheered before he pressed his badge with a wing, which quickly caused a familiar Kirlia's voice to flood the minds of the present Pokémon.

_"Yeah, what is it, Kiran? I'm juggling stuff!"_

"Oh, hi wall-talker!" Pleo cheered as he waved ahead, and then blinked and looked around sheepishly as he remembered that the Guild's psychics didn't _have_ to be anywhere nearby to speak with him.

"It's Pataki, Pleo," Crom corrected. The voice, realizing who was in the party, suddenly adopted a much more congenial demeanor.

_"Oh! Right! It's the Protector's big day! Ahehe, I'm sure that I can manage if he needs some help. Or maybe someone to keep that lordly mind of his company in that dreary sea cave~"_

"You know, I'm pretty sure that you just made the whole 'being stuck alone in a dreary sea cave that shifts around' sound a lot more appealing right now," Elty said, rolling his eyes at the Kirlia's broadcast thoughts.

_"Shut it, mutt!"_

Kiran let go of his badge- no sense in getting into an argument with Pataki _this_ early into the mission. He then motioned for his teammates to draw near, and embraced them all with his wings, even Elty.

"Good luck, kids," he said, giving a tight squeeze before letting the group free. "We'll be rooting for you!"

They all quietly nodded, before Crom turned around and began to trudge for the corridor in the back. His companions followed after the young dragon one by one as Kiran waited at the entrance with Team Sawtooth, watching his pupils vanish deeper into the maze.

"Where you go here is all up to you," he chirped to himself.

After finding each floor's stairs, Team Traveler would wait on Kiran and Team Sawtooth to come along. Then they would all go down the stairs together, the Distortion sealing up the path behind them as the Pokémon made their way deeper into the Mystery Dungeon. Once they reached the next floor, the young rookies would then once again trudge on ahead as the others sat and once again waited for them to slip out of their line of sight.

The first two floors of the dungeon were quiet ones that day, with the only real encounters in the routine the two teams established being Pataki's gushing whenever Pleo happened to brush his badge, much to the annoyance of his teammates. Still, they couldn't complain too much about things, the Substitute that the team was to 'rescue' was supposed to be somewhere between the fifth and seventh floors that day, and here they were, still on the third.

The third floor that day had been created by the Distortion as a simple collection of large chambers, mostly bereft of the spindly and narrow passageways that the team had trained in back at the Dojo. The trappings of this floor were mostly what one would expect from a sea cave: stony ceilings, floors, and walls, a few shallow pools and streams of sea water…

With one rather obvious exception.

"Look! The water's going up!" Pleo cried out.

The young Lugia pointed at a wall in their cave passageway covered with cascading seawater. Except the direction the water flowed in went from bottom to top.

"Er… Well, it seems to be, yeah," Nida murmured. She had to admit, watching that curious fascination that Guild members often felt their first time in the Mystery Dungeon _was_ cute, but…

Was Pleo going to do this for _everything_ out of the ordinary he ran across?

"That's so cool!" Pleo chirped. "Can we make a wall of water like this back home?"

"Tch. Not likely, they call the thing that makes these Mystery Dungeons the 'Distortion' for a reason!" a voice called out.

Pleo and Nida looked behind them and saw a Growlithe hopping between stones over the stream of water which emptied up the wall. The little dog keenly eyed each rock, tensing up before each leap.

_Splash!_

Only to slip on his final jump and fall into the stream. The Growlithe slipped under the surface for a moment, before he bolted back up to his feet and quickly climbed out of the stream, coughing up some water.

"Bah… At least it's _shallow_ ," the Growlithe grumbled to himself. The little dog crept up the edge of the pool, dripping all the while before he stopped and vigorously shook himself to try and dry his pelt.

"Heey! Come on! We can't find that Substitute if we're just _sitting_ around here looking at the cave!" Crom cried from further down the passageway.

"Come on, Pleo, we should get going," Nida said as she turned and began to carefully trudge forward to Crom's position.

"And if we take too long here, we might get caught up when the Distortion blows away the floor," Elty chimed in as he darted off towards Crom.

"'Blows away the floor'?" Pleo asked nervously as he followed his Nidoran teammate.

Nida flattened out her ears. Why did Elty _have_ to bring that up right now? This was Pleo's first time in the Mystery Dungeon, and the last thing anyone on the team needed was a jittery and panicky teammate in such an unstable environment.

"It's something that happens occasionally. _No te preocupes!_ We'd be able to get enough warning to get to safety if the floor was about to get shifted up," Nida reassured.

It seemed to be good enough for the young Protector; his momentary unease wavered and then melted away as he went back to following along after Nida, occasionally casting glances back at the inverted waterfall.

The two followed Crom deeper into the maze, down a path which led the group through a broad pool that came up to Nida's knees. There were portions of the pool that gave way to darker shades of blue; presumably the deep ends. But as long as the team stayed where it was shallow-

"Ow!"

A voice cried out from ahead, and was quickly joined by Crom's.

"Gyaaah!"

Much to the shock of everyone present, Crom abruptly fell backwards into the water. He narrowly missed Nida and Elty, who sidestepped the Druddigon's body at the last minute. After the minor panic, everyone's eyes quickly settled upon a pink, wraith-like jellyfish that burst out from the water ahead of the Druddigon.

"That's my tentacle you stepped on, jerk!" the Frillish hissed as she glared at the blue and red intruder.

"Ack! Sorry! Sorry! We didn't see you!" Crom stammered.

"Yeah, do you think we just hopped into this pool for laughs or something?" Elty barked.

"Look, we're sorry about the trouble-" Nida began, before the pink creature cut her off.

"I'm sure you are!" she shouted as a red and black aura began to form around her body. "Get _out!_ "

" _Wait!_ " Pleo cried, waving his wings desperately at the jellyfish. "You can't attack them! I'm the Protector!"

"E-Eh?!" the creature cried out of surprise. Her aura abruptly vanished and the jellyfish began to eye the white bird skeptically. "I mean… I guess you _kinda_ do look like how the Protector's supposed to, but…"

The Frillish paused for a moment, and then shook her head before gesturing at Nida, Elty, and Crom.

"If you're _really_ the Protector, have your friends perform your secret ritual dance!" she cried.

"Wh-What?!" Pleo squawked.

" _What_ dance?!" Nida cried

"My mother told me that back in the days of humans, a secret dance was used to summon the Protector in caves like this one! If that bird's really the Protector, he _must_ have taught you it!"

Nida, Crom, and Elty stared at each other blankly as they realized that they hadn't had the foggiest idea of what sort of dance was supposed to summon a bird that had trouble paying attention half the time. On top of all of that, even if they _did_ somehow know the dance...

"Yeah… I'm _not_ going to dance," Elty grumbled, folding back his ears.

It didn't look like they were going to have any luck performing it.

"We're doomed, aren't we?" Crom groaned, throwing a claw over his face.

"Yes, you are," the Frillish hissed, her reddish-black aura thickening and re-emerging. "That bird's an _imposter!_ "

Before Pleo could speak back, the aura around the Frillish coalesced and focused itself into a black beam that struck Pleo in his chest and threw him backwards.

"Aah!"

As Pleo struggled back to his feet and tried to shake some sensation back into his chest (and some water off himself), the others quickly slipped into battle poses.

"We'll try diplomacy another time!" Nida cried. "Let's just fight this creepy jerk jellyfish off already!"

"Right!" Elty grunted.

"Leave us alone!" Crom roared at the Frillish, before he charged the creature and clamped down on one of her tentacles with his jaws.

"Yeargh!" the jellyfish shrieked, flailing around desperately trying to break free. As she pulled at her tentacle, an indigo aura spread over the Druddigon. As he noticed the eerie aura passing onto him along with a sudden overbearing and draining feeling, the young dragon cried out in surprise, allowing the Frillish to pull her tentacle free. Just in time for the aura to coalesce in bands that wrapped themselves around Crom's snout, clamping it shut.

"Mrrph!"

Crom began to panic, clawing at the binds around his mouth. But as hard as he tried, the strange violet binds didn't show any appreciable damage and simply refused to budge.

"Not so tough without your jaws, are ya?" the Frillish taunted as the blackish aura returned to her body. "Enjoy your curse!"

And much as she had done with Pleo, the creature's aura focused itself into a black beam which zipped forward and bowled the Druddigon over in the water.

"Mrrrrgh!"

As the Frillish darted forward to strike the Druddigon, she suddenly recoiled from a flying spike that narrowly missed her head, and a little gout of fire that passed close enough to her tentacles to singe one. The two attacks belonged to a certain Nidoran and Growlithe, who were staring down the Frillish that was now turning their direction. Nida stood much closer than Elty, who kept a healthy distance at the back.

"Elty, you can help in ways beyond sticking around in the back, you know!" she huffed to her teammate.

"Don't _rush_ me, battling's not a science!" Elty growled back. His words were… unencouraging to say the least, as the Frillish began to close the gap with Nida, causing her to tense her barbs once more.

"Take this!"

She flicked another of her spikes from her body at the advancing jellyfish and watched it sail straight at her assailant, only for the Frillish to catch sight of the approaching spike and then abruptly fade just before it struck, leaving the projectile to pass through entirely.

"Eh?! They can do that with _moving objects_ , too-?!" Nida cried out, slack-jawed. Before she could dodge or weave out of the way, she felt the familiar stream of scalding bursts and accompanying glop of a BubbleBeam.

"Ack!"

As Nida tumbled back through the water and stumbled back to her feet, she heard the sound of something bolting through the water in the direction of the Frillish, along with Pleo's voice.

"W-Wait! Leave her alone!"

Nida cleared her eyes enough to catch the Frillish whirling towards Pleo, beginning to build a dark aura around herself again as Pleo froze in his tracks.

"Eep!"

"Don't think I've forgotten about _you_ , imposter!" the Frillish shouted at the petrified young Lugia.

Much to Nida's horror, the creature's aura coalesced again, and disgorged itself as a black beam that tore towards Pleo, making Nida flinch. Only… there were no cries of pain this time. Just the sounds of surprise from the Frillish.

"Huh?! Where'd it go?!"

When Nida's eyes opened again, she saw that Pleo had vanished from his spot. Nida gave a surprised squeak, it was then that she chanced to glance up and saw that Pleo was sailing in the air with a wobble.

"I'm flying!" he chirped, ecstatic that he was in the air, high above everyone, just barely skimming the surface of the cave's roof. "I'm fly- Whoa- Whoa!"

He then lost his balance and entered a steep dive, the Lugia plummeting like a stone back to the pool below with a splash… directly on top of the Frillish. The Frillish flopped weakly, stunned for a moment. Dazed by being landed on by a much larger creature, the jellyfish then feebly began to pull herself free.

"O-Ow- **_EYAAAAAH!_** "

The Frillish suddenly gave a shrill cry of pain intermingled with the sound of frantic splashing after Elty bit down upon her bell. Her voice wavered and her motions grew weaker until they were but occasional twitches as she slipped out of consciousness and drifted back down into the water from where she came.

"Hrmph, [I[that[/I] far enough from the back for you, spike ball?" he asked, spitting up the taste of Frillish from his mouth.

"It's an improvement," Nida grunted, as she saw Crom stumbling over to help Pleo up onto his feet. The bands muzzling his snout began to evaporate, allowing the Druddigon to finally tear the accursed binds off.

"Is everyone alright?" the Druddigon panted, still feeling the effects of the Frillish's attack.

"My body aches a little, but I think I'm-" Pleo began, but before he could finish, the young Lugia had his attention diverted to the sight of an olive, glassy sphere that looked like it was filled with grayish, silky cords in the water. "Look!"

"Eh?" Crom began, before he too saw the sphere in the water. "Oh! Good eye! That's a Slow Orb!"

"An… 'Orb'?" the young Lugia asked as Nida bounded into the pool to fish out the Slow Orb.

"It's said that unlike things like Blast Seeds, orbs are pure crystallizations of the essence of the Distortion," Nida explained, as she nudged the orb over to Pleo. "And that depending on the orb, once they're broken, they'll either affect everyone close enough who's touched it… Or for orbs like _this_ one, everyone close enough who hasn't touched it."

"They're supposed to be best used inside Mystery Dungeons," Crom added. "If you try using them outside, the ones that _do_ work aren't nearly as effective out there."

Pleo stared into the strange, greenish orb, and pecked at it gently. It felt smooth and cold like one of the glass jars in town that Pokémon put moss or candles in for light, and even made a similar plinking noise. The Lugia then pushed the bauble forward with his beak, but couldn't help but feel uneasy about something.

"Wait… but isn't this 'orb' thingy the Frillish's? It was in her pool of water, wasn't it?"

"Meh, who cares?" Elty grunted. "Finder's keepers!"

"We _did_ just get jumped for no good reason by her. And she covered me in that _asquerosa_ bubbly glop!" Nida grumbled, flattening out her ears as she brought the Slow Orb over to the bag Crom was holding. "I'm pretty sure that's grounds for demanding something in return- Oh."

"We don't have any space left in the bag, Crom," she sighed.

"Well, I've got plenty of space in _mine!_ " Elty offered, nosing at the bag he was still carrying from the evening he came to Tromba. "Put it here!"

There was a pause as the other three Pokémon present traded skeptical looks with each other before Nida tersely broke the silence.

"Yeah, I think we'll heal to make room, thanks."

" _Daj mi spokój! I bailed you out!_ " the Growlithe complained. "Can't I get a _little_ bit of trust here?!"

"It _would_ get more confusing with two bags to have to juggle, Elty," Crom said as he began trudging through the water towards the shore. "Come on, we should get out of this pool and get patched up anyways."

The team trudged on wearily to the other side of the pool and came to a rest on the rocks. It was decided that Nida would tend to Crom, and she could also tend to Pleo… as for Nida...

"Er… How _are_ we going to heal you, Nida?" Pleo asked.

"Uh," Nida mumbled, mouth agape. She couldn't say that she was terribly confident in letting Crom try to treat her given his… Erm, need for understudy. But the team _was_ supposed to take care of itself…

"I'll do it," Elty volunteered.

"You _what?_ " Nida asked, her ears beginning to droop.

"What? Basic healing isn't _that_ uncommon of a skill, is it?" the Growlithe scoffed, before giving an askew glance at Crom. "Besides, considering your alternatives…"

"Grr… Fine, but I'm going _last_ so that way Crom and Pleo can beat the snot out of you if you get any ideas!" Nida huffed.

Well, that settled that. Nida sidled over to Crom, who had sprawled out on the ground, and began to tend to his wounds. All the while, Pleo couldn't help but feel troubled about something. He was supposed to be the Protector of Tromba Island, and not just of the Pokémon that lived in town either. So why did the Frillish get mad at him and call him an imposter when he didn't do what she wanted? Pleo thought, and thought, but couldn't come to a satisfying answer before Nida's voice interrupted his train of thought.

"Hey, it's your turn, Pleo," she said, inspecting Pleo under his feathers. "Lemme see what I can do for you about your chest. I don't _think_ attacks like those break hide, but it should still be treated."

"Hmm? Oh, I guess that's alright," Pleo murmured, not really paying attention as Nida brought over a peeled Oran Berry and began to inspect his chest.

"Nida?" Pleo asked.

"Hmm?"

"Why did-? Nnngh!" Pleo looked down and saw that Nida had begun to apply the berry's juice to his chest. He steeled himself a bit from the pain before he returned to his train of thought. "Why did the thing you called a 'Frillish' not believe me?"

"I don't know Pleo," Nida sighed as she brushed away some more feathers from another site on Pleo's chest. "Maybe, she was just expecting something different from a Protector."

"Am I _supposed_ to be different as a Protector though-? Ow!"

As Pleo winced from the last of the juice, Nida stopped and thought a moment as she passed the pulp up to Pleo to chew. While the white creature bit into and swallowed the Oran pulp in bits, Nida realized that she _didn't_ really know if Pleo was supposed to be different as a Protector or not. The only thing she had to work with was folklore and what everyone said a Protector ought to be, and… well, the town had seen for themselves that not all of them seemed to come to pass. And apparently the ferals had stories and expectations of their own that she had never heard before!

"Well, I can't say that I know for sure," the Nidoran murmured. "I'm pretty sure that you're more than just a Pokémon that's supposed to show up whenever other Pokémon do some special dance, like that Frillish thought."

"Yeah, I thought that was strange too," Pleo answered. Well, that seemed to clear one thing up: even if he was supposed to be different as a Protector, it wasn't necessarily supposed to be in the way that the Frillish wanted. The realization helped to bring some relief to Pleo as Elty drew over to Nida.

"Alright, it's your turn, spike ball," the Growlithe said as he went over to grab an Oran Berry, only for the sound of the Frillish stirring to reverberate from the pool of water.

"Nnngah."

"Er," Elty groaned, biting his tongue.

"Come on, we should get going before she wakes all the way up," Nida said. "I can get healed while we wait at the stairs."

"Sounds like music to my ears," Elty sighed as the group hurriedly went further on down the chamber, the Frillish and the pool slowly slipping out of sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _rudera_ \- Polish: "hovel"  
>  \- _espesa_ \- Spanish: "thick, dense"  
>  \- _(¡)No te preocupes!_ \- Spanish: "Don't worry!"  
>  \- _asquerosa_ \- Spanish: "disgusting"  
>  \- _Daj mi spokój!_ \- Polish: Interjection, roughly "Give me a break!"
> 
> Special thanks to Tangent128 of serebii.net for chapter header.


	13. Loose Lips

As Team Traveller treated their wounds from their battle with the Frillish, Hatteras was walking about the main square back in town. He had shelved his red and white Guildmaster scarf that day in favor of something a bit more mayoral while he surveyed repairs that were going on.

A Togetic tailor was operating under an awning. As Pokémon carted in pieces of lumber to slowly rebuild the interior of a freshly constructed frame, he engaged in an idle conversation with the Starmie that owned the similarly-obliterated Appraisal Shop on the docks, wondering if hiding discount vouchers in chests in the Mystery Dungeon might encourage more business from the guild.

Over at Calino's stall, the Kecleon was engaged in a heated negotiation with the Honchkrow that owned the local bank. Apparently Hess's underlings had made off with a sizable quantity of Poké- or "merchants' scrip" as the Honchkrow called it, to Calino's annoyance- from the vaults. Calino's off-island associates reimbursed a healthy part of such losses in return for Pokémon like the banker maintaining reserves in Poké, and the crow felt it proper for that portion to cover most of the purloined money. Hatteras privately hoped that the two could come to an agreement without requiring his adjudication. Numismatics was always such a dry subject, and had a worrisome tendency to bring out unfavorable sides of Pokémon.

A little further up, Hatteras saw a familiar Sceptile with a lavender headband seated on a stool in a wood-floored juice bar. The wooden hut that housed it sat beside a glassblowing shop run by a Magmar that _insisted_ that the strong drinks served just next door were an aid to his craft and not just a fire hazard. The town's arboreal captain of the guard lazily toyed with a chewing twig in the shade, taking a break from guarding, it seemed. The Ampharos turned and entered the establishment, rebuilt recently enough to not to have the sights and accompanying smells of many rowdy and well-used nights yet.

"Oh? Not loafing around on the job are you now, Osmund?" Hatteras asked as his eyes adjusted to the shade of the juice bar.

"Heh, heh, as the Pokémon who gave me this job you oughta know me better than that, Hatteras!" Osmund answered. "I might play a little loose according to the Company's standards, but even I've got better things to do than while my time away in an empty juice bar."

As the Sceptile observed, there really were no customers at the low tables around the establishment. Before Hatteras could ask _what_ his captain of the guard was doing here, Osmund spoke up.

"I'm doing rounds, checking up on the Pokémon you had fill those community service positions," he explained. The green lizard then gestured at a Sableye who was lazily cleaning the floor with a brush and crude wooden pan by some empty tables. "Hoy, tenderfoot! I hope you don't keep the _barkeep_ waiting like this! It's a slow day, there's juice on the counter, and I've been waiting 10 minutes for it!"

"Hey, _cool it!_ " the imp snapped back. "The old windbag's picking up inventory right now and I'm juggling her brat's clea-!"

Before the Sableye could continue, though, he became acutely aware just who the two customers in the juice bar were and flushed pale.

"G-Gih!" the creature squeaked, dropping the brush and pan. "I mean- I guess I could-!"

"Actually, make it two," Hatteras added. "I'll take one of whatever he's having."

The Sableye darted over to the counter, hastily poured juice from a pitcher into a second cup, and rushed back to the table.

"Two Rawsts with honey! S-Sorry about the wait! I'm still getting used to this, _h-honest!_ " he stammered, before darting away from the table and returning to his work cleaning. The Sableye's motions had a bit more vigor to them now, in what was an obvious and transparent attempt to secure some peace. Even so, Hatteras found some small positive sign from the purple creature's behavior.

"Well, you can't say they haven't been learning their manners towards authority figures, can you?" Hatteras cheered as he took a sip from his cup.

"Mmph, Mirlia needs to get him to put some more work into that 'service with a smile' part… but that's not new," the Sceptile replied.

"So, I take it reconstruction's been going well? With all the Pokémon going about the square today, you'd think that all of the shops have already reopened!" Hatteras cheered.

"Well… well enough to be able to get a drink," Osmund sighed before taking a swig from his cup. "Mirlia and Minia got this place open up quickly enough, but my preferred haunt's still out from fire damage at the moment."

"So, has there been any word about when they'll-?"

"Mrph. I'm afraid I can't help you there, Hatteras," the Sceptile said, shaking his head. "If there was word, I'd have heard it. I'm _supposed_ to be the 'mon who hears things first through the Grepa bush from the rest of the Company, hierarchal structure and all. What I _have_ been able to get from them about how on earth this raid even happened was that they'd 'come to make an assessment soon'."

"I was afraid of that, actually," Hatteras said, putting a paw over his brow. "Did they at least give any ideas as to _how_ soon-?"

"E-Eh?!" a Kangaskhan's voice from outside cried out.

"M-Mom? Why are they here already?" a younger voice added, its softer tone full of apprehension and dread.

"Mirlia sure came back soon, but I wonder what's going-?" Hatteras began to ask as jewel-eyed creature went up to the juice bar's entrance. The Pokémon carried on past an apprehensive Kangaskhan attempting to reassure her child and looked towards the harbor...

And promptly went slack-jawed.

"Oh great, just what I needed to get stuck here on this island in time for," he muttered.

Hatteras and Osmund got up from their table at once and walked over to the gawking barkeep and her help. To their dismay, they, along with everyone else on the path, saw a ship sidling up to one of the harbor's docks. A ship that flew lavender sails bearing an emblem made of violet squares.

"Sooner than I expected, it looks like," Osmund muttered.

* * *

A bit later, Team Sawtooth found themselves pacing down a narrow, winding passage on the third floor of Tromba's Mystery Dungeon. The group was lead by Alto, who every so often stopped and listened for something further down the path.

"I'm telling you guys, I _heard_ them this way!" the Loudred insisted.

"Ugh, couldn't you have picked a less cramped way to get there?" Cardellini grumbled. Croconaw weren't meant to have their tails rub up against cave walls with every turn in a corridor, after all.

"It _would_ be nice to be able to fly without running into something right now," Kiran added.

"If we get ambushed, you won't be doing us any favors for being able to fight effectively," Pitys sighed. As the Shiftry kept watch over the portion of the corridor behind her, Kiran stopped and pressed his badge with his wing.

"Pataki, you're _sure_ this passage leads to the stairs and the kids, right?" the Swellow spoke to the bauble.

" _Do **you** want to try to scan the floor in my place?_ " Pataki's voice snapped back in the four Pokémon's minds.

" _Ya, ya! Entiendo!_ " Kiran squawked, before he gave an apologetic sigh. "I'm… just a little on-edge. You said earlier the kids got into a scuffle, and I'm concerned that they're not taking care of them-"

"-a ha! And _you_ said I couldn't be a good healer!" a voice carried on from down the passage.

"-f you're so great, why'd you ask for _Crom_ to heal you back at the Dojo, then?"

"-selves," Kiran murmured before dropping his wing from his badge.

"They sound pretty healthy to me," Alto said as he rounded a corner. "And I think this must be their chamber!"

Kiran and his temporary teammates carefully followed Alto, plumbing down another narrow corridor into an unremarkable, straightforward chamber. The stairs lay directly in front of them, and the four other members of Team Traveler were resting on the other side..

"Hey!" Kiran cried out, immediately drawing the attention of the four rookies.

" _Took_ you long enough!" Elty barked. Now that he had some more room, Kiran took wing and flapped over to the four younger Pokémon. The Swellow settled down and ruffled his feathers, his calm similarly perturbed as he anxiously asked his teammates:

"The floor wasn't too hard on you, was it?"

"Yeah, we ran into this really upset 'Frillish' thing earlier!" Pleo chirped. "But we defeated her! We even found a 'Slow Orb' afterwards!"

"Yeah! Check it out!" Crom cried. The Druddigon thrust his claws into the team bag and, after a little rummaging, fished out an olive sphere and proudly showed it off. The Swellow stopped and blinked at the group.

Perhaps it was the effects of the Oran Berries they used coming in, but Team Traveller seemed far less beleaguered than Kiran had dreaded. Yes, they still had a few obvious scuffs and nicks here and there, but there seemed to be a confidence and determination that etched itself across the team's faces. Why, even _Elty_ seemed to have a little bit of the same spark in him!

No, there was something more to this than some temporary berry effect, and the Pokémon from Team Sawtooth seemed to notice it, too.

"It looks like they've been taking care of themselves pretty good for rookies, Kiran," Pitys reassured.

"Yeah, they take after their captain pretty good, it seems!" Alto chimed in.

The Swellow paused and, after puffing out his feathers a bit with a hint of pride, finally spoke up.

"Well, what can I say?" he chirped in satisfaction. "Why, when you get your fundamentals down, everything else just follows!"

* * *

Back in Bluewhorl, the atmosphere was far less cheery as the Company ship docked. Hatteras breathed a quiet sigh of gratitude to the gods for the ship being smaller and less imposing than he had dreaded- and more importantly, for Pleo being far away right now. Far from the eyes of the Pokémon accompanying the unwelcome ship that day.

"At least it's one of their smaller ships this time. I don't think they'll be able to take much from this town today."

"How _much_ they'd take wasn't my biggest concern," Hatteras replied. "Get some of your subordinates handy, they'll need a welcoming committee to keep them in line."

Osmund gave a nod and ducked off down the path after hastily leaving some Poké on the counter, leaving Hatteras to walk towards the docks on his own. As he drew nearer, he saw some of the Pokémon at the harbor dart away after seeing the ship dock. Some sea Pokémon and fliers perched around their chosen docks, all of them wearing lavender scarves bearing a violet square pattern simpler than the ship's sails. The creatures maintained gruff and inhospitable attitudes with any locals unfortunate enough to be near them; every low growl and snarl was aimed to consciously remind the hapless residents that this was their town as long as they were in port. As Hatteras drew near he heard apprehensive whispers circulate among the townsfolk.

"The Company's already come?"

"But they're not supposed to be here until after the next wet season!"

"Mommy, are the mean Pokémon going to root through our stuff again?"

He walked up the dock, towards some Pokémon that had disembarked from the ship and were waiting around a Mothim with. Hatteras looked back just in time to see Osmund making his way up along with some hastily called-up guards, and then turned back to the Mothim. The Bug-type wore a lavender scarf with a purple design consisting of four small squares that laid on top of the corners of a larger square that connected them all

"I was expecting bit more from a collection agent," Hatteras murmured.

"I'm a _notary_ thank you very much," the Mothim snapped back with an icy leer.

"Then note this," a Granbull among the guards Osmund called up growled. "We don't want you around here any more than you have to be!"

"Yeah, take your boat and push off already!" snapped a Mawile that Team Traveler might have recognized were they there. The outbursts drew growls and leers from the Pokémon with lavender scarves, but strangely enough, the Mothim seemed unmoved.

"Really now... 'Osmund', is it? You ought to do more to keep your ranks in check," the bug lectured as he flitted about nonchalantly, before his eyes glowed and he flicked one of his arms down. The gesture pulled the Mawile's headband over his face with an unseen force. The strip of cloth unfurled, revealing itself to be a scrunched-up lavender scarf with a violet square much like the ones the Mothim's lackeys wore.

"Ah!" the Mawile cried out, as he hastily tried to redo his headband, backpedaling nervously from this moth that was far less frail than appearances indicated.

"It's so unbecoming to air private disputes in public, don't you think?" the fluttering moth asked the Sceptile. "Especially when such disputes involve _insubordination_ by upstarts who don't know their place in the hierarchy."

"Grr… You're new to this circuit," Osmund glowered back. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"The name is Ellsberg. As for why I'm here..." the Mothim replied. "I believe that it was _you_ that shot those distress flares off. You needed help to fend off an assault, yes? A ship captained by an Aggron, I believe?"

"That was a _week_ ago!" the Sceptile blurted out in frustration.

"And the closest spotters had a bit of ship trouble a week ago. Really now," Ellsberg chided. "As much as we dislike the present arrangement here, we don't stoop _that-_ "

"Ahem, but given the… delicacy of these details, might I suggest that we continue this over something more relaxed?" Hatteras proposed. "Osmund and I were just in the middle of drinks when you pulled into port."

"That's fine by me," the Mothim replied, as he began to motion to the lavender-scarved Pokémon with him to come along. "After all, I did not come to this hamlet thinking there would be much that worth bothering with to begin with."

"Keep your lackeys on the docks," Osmund brusquely interrupted. Which caused the Pokémon that had come with the ship to trade skeptical looks with each other and mumble snide comments about 'these bumpkins' and the like. The Mothim however, called for quiet before he turned back to the Sceptile.

"Hrmph, I see that you're as eager as ever to kowtow to native sensibilities, Osmund," the creature sneered. "But very well, I'm sure that you know as well as I do what ramifications there will be for your position in the Company and this town's arrangement if any harm comes to me."

"We're both aware, yes," Hatteras replied. "Now, I believe we had drinks to get to?"

The Ampharos led the Mothim back along the path, Osmund following close behind the flitting bug all the way back to the juice bar. The Mothim for his part seemed utterly unconcerned with the hostile and apprehensive stares from the locals, or, if anything, pleased by them.

As soon as the Mothim came into the juice bar, which now had Mirlia and her daughter Minia working behind the counter, a pall instantly fell over the three Pokémon in the room. The Sableye, keenly aware of the additional customer who had come into the shop, quietly busied himself with cleaning and avoided eye contact.

"Uhm… Guildmaster Hatteras-?" the Kangaskhan asked, as she uneasily eyed the flitting bug while her child ducked behind her for shelter.

"You there! You juice berries don't you?" the Mothim barked. "I'll take a Charti smoothie with a hint of mint."

"R-Right away!" Mirlia stammered, as she hastily set about juicing Charti Berries for the Mothim's drink. All the while, her daughter nervously scanned some shelves for the mint the Mothim had requested, ultimately producing some green leaves. Before too long, the berries were reduced into a yellow, pulpy fluid in a cup with the mint crushed into a fine crumble along the top. With the drink done, Mirlia brought the juice over to the Mothim's table, her eyes betraying an uneasy reluctance and Minia shivering in her pouch all the while. Osmund mouthed some words of encouragement to the younger Kangaskhan and gave a few misshapen coins to cover the drink, which was met with an unimpressed buzz.

"You shouldn't be so charitable, Osmund!" the Mothim admonished as he extended a proboscis down into his drink. "I was merely asking for a mere pittance in return for what the Company does for this town."

"Hrmph, really now?" Hatteras asked gruffly. "Over the past week, I can't say that anyone in this town has been satisfied with these… 'Services'."

"Ellsberg, these Pokémon work themselves to the bone to pay for their town's defense after every harvest!" Osmund huffed. "If we guards can't so much as count on the rest of the Company to help stop a few boats, then what on earth is that take that gets sent off of the island being _used_ for?"

"Resources are scarcer in our age, Osmund. I suppose back in the days when the capital and the rest of Conntow wasn't a barren ruin... Before the throne had the gall to try and end our emergency regency _after_ everything happened... To think that they also demanded direct administration of the Colonies with that! After the calamity they caused!" the Mothim lectured in between sips of his drink. "I suppose _back then_ , we might be able to do more."

"But that was then. The Company has a _third_ of the former realm to work with right now. The rest is under the control of the so-called 'rightful heirs' to the Empire. And then there's those places that are now ungovernable due to strategic difficulties," the bug continued, pushing aside his drink for a moment. "Is it _really_ so unreasonable to think that a couple pirates might slip through the cracks? They were also a problem in the olden days, you know."

"This town paid _less_ after each harvest in those days and got _more_ in return! And pirates in those days laid in wait for travelers in out in far corners of the sea! They didn't _storm into port!_ " Hatteras fumed back indignantly. "Don't lecture me on history you weren't alive for!"

"And back in _those_ days, the residents of this hamlet didn't suddenly become experts in the tax code with each revision! And we had an Administrator that _lived_ here instead of performing his duties in absentia! Or do you not remember that your island maintains a particular 'understanding' with the Company?" the Mothim asked the Ampharos accusingly. "One that a certain Dragonite would _love_ to see reversed were it not for you, a couple of your friends, and one 'Dragon Buster'?"

"I fail to see how that relates to us not getting our tribute's worth!" Hatteras snapped.

"You're _evading_ the question," Osmund growled.

"Please, Osmund, interrupting is so _rude._ Look, Guildmaster… Hatterby, was it?" the Mothim asked as he finished off his drink, retracted his proboscis and began fluttering about. "We in the Company are in a _delicate_ position; there is only so much that we can do for all of our holdings. But you should be mindful that _you_ are in a position that even we don't envy."

"Tell me, where would this island be without _our_ help? Would it stop those boats that give you such grief any better? Would it make your ability to rule this island as you see fit any stronger in the long run?" the Mothim asked as he flew about, getting closer and closer to Hatteras with each question. "And most importantly, do you think that it would keep us from taking this rock _back?_ "

" _Yes it would!_ " a voice from the counter protested. "Pleo would protect us!"

All heads in the juice bar turned, and trained themselves on Minia, who was now shrinking back after becoming ever more aware that everyone was now staring at her.

" _Who_ now?" the Mothim asked, his eyes boring into an increasingly unnerved-looking Minia who was shrinking back into her mother's pouch.

"Aherm… Never mind her," Mirlia hastily tried to excuse her child. "She must have helped herself to some of my mixes while I wasn't looking."

"I don't suppose that _you_ would know anything about this, Hatterby?" the Mothim demanded as he turned back to the Ampharos.

"It's _Hatteras_ , and what can I say? Children these days are easily impressionable," Hatteras answered flatly. "She must have remembered a particularly memorable traveler that passed through."

"Hmm… Is that so, Osmund?" Ellsberg asked, turning to the Sceptile. "I _do_ hope you know better than to conceal the truth from someone whose job is to _verify_ it."

There was a long, tense pause. The Sceptile _couldn't_ risk giving a straight fabrication to the Mothim. Perhaps his command over psychic abilities was limited to party tricks such as pulling down his subordinates' headbands as he did earlier, but if it _wasn't_ …

Tromba would quickly find itself with a new captain of the guard- one that might not be anywhere near as concerned with its welfare as he was.

Then… perhaps it was best to just tell the truth.

"Pleo is a stranger to this town who fought tooth and nail to defend it in last week's raid," Osmund answered. "He was brought here by chance, and he's since gone out of town."

In a manner of speaking, of course.

"Hm… So a traveling warrior, like a few of the so-called 'Immortals'. How quaint," Ellsberg murmured as he began to flit towards the door. "Well, I think I've seen enough. And I don't see any need to change the quota for the next collection."

"What?!" Hatteras cried out.

"Are you _blind?!_ " Osmund exclaimed. "Did you not see all of the damage on your way in?!"

"I saw plenty of damage… To the _town._ The tribute we collect from this island is primarily _crops_ , there should be no problem in meeting the quota that we need specifically. As for me, my business here is done. I'll be returning to my ship and resting my wings a bit as it sets sail," Ellsberg answered, giving a cold, unmoving stare back at the Ampharos and the Sceptile.

"We'll keep an eye out for that Aggron though. I'm sure that such a big Pokémon will turn up eventually."

The Mothim flitted towards the door, but before he left, he turned to the counter, where he addressed Mirlia and her daughter.

"I would encourage _you_ to keep your child's fantasies in line," the moth lectured sternly, gesturing at Minia. "This is the _real_ world, where strength talks and lofty idealism makes Pokémon into prey for others."

The Mothim then left, leaving the young Kangaskhan to duck and shiver in her mother's pouch as Mirlia tried to reassure the poor creature.

"It's okay, he's gone now," she said, patting her daughter to try and comfort her as much as she was trying to comfort herself.

"What a creep," the Sableye spat, looking up from his overeager busywork and breathing a sigh of relief.

"I'll send him off, Hatteras," Osmund sighed. "I'm sure you have some work to be getting back to, especially after hearing that. I just hope that I can last the rest of the day without a stiff drink after this."

The two bade their farewells and parted, Hatteras heading back up the path in the direction of the Guild Hall, and Osmund towards the dock. Along the way, the Sceptile saw Ellsberg paused in the path, looking down at something that he had picked up off of the well-trodden ground.

"Oi! What's taking you so long?" Osmund barked. The noise prompted Ellsberg to quickly slip away whatever it was he had found in the square- probably some dropped Poké considering Company types- before he turned back.

"Hrmph! I just needed a moment to rest!" the Mothim fumed, before he swiftly flew on towards the lavender-sailed ship and barked at his subordinates..

"Get everyone aboard and raise the plank, we don't have any more business here!"

The Pokémon murmured among themselves, some of the locals making disparaging comments wishing the Company ship a stormy travel home. As the others got distracted by the boat preparing to set off, the Mothim fished out the little article he was so keen to hide from Osmund. One that he was surprised that none of the local rubes had seen him take.

It was a silvery-white feather that had split at its top, and it proved that in spite of his doubts, this hamlet indeed had something worth bothering with for the Company.

* * *

"You know, you actually fought pretty well back there. Aside from the whole 'waiting behind without telling us about it' part," Nida's voice rang out in the maze under Tromba's peaks, with nothing echoing back.

Not that there was anything that _could_ echo back. The distortion had wrapped the fourth floor into a concave sphere and stripped away where the ceiling would be on most floors. In its place, was a space composed of pools, stone paths and towering walls. Thanks to the dim light of the glowing algae that grew in clumps here and there in the dungeon, one could see the entire other half of the floor from any one location.

The team had stopped seeing the stairs overhead three chambers ago, and were currently resting in a spacious open-topped chamber. Every now and then, they would look back up as they tried to make sense of a rude map that Crom had doodled after first coming down the flight to the next floor was somewhere in this one, all that was left was to _find_ it. And wait.

"What? I'm not _that_ bad at fighting!" Elty objected as he trotted along.

"But we were able to defeat you once!" Pleo insisted, as he looked about for the surprisingly elusive stairs.

"That's because you _ganged up_ on me!" Elty growled.

That was to be expected, Pleo guessed. Every time he pressed about how the Growlithe never seemed to hold up against the team, 'ganging up' or some variation thereof was usually the excuse. But even so, Elty seemed to have _some_ talent… which beggared the question...

"Wait, what _did_ you use to do back when you were a pirate, Elty?" he asked.

"Oh, me?" Elty asked. "I was a ship-burner."

The admission brought the procession to a sudden, dead halt, as Crom turned and whirled towards the Growlithe.

"You were a _what?!_ " the Druddigon cried out, his eyes widening in shock.

"You know, set ships on fire. Keep the other crew busy putting it out," Elty nonchalantly replied. "Normal stuff."

"Wait… That's _normal?_ " Pleo asked, putting a wing to his beak as he took keen note of Crom and Nida's startled expressions.

In a matter of speaking, it was indeed 'normal' stuff… except for the fact that putting out a fire on a ship was a dangerous, convoluted ordeal for any crew unfortunate enough suffer through one. Too little water spent fighting it off or simply not applying it in time to keep particularly flammable cargo from burning would doom the ship to becoming a collection of cinders… and too much would weigh down the craft and send it below the waves.

"That's awful!" Crom roared, his mind turning to his own father and the ship that he worked on. "Setting a fire's one of the _worst_ things you can do to a ship!"

"Elty, seriously, how do you _sleep_ at night?" Nida spat in disgust as she bristled her barbs.

"Hey! Get off my case! It wasn't _that_ bad!" Elty huffed defensively. "The only ship that ever got _sunk_ thanks to our fire was a hulk full of _fajerwerki_ at a dock!"

There was a long, blinking silence. Ship-burning was _supposed_ to put other Pokémon in mortal danger, but _that_ explanation... just didn't quite fit expectations.

"Wait… What?" Crom asked.

"Um… Maybe you're overstating ship- _burner_ a bit much?" Nida sighed.

"I mean, it doesn't sound like you did that good of a job," Pleo added.

"Oh come on, at least we got the other boats on fire more often than our own!" Elty protested, which left the three other Pokémon of Team Traveler trading looks with each other.

"Wouldn't you be _expected_ to do that anyways, though?" Pleo asked.

"How on earth did you guys never get captured until you raided _our_ island?" Crom groaned, as he put a claw to his face.

"Better question, how are you still _alive_ , Elty?" Nida asked as she furrowed her brow.

The Growlithe opened his mouth to speak, and then paused and thought about the Nidoran's question for a short moment.

"I dunno," he shrugged. "I never really questioned it before."

Nida rolled her eyes. Elty suddenly seemed much less out of place on a rookie team than she had thought. As she continued to trek forward and heard her teammates' footsteps alongside her, their thoughts returned to the search for the exit.

"Bah, where are those stairs?" Crom complained as he eyed his scribbles on his beaten piece of paper. "The map I made says they should be right here, and all I see is some dumb wall!"

"I mean, they _could_ have shifted since you drew the picture, Crom," Nida explained as she carried on around a corner. "The Distortion can shift stairs around a few times before it clears out the floor-"

Nida found her foot dropping further than she expected, which lead her to yank it back out of instinct- and see that the stairs to the next floor sat around a blind alcove in the wall.

"Or it could be right in front of me," she hastily corrected. The others soon came over, and saw that the Nidoran had indeed found the stairs. So now all that would be left was...

"So we wait for Kiran now?" Pleo asked.

"That would be the smart thing to do, yeah," Crom answered. "Besides, we could use a bit of a rest."

"Pbbt. Is that seriously what you're going to do until you find that Substitute?" Elty admonished as he began to sniff the air. "Seriously, look around a little! You might just find something interesting. Something like… that!"

The Growlithe gestured down a corridor that ran in the opposite direction of the alcove, where Nida could make out the faint sight of what looked like a chest sitting at its end.

"Heh heh, a treasure chest and it's all mine!" Elty proudly declared.

"Um, Elty," Crom groaned. "Those are usually used to store gummis or berries in here to try and get the Distortion to change them."

"Yeah, and who do you think's gets first dibs on them? The finder!" he cried as he bounded down the corridor.

"Elty! Be _careful_ ," Crom called out after the Growlithe. "There might be a-!"

_Click_

"Huh-? Eeyargh!"

Immediately after he heard the trap being sprung, a sudden gust of wind threw Elty back into his teammates. The Growlithe's body knocked the lot back and sent them tumbling down the stairs, yelping and crying out before coming to a rest at the bottom.

"Are treasure chests supposed to do that?" Pleo groaned as stars filled his vision.

"Urgh, no they aren't-" Nida began, just as the sound of scraping and rock groaning from above reverberated.

"Oh no, the stairs!" she cried out. "They're closing!"

"Guh-?" Crom asked as he came to his senses from his fall down the passage, only to recognize the sound of the stairs above being sealed. "What?! Wait!"

But it was too late. The groaning continued, and subsided with a loud, dull thud.

"Blargh… I take those dibs back," a Growlithe's voice weakly groaned a short way from the steps.

" _Elty!_ " Nida fumed.

"Yeah, don't worry about me," Elty continued rambling on in his daze. "Just ate a little dir- Oof!"

The Growlithe then crumpled up and fell to the ground after the Nidoran gave a stiff kick to the orange dog's gut.

" _Tonto!_ What were you thinking?!" she hissed, her ears flared and barbs raised.

"Yeah, you could have gotten hurt!" Pleo admonished, flapping his wings to try and emphasize how scary things could have been.

"And thanks to _you_ , Kiran and the others will have to wait for the Distortion to expose a new set of stairs for them to catch up!" Crom snarled.

"Hey! At least we stuck together, right? How bad could this floor be?" Elty asked as he stumbled back to his feet, just as Crom's snarl was suddenly followed by others.

"Grr…"

"Intruders…"

The team turned and looked across the chamber, and paled after they saw a Buizel, a Corsola, a Frillish, a Finneon, and a pair of Zubat...

Who were advancing on the group as they watched.

"Me and my big mouth," Elty gulped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * * *
> 
> **Author's Notes:**  
> 
> \- _(¡)Ya, ya! (¡)Entiendo!_ \- Spanish: "Alright, alright! I get it!"  
>  \- _fajerwerki_ \- Polish: "fireworks"  
>  \- _(¡)Tonto!_ \- Spanish: "Idiot!"
> 
> Special thanks to Tangent128 of serebii.net for chapter header.


	14. Back to the Wall

The floor that Team Traveler had stumbled into was a spacious cavern with a ceiling that carried on beyond the range of even Crom's vision. The ground was largely devoid of obstacles, much as the courtyards in Mosca's Dojo were. The primary exceptions were a few glowing moss beds and a network of what, depending on one's perspective, were either rather shallow pools or particularly deep puddles on the ground.

On one end of the floor's first chamber was the team, the now-sealed stairs that they had taken to get there, and some dead ends further behind them. On the other end were three corridors. One, a water-filled channel leading to a deeper pool. The other two, a pair of passages that trailed off deeper into the Mystery Dungeon…

But more importantly, the Buizel, Corsola, Frillish, Finneon, and two Zubat from earlier were also at the other end. Angered, aggressive, and worst of all, standing in between Team Traveler and any exit.

"Er… Hi there?" Elty gulped. Step by step, the Growlithe backpedaled away nervously- not that it made much of a difference. For each step Elty and the others took backwards, the six ferals took one forwards as they continued their growling march towards the group.

"We were just looking for the stairs!" Crom cried out to the advancing Pokémon. The young Druddigon's voice had a gruff, grumbling tone to it, albeit one tinged with anxious unease. "Let us through and we'll get out of here right away!"

"Oh, you'll be going places, alright!" a Zubat from the approaching group screeched.

"Hope you like seeing stars!" the Buizel hissed back at the young dragon. The creature kept her back arched and her paws dug into the ground, ready to throw her body forward at a moment's notice. The other Pokémon's postures were no less inviting, all of them also ready for sudden lunges.

Those… were not exactly the results of fruitful diplomacy. Worse still, as the group continued falling further and further back, they noticed they were running out of open ground between themselves and the chamber's stony walls to retreat to.

"Wait!" Nida squeaked to the approaching ferals. As the Nidoran continued her plea, hoping desperately as she kept her barbs spread wide and tensed that the situation could be defused peacefully against such numerous foes. "We just stepped down here!"

"Yeah! We haven't swiped anything yet!" Elty protested. As his barks reverberated in the chamber, the Growlithe's eyes darted nervously here in there for in search of something- _anything_ that might help him give the approaching assailants the slip.

Nida screwed her eyes shut in frustration. Of all of the things for that pudgy mutt to say to a Monster House, why did he have to say that? They needed to give these Pokémon a reason _not_ to beat the poison out of them! Something… something like…

She noticed Pleo out of the corner of her eye. Wait a minute! That could work! ... Maybe... It hadn't worked a few floors earlier, but if nothing else, it could at least buy some time to fall back. Nida shook her head, dug in her feet to stand her ground, and opened her mouth to speak...

"And you wouldn't hurt a group of Pokémon escorting the _Protector_ , would you?" she asked the approaching ferals accusingly. Immediately, the Pokémon stopped and traded uneasy looks with each other.

"The… Protector?" the blue jellyfish asked warily as he sized up the white bird among the intruders.

"That's me!" Pleo cried. Now that the Pokémon weren't growling at him and their leers had been displaced with stunned glances, it became much easier to muster the strength to stand firm. The Lugia spread his wings, and bellowed out in the largest voice the little bird could muster. "If you really care about me… then you'll leave them alone!"

There was a lingering, uncomfortable silence, Nida, Elty, and Crom taking the time to quietly inch back away from the mass of other Pokémon as the ferals traded uneasy looks with one another. All of a sudden, there was a splash from a nearby pool as the Finneon ahead shook his head and cleared his throat.

"Oh, yeah?" he asked, the shock slipping from his face as his expression slowly drifted back into a mistrusting leer. " _Pruébamelo!_ You can't just _say_ you're the Protector!"

The Finneon's skepticism seemed to rub off onto the other ferals, as hostile expressions one by one began to return to their faces. Pleo's boldness started to evaporate as his mind raced to try and think of a way to placate his audience.

"Um… Er... I'm me? I mean, I have these pretty fea-"

His uneasy words only served to make the unfriendly looks on the ferals' faces harden as they traded skeptical whispers. Suddenly, the Corsola stepped forward and demanded...

"Show us your power!"

Nida blanched after she heard the Corsola, and sinking expressions spread over her teammates' faces. All this time in the Mystery Dungeon, Pleo hadn't _done_ anything that would really prove he was the Protector. How could he suddenly pull something from out his wings now? And if he _did_ … would everyone wind up buried under a wall of rocks? She still remembered how that empty passage was collapsed on the day she first met the little bird.

"Er... W-Well," Pleo stammered before he shook his head and spread his wings. "Hyah!"

With all of his might, Pleo brought his wings together and sent a swirling gust of wind above the heads of the waiting ferals. Everyone flinched for a moment, and then, after the wind subsided, everyone looked around… and saw that the only change Pleo had effected was some disturbed dust and pebbles on the ground and tousled fur on one of the Zubat, whose expression was hardening into hostility once again.

"Um… C-Can I try again?" Pleo weakly groan.

"We've seen enough!" the Finneon yelled as he burst out of the pool. "Time to tan your hides!"

The creature spat a jet of water out at Pleo, which struck him in the face, sending him tumbling back with a startled squawk. Without missing a beat, the Lugia hastily picked himself up and dashed off, retreating behind the rest of the team. After shaking his head to regain his wits and recover from the sting of the jet of water, Pleo saw that his teammates, while still wide-eyed and anxious much as he was, were all poised in battle stances.

"Brace yourselves!" Nida cried. "We're gonna have to fight our way out of this!"

Pleo hastily tensed and drew his neck and wings close to his body, the last beads of water from the fish's attack rolling off his plumes. Meanwhile, Crom ran towards the Finneon that lead the charge, and dug out a round, scaled, orange-ish seed.

"Grr! You just won't listen, will you?!" he growled back at the Finneon before he popped the seed into his mouth.

"Take this!" Crom cried, biting down on the orange seed. A brilliant gout of fire erupted out of his maw and onto the Finneon, who had unwisely charged on ahead into terrain that was out of his element. The flames swallowed up the hapless fish and sent him tumbling along the ground shrieking in pain. Ultimately, the creature came to rest in a pool, floating upside-down on the surface, groaning and unable to muster the strength to right his body.

Unfortunately for the young Druddigon, his victory came at a price. He had defeated one foe… only to notice the others were already closing the distance to him, completely unimpeded.

Before Crom could so much as swipe a claw in his defense, he was shoved to the side by a tackle from the Corsola. The dragon tumbled along through a puddle and back onto dry-ish ground, uneasily trying to regain his footing on a patch of cave stone with a spiral design he didn't think much of at the time. That was, until the Druddigon clearly heard a soft _click_ amid the cries of his teammates and the baying of his assailants.

"Huh-? Agh!"

The ground beneath Crom abruptly whirled around repeatedly before coming to an equally abrupt stop, leaving the the poor dragon to totter about disoriented with little white-and-blue birds circling in his vision.

"Gaaah, what is-?"

Except, much to his rude surprise, those birds spoke like the other ferals. And all of a sudden, sharp pains shot through his body as the 'birds' began hitting and dousing him from every direction he turned to.

"A-Aah! _H-Help!_ " he cried. Crom thrashed this way and that under the barrage of attacks, desperately trying to swipe back at his assailants with his claws.

From Nida's vantage point, she could clearly see the direness of the situation. The ferals had surrounded the Spin Trap they had shoved Crom onto. Her partner's dazed swipes struck nothing but empty air over and over again as the creatures did everything in their power to pummel the poor dragon into next week.

" _Crom!_ " Pleo squawked. At that moment, the Lugia's anxieties were pushed from his mind, and the bird took off running towards his embattled teammate, Nida hot on his tail.

"Hang in there-!" she cried, before Elty's voice chimed in from behind.

"Oi, you salt-suckers! Pick a fairer fight!"

The next thing Nida and Pleo felt was Elty tagging them from behind before falling back, leaving a bluish, sparking aura to envelop the two before settling down.

"Elty?!" Pleo squawked. "What did you do to-?!"

"Don't worry about it!" the Growlithe snapped. No sense in explaining the ins-and-outs of a Helping Hand at a time like this, after all. "Just hit them before the boost wears off!"

"Right!" Nida huffed. The Nidoran dashed up to the Buizel and gave a stiff kick at her flank. The creature froze in pain, but when Nida brought her leg out for another kick, the mustelid ran on ahead, leaving Nida kicking nothing but air.

"Grr, let's see you do that twice, spike ball!" the Buizel spat before she lunged for the Nidoran, only for the little blue creature to hop over her shoulder and behind the sea weasel.

"Huh? Where'd she-? Eargh!"

The creature abruptly pitched forward and slumped onto the ground. Embedded into her back was a Nidoran's barb... further behind, was the barb's previous owner, astonished with her achievement.

"Wait, _that was a sting!_ " she cried, her voice beginning to grow giddy as she realized... "I finally stung a-! Gah!"

Nida's elation was promptly brought back to earth by a stiff, watery smack which sent her rolling along the floor. As she lay stunned on the ground, catching her breath, she could hear the sound of a Frillish angrily burbling and drawing near…

"Pay attention, _Księżniczka!_ "

Elty's voice rang out and was quickly joined by the sound of the Frillish screeching, followed by a faint _thud_ and groaning. When Nida righted herself and turned towards the direction of the commotion, she saw her assailant sprawled out on the floor with bite marks on his bell and Elty approaching her, brimming with confidence.

"See, you've gotta be smart about picking your-"

Before Elty could finish his thought, he was abruptly bowled over, then sent tumbling into one of the pools by a stream of scalding bubbles that burst along his side. Nida only dodged the attack by abruptly hopping out of the way. When she turned back, she saw Elty coughing up water as he weakly limped back to drier ground.

"Gyaah! You ferals aren't supposed to be smart about picking fights with _me!_ " he whined, before he turned to see the Corsola responsible for the Bubble Beam drawing near to him in the pool.

The Growlithe bolted out of the water and ran off in open retreat, the Corsola chasing after him, consciously sticking near to the pools. No sense getting lured out onto the ground and routed, after all. Crom was a little further back from Elty's current trajectory, clutching his head, tottering. And there was the sound of a Zubat's flapping wings rapidly drawing on Nida's position...

Yes, things weren't going well at all.

"N-Nida! Keep them off our tails for a moment!" Crom shouted. The Druddigon dug out an object from the team bag and sent it rolling along a spit of stone towards, whirling around to make a break for cover with Elty. Without thinking, the Nidoran darted for the tumbling object before it could come to a stop, scooped it up, and flung it as hard as she could in the direction of the angry screeches from the Zubat.

As the object left her paws, she saw that she had thrown the Slow Orb from the floor before… except she had arced her throw for a bed of soft moss, far too soft to make the orb break. Meaning that it would be of little help against the Zubat who was swooping straight for her.

"Ack!"

As Nida fanned out her barbs and braced herself, she heard and felt a whoosh of wind. Much to her astonishment, Nida saw the Slow Orb abruptly change direction in midair, getting sent into a wall before exploding in a shower of green shards. Suddenly, a torrent of white threads shot out from the broken orb, worming wildly about the room. Nida looked back at the Zubat just in time to see the creature fall to the floor and struggle against white, silky bands that clung to her body. As the bat groaned and struggled to lift her body back in the air, Nida quickly ran up and kicked the downed creature in the head, and then once again for good measure. The second kick sent the Pokémon sailing limply through the air before crashing back down to the ground twitching and groaning.

Immediately after that, the young Protector of Tromba ran up panting to the Nidoran from the direction of the gust.

"Nida?! Are you alright?!"

It was then that Nida realized how her botched throw managed to hit her foe. Pleo's gust had redirected her Slow Orb! The Nidoran looked down at herself, over at Pleo, and then at Crom and Elty further away, and saw that none of them had been gummed up by the threads!

This was their big chance!

"Crom! Elty! We'll cover-! Gah!"

Nida pulled her head in to narrowly duck and dodge a column of disturbed air that accompanied a loud shriek, the attack carrying on into the wall of the chamber. Nida and Pleo shook their heads to dispel some momentary light-headedness from the racket, and whirled around to see the remaining Pokémon. Of the group that had ambushed them, only the remaining Zubat and the Corsola, having given up his pursuit of Elty, still stared them down. Their bodies were covered in white silk, but the two had visibly managed to adjust to the strands gumming up their movement, the bat enough to even get falteringly airborne again. Both of them were much closer than either Nida or Pleo had expected. The ferals' expressions were still hostile, but now intermingled with fear.

"Wh-Who do you even think you are?!" the Corsola cried out.

"Y-Yeah! Barging in on our home like this!" the Zubat fumed.

"We just wanted to get through!" Pleo protested. "What's so-?"

"Pleo!" Nida's voice suddenly admonished. "Don't just _stand_ there!"

Pleo looked back and saw that Nida had retreated towards the direction Crom and Elty fell back towards. He suddenly felt a stabbing pain on his neck as something latched onto it. Pleo beat his wings wildly, and ran about shouting in a panic. The pain dulled with a sudden slap against his head, which made Pleo stop to regain his bearings. When he looked up, he caught sight of the remaining Zubat leering at him in the air, his mouth dribbling some red fluid that looked like the scrapes he had seen on his teammates after battles. On the ground off to the side was the Corsola, who had flanked him together with the flying Pokémon.

"A- _Aah!_ " Pleo squawked, his eyes going wide as he began to realize what a predicament he was now in. "You snuck up on me!"

"So what? You fought dirty!" the Corsola growled. "So we'll fight _back_ dirty!"

"Have some pain, you imposter!" the Zubat shouted before he lunged for the young Lugia, the Corsola joining in. Pleo hopped up in a blind panic as the two Pokémon descended on his position, sailing high off the ground as the Zubat carried on with his swoop into the cave floor with a yelp. As he began to stall in the air, he heard his attackers' confusion below.

"Huh?!"

"Ow! Where'd he go-?!"

And then gravity took over and the young Protector started falling back to earth again, flailing desperately.

"A-Aack!"

Pleo's tumbles and rolls through the air became slower, and his body began to straighten out into a straight dive towards the ground as he spread his wings. The cave floor was now rapidly approaching, which made Pleo cry out and pull his wings back, cringing in anticipation of the impact.

Except… He felt… Air underneath him?

"Argh!"

And then the stiff smack of his left wing clipping something, followed by the feeling of air again. Pleo opened his eyes, he saw the other Zubat groaning on the ground below him, feebly twitching her wings. The Lugia blinked, although it was beginning to stall and slow, his body was sailing up into the air again!

He gave another beat of his wings- and instead of falling to the ground again, he stayed in his place and spun a little. Why, this meant... He was flying!

"I'm- I'm flying! I'm really flying this time!" he cried, his voice drawing Nida's awed attention from the ground, before it was interrupted by the panicked-sounding voice of the Corsola.

"A-Ahh… Stay back! _St-Stay back!_ None of this would have happened if you never came!" he cried.

"Just stand down and let us through!" Nida barked. "Haven't we fought long enough?"

"Leave me alone!" the creature shrieked, before he opened his mouth and prepared to breathe out a stream of gloppy bubbles at the Nidoran. "Just go awa-!"

The creature then flinched after catching a barb in his face, which sent him reeling backwards. The barb was followed up by a glowing ball that sent him tumbling across the floor. As the creature staggered up, his last sensation before lapsing out of consciousness was being pounced on and pinned to the ground by something gliding in from the air with a hide that felt like sandpaper.

"Aaack," the Corsola groaned, his legs going limp as his eyes slipped shut.

"And stay down!" Crom growled to the creature before getting up, his maw stained with Oran juice.

" _Daj spokoj!_ " Elty protested, quickly coming up from behind with a similarly stained muzzle. "I could have finished him-"

Before Elty could finish, he was interrupted by the sound of a faint splashing thud.

"Ow!"

Everyone turned towards the sound of the yelp, seeing Pleo getting up from a crash-landing in one of the cave pools and lurching about in a daze.

"Attacking while flying's hard," he groaned, as he tottered disorientedly back over to Nida. "Are- Are there any more mean Pokémon?"

"No- I- I think that's all of them," she replied to Pleo in between ragged pants. The Nidoran drew her barbs back against her hide, and went over to steady the bird's unstable gait, sighing out of relief that the battle was finally over, even if the Oran stains on her other companions evidenced that its after-effects were still around to be grappled with.

"You really _are_ terrible at healing, Crom," she chuckled, shooting a tired smirk at a Druddigon who instantly grew flustered with the charge.

"H-Hey!" he protested. "Kiran said that if you're ever in a pinch, you can just eat the berries and they'll still work! ... Kinda."

"Ugh… This is just great," Elty grumbled. "We still need to find the stairs Kiran took and-"

The Growlithe looked back in the direction of the stairs, only to see that they had vanished! The only evidence of them ever existing was a small mound of broken stone on the ground, seemingly dropped from above.

"Wait a minute, there were _stairs_ there just a minute ago!"

"Huh?!" Pleo cried out. The dog was right, there definitely _were_ stairs there earlier. But… where did they go?

"They must've shifted while we were battling," Crom explained. "Why, that means that Kiran-"

" _Están bien?!_ "

Would have already made it to their floor?

Everyone turned and watched Team Traveller's leader fly in from the leftmost of the three passages that exited the chamber, Team Sawtooth following after closely. The Swellow rushed up and landed near Team Traveler, who quickly drew up to him.

"Yeah, we're fine... Well-" Nida stopped to frown and shake her head, flattening out her ears. "Okay, we're not. But you get the idea, Kiran."

"Why on earth did you all go on ahead _without_ us?!" Kiran cried, beating his wings out with an admonishing squawk.

"You all just blundered right into a Monster House!" Alto exclaimed.

There was a long and lingering silence, as Crom, Nida, and Pleo one-by-one began to give unamused leers towards Elty.

"Er… Something came up?" the Growlithe sheepishly offered.

"We had some bad luck with a trap near the stairs," Crom grunted. "We weren't exactly expecting to-"

"Oi, look alive, everyone," Pitys suddenly interrupted. Sure enough, the Pokémon scattered about the floor were once again beginning to stir.

"Nrgh," the Finneon groaned as he falteringly righted himself and weakly splashed in his pool, the defiance returning to his voice. "This isn't-!"

Only to be replaced by startled shock when he and the other ferals saw the four much larger and intimidating Pokémon that had since joined the 'intruders' they had fought with.

"Gih!"

"E-Eep!"

"I'd encourage you all to not pick another fight," Kiran replied, leering at the Pokémon. "We're just passing through, and we'd _like_ to go through without any trouble."

The weakened ferals traded nervous glances with each other as they tried to decide what to do about these new Pokémon. On the one hand, they were violating their territory… on the other hand, they looked much tougher and meaner than the four worn-out and battered intruders from earlier.

"That- That- Th-This isn't fair!" the Finneon whined.

"D-Don't argue with the monsters!" one of the Zubat admonished. "Let's get out of here!"

The six hastily retreated as quickly as their condition allowed them to down the other two exits. Their voices fading as they vanished deeper into the maze as the gathered Pokémon watched.

"Well, all's well that ends well," Nida said to herself with a tired sigh.

"Do you all need any help getting healed up?" Kiran asked, as he inspected his charges. Their fight surely must have been one grueling ordeal. Crom was covered in lacerations and bruises, and had clearly seen more than his due share of punishment.

Pokémon like Nida and Elty were always somewhat hard to get a bead on, what with fur in the way, but he could clearly see they too had been fairly roughed up. There were scrapes on their body here and there, and the Growlithe still had glop from the Frillish caught in his pelt.

Even Pleo was not spared, Kiran noticed that Pleo would occasionally rub his face into his wing- apparently it must have smarted from being hit by something. The Swellow then noticed with a shudder that some feathers on the backside of Pleo's neck that had been sullied from some darkening reddish fluid. Blood, if thankfully not fresh, he presumed.

"Thanks for the offer," Crom replied. "But… I think we can handle it."

"E-Eh?!" Kiran protested, ruffling his feathers uneasily. "But you're all-!"

"We made it this far on our own, Kiran," Nida replied softly. Kiran blinked and saw the Nidoran's face was filled with a determined look that shone even through her body's tired gait. "I think we can manage the rest."

There was a long silence as the four elder Pokémon puzzled themselves as to the right thing to do in this situation. Yes, they were still kids, but...

"They _do_ have a point," Cardellini murmured.

"Yeah, if they can hold their own in a Monster House, I think that they can patch themselves up fine," Alto added.

"Heh… Let's get cracking, then!" Kiran chirped, beating his wings and taking back to the air. "I wanna find that Substitute and get outta here as much as you do! So let's get this show on the road!"

* * *

Crom got a chance to practice his healing skills once again… with the aid of Kiran's dutiful supervision and instructions to keep him on task, that is. Before long, the team patched themselves up and carried on, as their wounds recovered with the help of the Oran Berries they had packed for that day.

The trek to the next floor was much quieter, after which Pataki gleefully informed _"The decoy to rescue is somewhere on this floor!"_ , leading to a mostly uneventful search through the corridors and bends of the Mystery Dungeon.

That was, until Team Traveler found the much-awaited Substitute, and presented it to Kiran and the others.

"Wait, _this_ was their objective?" Cardellini asked, burying his face into an open claw.

"Uh, well," Kiran trailed off as he too took in the sight of the training decoy. "The psychics _would_ be the Pokémon best suited to getting a decoy in here, so…"

Substitutes were doppelgangers born of the essence of life in Pokémon. Just similar enough to their makers to trick opponents into focusing on them in the heat of battle, or so the explanation went. In a pinch, the mimicries made for serviceable dolls. For guards to use as sparring dummies... for younger Pokémon to use as playthings... and of course, for the guild to use in training missions. So _logically_ , it should have been much less of a surprise to everyone that the Substitute that the team stumbled on that day…

"Kiran," Pleo began. "Why does our decoy look like-?"

Would be a crude doll-like figure of a Kirlia, the Pokémon who had clearly gone through far more trouble than necessary to put it there.

 _"Do you like it, Protector?"_ Pataki's voice rang out in the minds of the gathered Pokémon. _"I even made it myself!"_

"Oh no…" Nida groaned, flattening out her ears.

"Who's pressing their badge?" Crom asked. As the Druddigon screwed his eyes shut in frustration, Pleo ruffled his feathers and awkwardly tried to think of something to say back to the enamored wall-talker.

"Um, it looks... cute?"

 _"I know right?"_ Pataki's voice gushed. _"It only took me three tries and wearing myself down a little to make a substitute of myself that looked as good as-"_

"Um, as _lovely_ as your paw-work is… Can we get _out_ of here?!" Elty barked.

"It _would_ be nice to get back home about now, Pataki," Kiran sighed.

"Yeah, it's not like some of us don't have other missions to get back to, you know!" Cardellini snapped at the unseen voice.

_"Hrmph! I was **getting** to that!"_

After a short pause, there was a blip of light further down the room. As Team Traveler turned to face Pataki, they saw that much to their surprise, the Natu from the teleportation pad had accompanied her that day.

"Wait, there's two of them this time?" Pleo asked.

"Two teleporters for two groups!" the Natu chirped. "I'll take Kiran and the others in the first one, and then when we get the clearing all ready, it'll be safe for Pataki to take the rest of you over."

"Music to my ears," Pataki crooned, her expression brightening after hearing that she would have another chance to be close to the _Protector._ An announcement that came much to the groaning dismay of Team Traveler.

"Please just hurry this up," Elty grumbled, moving a paw over his snout.

The Natu hopped over onto the Shiftry's head and clung to her hair, who in turn provided her arms for Kiran and her teammates to latch onto. After all of the older Pokémon found partners to hold onto, the group vanished with a blip of light much as before, leaving Team Traveler… and one rather giddy Kirlia.

"You know, Protector…" the Kirlia babbled dreamily. "The best way to keep a chain of Pokémon together is to have a big and _strong_ Pokémon holding on directly to the teleporter."

"Oh?" Pleo asked. Pataki needed a strong Pokémon, huh? Pleo thought and thought about the Kirlia's suggestion, then, after an epiphany, chirped back triumphantly at the Psychic. "Oh! So Crom, then!"

"What?!" Pataki exclaimed, her face giving way to mortified shock. "Ew! _No!_ I was talking about-!"

 _"Oi! Pataki! The clearing's open! Go ahead and bring them over!"_ a Kadabra's voice reverberated.

"I think I'll take up the 'big and strong' conduit role today, thanks," Crom answered, rolling his eyes as he grasped one of Pataki's arms.

"But- But-" the Kirlia protested, the rest of the team dutifully ignoring her as they formed a chain around Crom's free arm and his wings.

"It would be nice if we could get home sometime _today_ , Pataki," Nida grumbled, leering at the green and white sprite.

"And Crom probably _is_ still tougher than me right now," Pleo answered as he grabbed the Kirlia decoy with his beak. "Maybe it would make more sense to be your conduit another time?"

"And you heard the nice Pokémon! The clearing's open, _idźmy dalej!_ " Elty snapped.

"Ugh… Fine," the Kirlia grumbled, before the team vanished from the cave.

* * *

With a blip, the team arrived back at the guild's receiving field, where Hatteras was awaiting them on the sidelines. After Team Traveler and Pataki let go of each other, Pleo set down Pataki's Substitute and nosed it forward towards the now somewhat sour-looking Kirlia.

"Um… So I guess we should give this back to you since this was supposed to be a rescue mission?" he asked, the question immediately clearing up the Psychic type's demeanor.

"Oh no, that's fine! You can keep it!" she cheerfully replied. "Why, I was honestly expecting you to!"

"Um…" Crom groaned.

"Can we _not_ keep that thing in our section of the sleeping hall?" Nida hissed under her breath.

"Er… I guess it would make my shrine look a little less lonely?" Pleo volunteered, moving a wing behind his head sheepishly.

"Of course it would!" Pataki exclaimed before she turned to leave the field, gushing aloud to herself all the while about how the Protector was going to put her handiwork on show at _his_ shrine. Team Sawtooth also left the clearing, excusing themselves with the words: "That ahp-gredh isn't going to find itself for Melissa." The team sighed quietly in relief, and turned to make their way to Hatteras.

"Psst, nice save there," Elty whispered.

"Yeah, I was afraid that I was going to have to make my siblings dispose of that thing," Nida murmured as the group walked up to an Ampharos waiting expectantly alongside a Swellow.

"Hey! So how'd it go in there?" Hatteras cheerily asked the team.

"It was really tough!" Pleo chirped.

"Yeah, we really had to work to get our mission done that time," Nida sighed.

"Oh?" Hatteras asked, his eyes adopting a keen look to them. "Did… Anything peculiar happen with Pleo in there?"

"Uh huh! Uh huh!" Pleo exclaimed, before he hopped up into the air and soared forward.

"I can fly now!" he cried. Pleo soared on, his young frame still having some of that majesty that the old Lugia must surely have had back when it flew above the seas. Well… _had_ it. Just a moment later, a sudden breeze blew Pleo off course and into a tree branch, causing the young Protector to tumble back to earth.

"Oof! Er… Kinda?" the Lugia said sheepishly, ruffling his feathers as he got back up to his feet and waddled back to the group.

"Let's not get too ahead of ourselves, _mewa_ ," Elty muttered under his breath.

"I'm sure it'll work itself out with practice," Crom added. "But he really did fly in there, Hatteras."

"I… see," Hatteras murmured as he stroked his chin, before turning back to the young sea god. "Was there anything _else_ that happened in there that was strange, Pleo?"

"Um… Well, we got into some fights," Pleo said, drawing a wing to his beak. "It was just like training, except the Pokémon I was fighting with were meaner."

"Meh, I didn't see him do anything that some Pidgey couldn't do," Elty said.

"Yeah... fighting and flying aside, we didn't see anything out of the ordinary from him today," Nida added.

"I… understand," Hatteras replied. The Ampharos still wore a smile in front of the young Pokémon, but for a second, Nida and Crom swore that they had seen his expression droop a bit.

"Well, Kiran? What do you think?" he asked, turning to the Swellow beside him.

"Oh! Well..." Kiran murmured to himself. "I must say that I can't really think of anything holding Nida and Crom back, so…"

"Wait, we've finally graduated?" Crom asked, his eyes lighting up.

"We're now in Normal Rank?" Nida prodded excitedly, her ears perking up expectantly..

"Heh, yeah. You are," Kiran chuckled. "Congratulations, you two! Welcome to Normal Rank!"

"Woo hoo!" Crom roared in triumph, beating his wings excitedly.

"We can finally move on now!" Nida cheered, bouncing up and down as she leapt into Crom's arms. The Druddigon, still high off of the euphoric mood, lifted her up and eagerly spun her around in front of the others.

"Why, we could even set up our own team together!" he cried, before a disappointed chirp suddenly pierced the festive atmosphere.

"Aw… You're- You're gonna leave?"

Crom and Nida abruptly stopped and saw that Pleo was staring at them, his head lowered and his spirits downcast. After trading looks with each other, the two prodded their team leader.

"Wait... Kiran? Pleo's not graduating with us?" Nida asked.

"Yeah, he went through the test just like we did," Crom added.

"Er… Well, he _is_ still rather inexperienced," Kiran explained. "And Elty here needs to stay wherever Pleo is, so…"

" _Seriously?_ " Elty grumbled. "Just graduate him with the others!"

"It _is_ part of your community service, Elty," Hatteras sternly admonished, as Pleo looked down at the ground and began to mutter quietly.

"But… I thought we were gonna stay and play together..."

"Erm, well… I mean, just because we graduated doesn't mean we have to move on right away," Crom replied. "I guess I _could_ still learn a few things from Kiran about healing."

"And it _would_ be nice to get some time to look around at the other teams before I suddenly jump off to another one," Nida added as she hopped down from Crom's arms.

"So… You'll stay with me?" Pleo asked, his demeanor beginning to brighten a bit.

"Heh, I think we can do that for a little while," Nida said, before she sidled up and give a nuzzle to the Lugia.

"Yeah, why if we could get you onto _our_ team once you graduate… Why, we'd be able to get all the missions we wanted!" Crom cheered. "Not many Pokémon would turn down help from the _Protector_ , you know!"

"And, well… we did make a promise, after all," Nida replied, flattening out her ears sheepishly.

"Yay! We're still together! We're still together!" Pleo exclaimed, giddily hopping about to and fro.

"Fantastic," Elty growled, rolling his eyes.

"Heh, why don't you kids take the rest of the day off?" Kiran chirped to the four. "You've earned it."

"Yay! Free day!" Pleo cheered as he beat his wings excitedly. "Come on! Let's go to the beach!"

Kiran watched as Pleo flew down from the ledge to the beach below, his teammates joining him after clambering down the path (Elty a bit more begrudgingly than the others). As the four reached the sand below, Kiran noticed in the corner of his eye that Hatteras' expression had sunk, his ears drooping down, and the Ampharos was tirely rubbing his brow with one of his paws.

"Is something wrong, Guildmaster?" the Swellow asked, turning to face the Ampharos.

"This… wasn't supposed to happen, Kiran," Hatteras sighed.

"What wasn't?"

"We weren't supposed to _still_ be clueless about Pleo's power even after he went through the Mystery Dungeon!" the Guildmaster exclaimed.

"Guildmaster, I'm certain he'll figure it out soon enough," Kiran reassured. He turned back to see Team Traveler on the beach below and babbling about their little distractions.

There was Pleo's giddy bobbing in the surf... Crom and Nida following after the little bird into the water... Elty furrowing his brow and trying to offer the team help with building a sand castle instead because hadn't they "been in water _enough_ for one day already?"

"Just let the kids have their moment, Guildmaster," the Swellow chirped. "Getting Pleo all worried about how to draw out his power won't make him learn how to do it any faster, right? Why, if my experiences with trying to force things are anything to go by… it might slow down his learning by over 50%!"

The Ampharos looked out at the four young Pokémon, and after a long pause, he shook his head and sighed.

"Let's hope you're right, Kiran," Hatteras murmured to himself. "And hope that he learns how to bring it out before he truly needs it."

* * *

As the afternoon gave way to sunset, and the sunset in turn gave way to nightfall, Ellsberg and his crew put a fair distance between themselves and the sleepy island of Tromba just as the Time Lord's Traveller began its arc across the sky. As Ellsberg yawned and beat his wings on the railing of the deck, a Pidgeot from among the ship's escorts squawked her sighting of land ahead to the west lit by the moon and stars.

Above the horizon rose a chain of long, narrow reefs that formed an atoll ringing an island. On it were two sets of peaks with scraggly trees, a valley in between them that was covered in fog, and a collection of shacks with smoke trailing up from small fires that comprised a town on a seaside bluff markedly busier and more populated than Bluewhorl… that was Kenobi Island, alright. Or as some of the locals would occasionally insist, _Tennobi_ Island.

But Ellsberg's ship had no need to go that far to pull into port. Instead, the craft slowly turned and bobbed towards a complex of docks, rudely-constructed warehouses, and yards filled with wooden crates, all under the shadow of a sturdy stone fortress on the atoll in the foreground .

"Pull her up beside the closest dock to the storehouse you can get," Ellsberg barked to the Gligar. "I'll catch up after I run some briefings."

The Gligar chittered back an affirmation before Ellsberg hopped up onto a railing of his ship, and took to the air with a fluttering leap. The Mothim carried on past the churning waves below, above some docks with a variety of ships, past gruff lavender-scarved Company grunts watching Pokémon milling about moving cargo to and fro, and on towards a complex of buildings arranged around some square courtyards next to the fort.

In the yards, the Mothim could see colleagues with lavender scarves sparring, with Pokémon lining the sides of the battlefields with carefully-maintained barriers of light. One fielded a match on a clearing covered with craggy rocks between an Eelektross, a Chesnaught and a Houndoom against an opposing squad consisting of a Vigoroth, Arbok, and an Aerodactyl. Another hosted a Staraptor and Crobat diving and weaving around each other's attacks in a pitched aerial battle. One to the south was occupied by some weaker Company initiates who were bashing in some straw dummies on poles topped with Watmel Berries for heads.

But the one courtyard that stood out most was the one occupied by a Samurott with a lavender scarf bearing a purple square, with four cross-shaped piers and miscellaneous notches extending into the square from its surrounding color. The mustelid was in the middle of a dash toward a standing figure of a Kirlia that, after a moment's hesitation, Ellsberg deduced was a Substitute.

"Aha… _There_ you are," the Mothim buzzed to himself, and flitted down to the sidelines just in time to see the Samurott punt the mock Kirlia up into the air with one of his forelimbs. With one smooth motion, the massive otter then drew a blade with his still moving paw from a keratinous scabbard along his other arm…

_Gashunk!_

And cleaved the Substitute's head from its shoulders as it fell back to earth, sending it rolling along the field as it and the now headless body began to dissipate into white and green mist.

"You're late, Ellsberg," the Samurott chided, giving the Mothim a passing glance before sheathing his blade. The blue otter then ambled over to a wooden bin next to a satchel, with an abacus dangling out of the bag's mouth. As the moth flitted up, he saw that the bin was full of Substitutes, the rough mimicries of various species heaped upon each other into a pile that just crested the top.

"Apologies, some things just can't be helped," the Mothim replied. "I wasn't exactly expecting you to pull into port at a hive of scum and villainy like _Kenobi_ , Lyn."

"Mrph, the hive is on the _island_ in Aisle Town, not the atoll around it," the Samurott snapped, turning from the bin a moment. "Besides, my ship needed a patch job, and these are our only yards outside the capital."

"Looks more like you're bored and wasting Substitutes," Ellsberg buzzed. "The Ditto that make them for us don't work _that_ cheaply, you know!"

"Well, you could tell me what you've found out about those rumors instead of haranguing someone _above your rank_ ," the Samurott growled, glaring at the moth as he dug out a Substitute that was fashioned in the shape of a Sceptile. Ellsberg blanched a moment, and then shook his head and cleared his throat to quickly recompose himself.

"Er… right. Well, _whatever_ fought off the so-called 'Iron Fleet' was a Pokémon by the name of 'Pleo', and…" the Mothim prattled on, fluttering to and fro as Lyn set up the Sceptile decoy. "While I don't have any _conclusive_ evidence... I could sense that the locals were most evasive about the Pokémon's identity, and I believe that I know _why._ "

"Enlighten me, then," Lyn replied as he sauntered back from his training doll over to Ellsberg. The Mothim duly dug through a satchel he brought along, before his arms stopped moving and he produced the silvery-white feather he had taken from Bluewhorl Town.

"Well now, does _this_ remind you of anything you might have heard of in one of your debriefings?" Ellsberg asked. The Samurott paused and blinked out of surprise at the sight of the peculiar feather. After running a digit along the plume of the feather, brought up a paw to stroke his whiskers as he stared intently at Ellsberg's keepsake...

"So, the 'Guardian of the Seas' has finally awakened," he murmured.

"All signs seem to indicate that, yes," the Mothim said. "So, I take it that that's your main priority after chasing down that Aggron and his sea rabble."

There was a long pause between the two Pokémon as they looked each other in the eye, and then both burst out laughing.

"Pffahaha! Oh, Ellsberg, you really _do_ know how to tell a good joke," Lyn snickered as he turned his attention back to the waiting surrogate Sceptile on the field.

"Heh heh heh," the Mothim chortled as he came to a rest on the ground to catch his breath. "I suppose it _would_ be a little unreasonable to focus on a sideshow that's better known even among his peers for bungled raids and empty bluster, wouldn't it?"

"Well, he's certainly not the first item on _my_ checklist once that hull's done getting touched up!"

The Samurott then gave a deep bellow, and charged the Substitute, spitting up a freezing beam that caked the decoy in ice. When he reached the encrusted mimic, he drove a blade into its belly before throwing the unfortunate, ice-encrusted decoy backwards. The Sceptile doll came to a tumbling stop at the feet of the Mothim, now with a gaping hole under its chest, and began to decompose into green mist around its wound in front of the Mothim.

"Eugh... Well, they're certainly no substitute for live opponents in durability," Ellsberg muttered, flinching at the sight of the mutilated decoy.

The Mothim leapt into the air and fluttered uneasily to distance himself from the decomposing Substitute. It was truly a blessing that the gods had deigned to create Pokémon as creatures whose life essence helped to shield their bodies. Such a design meant that it was rare for a Pokémon to be cut to pieces, let alone dissolved into his constituent viscera like Lyn's unfortunate Substitutes with one overwhelming barrage. Ellsberg shook his head, and then attempted to change the subject with his higher-ranked peer.

"I _still_ don't understand why the Board insisted on chasing after this god, though."

"What can I say? They need a champion," Lyn said as he made his way back to the bin of Substitutes. "One that they can use to help smooth over some lasting thorns in the Company's side. To soothe and charm those loose ends that helped to put an end to the old order all those years ago."

"And you need that promotion to becoming an Administrator," the Mothim added.

"It would be nice, yes," Lyn replied as he dragged out an Ampharos substitute from the bin, placed it in the middle of the courtyard, and then paced away from his next victim of training towards Ellsberg. "Being the teeth for the Company in collecting tribute and enforcing the peace as a Commissioner is fun and all, but I could use some different Pokémon to order around. It's not like _Darzin's_ doing much with his Administratorship anyways."

"There's just one problem, Lyn," the Mothim rebutted as the Samurott turned his attention back to the mock Ampharos. "What if your would-be champion doesn't play along?"

"That's why the board wants me going after _this_ god- both its mind and its body are still young and weak." the Samurott answered, waving a paw dismissively. "And weak Pokémon are quite pliable creatures. If they don't want to play along, who cares?"

The creature then reared up with a hunch onto his hind legs, quickly drew his blades from his arms, and after spitting up a freezing beam at the Ampharos decoy's head, lunged for it.

The doll immediately fell victim to a torrent of slashes, to its neck, to its chest, to its left leg, a stab to its stomach that flung it into the air…

_Splutch_

And an impaling stab into its back as it struck the ground, the poor Ampharos Substitute beginning to melt away into yellow and black mist around the embedded blade before Lyn turned back to Ellsberg.

"You can _make_ them," he sneered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _(¡)Pruébamelo!_ \- Spanish: "Prove it to me!"  
>  \- _Księżniczka_ \- Polish: "Princess"  
>  \- _(¡¿)Están bien?!_ \- Spanish: "Are you (all) okay/alright?!"  
>  \- _idźmy dalej!_ \- Polish: "let's move on!"


	15. Sudden Turbulence

Life for Pokémon in the Cradle was in many ways similar to the lives their forebears lead in the old world. Lives which would go on for long stretches with few major changes, only to suddenly be upended and sent in a new direction thanks to an unexpected event. Even on a Rescue Team, the same held true for Team Traveler. There was the first mission, the first reward, the first serious brush with danger, the first new teammates.

Most recently, there was making the first rank, Normal Rank, needed to become fully fledged rescuers. In each of these cases, these watershed events would wind up giving way to strange new days...

"Yip!"

That wound up becoming suspiciously similar to the days in the past, or at least it seemed as such to Elty as he leapt out of the way of an incoming glowing ball with a yelp. Battles were not new to the Growlithe, and neither were the glowing balls that his opponent spat up at him. He had encountered both before many moons ago in places far, far away from Tromba. Unlike all those prior occasions, the primary thing that hung in the balance of this battle's outcome was pride, the venue was a courtyard in a dojo with paper lanterns hung on strings above in a criss-crossing pattern, and the opponent...

"Elty?! How do you keep moving out of the way?!"

Was a 'Protector' that up until a few days ago, would've done as well staying in the air with the Nidoran currently perched on his back as a Rhyhorn would've done surfing across Bluewhorl's harbor with her.

The other thing askew with this new normal on that day was Kiran's presence, or more accurately the lack of it. He had instructed Elty's recently graduated teammates to care for their companions during today's training. "To prepare supplies for a team mission the day after tomorrow," he told Nida and Crom.

"Let's see how good you do under fire!" the Growlithe barked at the Lugia passing behind him. Elty whirled about after the bird to track the creature's awkward, arcing flight path, and inhaled deeply before he spat out some clumps of burning cinders into the air.

The little flecks of fire sailed towards the white bird, only for Nida to notice them and cry out "Look out, Pleo!" Her partner, catching sight of the approaching embers, abruptly pitched forward and let the flames coast past him along with Elty's self-assured confidence into a barrier of light held up by a Glaceon.

"Eh?! But that totally should've-!"

Too late, the _mewa_ was already making a dive for him. While Pleo's awkward and jerky flying made it easy enough to weave about the Lugia's body, the Growlithe's smooth dodge was suddenly interrupted by a sudden pricking jab on his flank.

"Ow!"

Along with some cheers from some similarly prickly Druddigon who were spectating from the sidelines.

"Nice one, Nida!" Crom called out. His younger brother was also there clambered up a railing, his chores at the bakery out of mind and Pyry's problem to grapple with during this short break from work to cheer on his brother's companions.

"Yeah, _dale duro!_ "

"Blurgh, about time," a Nidoran's voice added from further down the field. Elty looked and saw Nida perched on the Lugia in the air above the other end of the battlefield, her ears flat and her expression marked with impatient exasperation…

Wait. Was she expecting something to-?

Elty felt his stomach churn a little and gagged. The Growlithe cast a glance at his flank and saw a barb had sunk into his side. He nipped at the spike and pulled it out with his mouth, spitting it up onto the ground. Had the barb gotten poison into his body? Or was it just the shock of getting hit near his stomach by a fast-moving object that was making him feel so disagreeable? One way or another, he _had_ to avoid moving around until he knew for certain. If he _was_ poisoned, movement would just make it spread in his body. Simple enough...

"Oof! Nida! He's not chasing after us!" Pleo cried out. The Lugia's errant path steered one of his wings into one of the paper lanterns, sending it to the ground with a faint crumpling sound as Nida's voice cried back.

"Then take the fight to hi-! _Aaaah!_ "

That is, it _would've_ been simple enough if Pleo wasn't suddenly diving towards him again. The only small respite in this situation was that Nida was still a little stunned and defocused from Pleo's sudden loss of altitude as he dove towards Elty.

" _ **Pleo!**_ _Sudden diving hurts the Nidoran!_ " she cried, the spike ball hastily trying to regain her wits and break free of her stunned cling to Pleo's plumage.

Make that very stunned and defocused. The Lugia was now bringing his wings together, to attempt another attack and then slip away, no doubt. In just a few more moments, Elty would be left with no option but to try and run after him just to get a shot at him.

Wait a minute...

Maybe he didn't need to move much to keep up with Pleo at all!

"Yeah, and so does this!" he growled. The orange dog leaped into the air over Pleo's head, drawing a sudden, surprised squawk from the young Protector as the Growlithe vanished from his field of view. Pleo then felt himself suddenly drop and just almost hit the ground as something much heavier landed on him. The seabird suddenly pulled himself back into the air in a panic, his body shooting up towards the paper lanterns above and suddenly feeling much lighter.

_Smack_

"ARGH!"

For a split second, no one on the field was really sure what just happened. Pleo was up in the air as he ought to be, all of the Pokémon who protected the edges of the battlefield were still in their places, Elty's voice was a little loud but could be heard behind him as expected, and Nida was… falling towards the ground? Suddenly, the startled voices of two Druddigon came from the sidelines.

"Pleo, look out!" Crom shouted, the Druddigon waving his arms at the young Protector desperately as his brother added a cry of his own.

"He's on _top_ of you!"

Pleo's eyes widened realized that Elty's voice behind him was too loud and the load on his back too heavy. As Pleo looked back over his shoulder, sure enough, his opponent was perched squarely on the white bird's back where Nida was just a few moments ago.

The Growlithe watched as the spike ball hit the courtyard with a dull _thud_ , and twitched stunned on the ground. The Lugia's body was a tight fit: a little further farther to the left or the right and Elty would have missed Pleo entirely. A little further behind, and he would have lost his footing and fallen back to earth with the Nidoran.

"You're not the only Pokémon that can hitch a ride, you know!" the dog taunted, taking a moment to stick his tongue out at the disoriented Nidoran on the ground below.

"Ack! Nida!" Pleo cried out. The bird's body wobbled wildly in the air and lurched here and there barely missing wires and paper lanterns as he tried desperately to adjust himself with the sudden extra weight his new passenger brought along.

Tight fit or not, as Elty clung to Pleo's back, he had the Lugia exactly where he wanted him. The Growlithe inhaled deeply, and then spat a gout of small flames out… all over his opponent's back.

"A- _Aah! Get off!_ _ **Get off!**_ "

Pleo pitched upwards wildly, crying out in pain from the burning embers all the while when suddenly Elty's luck ran out. First he felt their paws' grip against Pleo's back waver, then the vanes of Pleo's feathers, and then empty air as the dog fell flailing and yelping back to earth.

"W- _Whoa!_ "

Then came the feeling of the ground slamming against his chin, and the sundry dull pains that pinwheeling along a courtyard was wont to do to a Pokémon. After a few tumbles, the Growlithe came to a groaning stop on his side.

"Ugh, okay, I should've used my jaws instea-"

"Here, have another!" Nida's voice huffed.

Before Elty could get back up, he felt a sharp pain on his stomach. The dog quickly threw himself onto his feet, just in time to see a Nidoran leg come straight for his head.

_Thwack_

" _Agh!_ "

Elty cried out and recoiled from the little spike ball's still surprisingly tough kicks. When the Growlithe shook some sense back into his head, he found himself locking eyes with a leering Nida for a fleeting moment.

"Hey!" he growled. The Growlithe lunged after the Nidoran to try and nip back at her, but the blue Pokémon managed to hop out of his way and sprint down the field as the orange dog continued fuming. "Were you just sitting there waiting for me to-?!"

Before Elty could finish his train of thought, he heard frantic squawking from above...

"H-Help!" the young Protector cried out. "This move's not as easy as I thought it wou-!"

And looked up just in time to watch Pleo get tangled in the wires above. The cords shuddered a moment and then snapped, sending the bird falling spread-winged along with a couple chains of paper lanterns onto the hapless Growlithe.

_Wham_

The sound of Pleo's crash into his opponent drew a chorus of winces from the Pokémon that were maintaining the customary barriers on the sidelines, as well as from a certain pair of observing Druddigon.

"Ooh…" Cenn shuddered.

"That fall looked like it hurt," Crom murmured, putting a claw to his mouth.

" _Pollito!_ " Mosca squawked, her voice tinged with panic. "Are you alright?!"

"Is _Plancha_ … Whatever it is supposed to hurt this much?" Pleo groaned as he tottered up and stumbled off of Elty, dragging some detached cords and paper lanterns along with him. Nida dashed over, expecting Elty to spring up at any second to continue harrying her dazed partner...

Except after a few moments, she noticed that Elty was still on the ground and not moving.

"I think that we should probably stop there for the day," Mosca hastily interjected, shaking her head.

The Hawlucha sprang up and vaulted over the barriers and onto the field, making her way towards Elty's prone body. As the Dojo's _Maestra_ drew near to Elty's body, the Pokémon that maintained the barriers for the sparring session broke ranks and scattered along the Dojo's hallways for their customary breaks. Cenn also headed back for his mother's bakery with a cheery farewell and "Make sure that Gabite works his due!" between the two.

Nida harrumphed in the direction of the sprawled-out Growlithe as Pleo began to weakly waddle back over to the sidelines to get healed… and his wings untangled from their new 'accessories'. As the Nidoran followed after and reached the edge of the field, she hesitated a moment and turned her head back to Elty. The Growlithe still spread out on the ground as Mosca sidled up against the dog and prodded his unresponsive body.

"Figures you would overdo it," she sighed, before turning back to head over to the Growlithe's side. Before she reached her opponent, he finally opened his eyes, and stumbled to his feet in front of the Hawlucha.

"Urgh, can the room stop spinning a moment before we continue?" he groaned. The Pokémon then noticing the Nidoran beside him, and a leering frown spread over his muzzle. "Why are _you_ here anyways?"

"I'm not saying that you didn't _deserve_ your beating for that stunt you pulled," Nida growled. "But you seemed like you could use a little help."

"I'm _fine_ ," Elty huffed, the Fire-Type consciously inching away from Mosca's claws. He could get back to the sidelines _by himself_ , and _certainly_ didn't need to be carried around like a tired pup. "And I could've turned things around if I'd noticed the feather duster above me sooner!"

Nida sighed and shook her head as the Growlithe limped off the field ahead of the Hawlucha, the magenta bird occasionally stopping to help ease the dog along back to the sidelines in spite of his audible insistence that he was fine. As Nida followed along after the two, she decided to stay mum about her frustrations from the battle. If she was going to chew Elty out, it would make more sense to do so when they were all feeling a bit better.

Perhaps it was the abundance of headaches between the three of them, or the fact that Crom was able to help a bit more than normal with some careful guidance from Mosca, but the process of treating Pleo, Nida, and Elty's wounds that day seemed to go by quicker than normal. The customary Oran berries were peeled, applied, and their remains devoured. Some Pecha juice was dabbed on Elty's flank just in case if Nida's poison was lingering in his body, the fruit that made it meeting a fate much the same as the Oran berries shortly afterwards. Before long, the three were drinking up water side-by-side from bowls set out before them, the strain and aches of battle having largely left their bodies.

"Good work out there, you two," Mosca congratulated. "And I must admit that you seem to be improving a bit yourself, Elty."

The Hawlucha gave a cheerful pat to the Growlithe's head before she carried on down the hallway. After she left, the Fire-Type shook his head and grumbled under his breath.

"I'd improve _faster_ if you'd give me more to work with in these lopsided matches!"

"Elty, relax. It's not _that_ bad as _Community Service_ ," Nida admonished, looking up from her bowl of water. "The more Pleo improves here, the sooner you can pull your weight doing something other than being a punching bag."

"Yeah, Kiran was talking about taking up a mission for after the training session tomorrow," Crom added. As Elty rolled his eyes at the suggestion, the Druddigon took a moment to shift and sun himself along the edge of the corridor before he continued on. "We should head back to get a look the mission board-"

" _Wait!_ "

All eyes turned suddenly to Pleo, in awkward silence. After a pause, the young Protector shook his head as he began to explain to the group...

"Before that… there was one thing that I wanted to do first."

* * *

Pleo's 'one thing' soon lead the party out of the Dojo and along a path into the hillsides surrounding the town. The scenery was not particularly out of the ordinary from the walk towards Nida's burrow. There were the same reed mats spread out here and there with mailboxes sitting nearby, the same nests and burrows mixed with the occasional solitary shack, the same town by the sea could be seen below through the sparse treetops. Despite all of that, the team was still uneasy the entire time through the trek when they came to a fork to the left and to the right in the path.

"Look, I know you're trying to be nice to Cassie and all, but..." Crom murmured as he hopped over a root growing across the path. "Couldn't you just have _Hariti_ give Cassie her picture back at the Day Care? It's been three days since we've been back from the testing mission!"

"Hariti said that she was sick with 'cold'!" Pleo answered. It had seemed strange to him, that being this 'cold' would make a Pokémon unable to come to the Day Care when Hariti was cold enough to freeze berries. Hariti insisted that despite that, she was perfectly healthy, even though she was by far the coldest Pokémon Pleo knew on Tromba.

"And I tried looking around for Ander's house to give it to her _that_ way, but I didn't know where it was until last night."

"How on earth did you find out where Ander's house is anyways?" Nida asked.

"Oh, I asked the purple Pokémon with the belt and the black doggy at dinner! They said that if _I_ went there and had them 'meet their makers,' I'd be doing the world a service!" Pleo chirped happily as he flew along the path and down the left fork.

Pleo's words immediately made Nida and Crom go silent and trade looks with each other. If Pleo was talking about that Machoke and Mightyena who intervened when he met Hatteras for the first time… then that meant...

"Except… I don't understand why they said 'makers.' They were talking about Cassie, right? She was the one who made the pictures... So couldn't they just meet her whenever they saw her? And does 'makers' mean that she has siblings like you, Nida?"

"Um… Pleo," Nida replied. As she followed along the left fork, the Nidoran flattened out her ears. No matter _how_ that meeting went over, it couldn't possibly end well.

"Pleo?" Crom began, his voice uneasy and faltering. "I don't think that- that Pokémon-"

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by the sound of Pleo coming to a running stop along the ground.

"But if _I_ give it back," he continued, turning back to the group. "Then she _has_ to think I'm not mean anymore! Right?"

As Nida and Crom stammered and struggled to think of how to respond to Pleo, they were beaten to the punch by the Growlithe accompanying them.

"Look, I'd never say 'give up', but I honestly think you're throwing good effort after bad here," Elty sighed as he trotted along the path. The other two seemed to be having trouble explaining the Machoke and Mightyena's ill will to the little Pokémon, so maybe it was best to head things off by sending Pleo down a different Nidoran hole. "Marked are really _klanowy_ types, and you can't ever count on them being too open with normal Pokémon."

"Hmm?" Pleo asked. "What do you mean by-?"

Before the little Lugia could finish his question, he felt a round and hard object brushing up against his foot. Which made him look down and see a round green nut stuck in the ground.

"Huh?"

One which immediately made Nida and Crom recoil its sight.

"Ack!" Nida squeaked.

"Pleo, get away from that!" Crom shouted. The Druddigon ran up and suddenly pulled Pleo back by his tail, staring wide-eyed at the seed on the ground. "It's dangerous!"

"Eh?!" Pleo cried out. After Crom's grip slipped on his tail, the Lugia flew up into a tree branch, staring down back at the nut anxiously from above. "What is it?!"

"Oh, please. It's harmless," Elty scoffed, rolling his eyes as he went up to the nut. Without bothering to so much as inspect the seed, he picked it up with his mouth and revealed it to be half of a nut that had been cleaved down the middle.

"I've never heard of _half_ an Apricorn ever hurting anyone," he said, before spitting the green seed fragment out in front of him.

"'Apricorn'?" Pleo asked before fluttering back down to the ground. "What are they and why are they not dangerous when there's only half of one?"

"They're big, colorful nuts that grow on short trees," Nida explained. "None on _this_ side of the island, but if you ever see one, you should stay away from them. They don't call them _breanueces_ for nothing."

"'Brea-' wha...?"

"They have a curse attached to them that will trap Pokémon that disturb them inside," Crom replied. "If you don't cleanly break them apart or if you're not tough enough to break out of them right away... You'll be stuck there without anything to eat or drink until someone finds the Apricorn and breaks you out of there!"

"But why is that so dangerous?" Pleo insisted as Crom kicked the chunk of Apricorn into the bushes.

"You know that 'meet your makers' thing those Pokémon told you about? _That's_ what happens," Elty replied. "What on earth do you _think_ happens if you don't get food or water for a long time?"

Pleo blanched and stared at the Growlithe. 'Meeting one's makers' was sounding less inviting than Pleo thought. Would one's 'makers' only come to you if you were miserable and extremely hungry and thirsty? Did those Pokémon want Pleo trap Ander and his family in tiny nuts? And what of the Pokémon that helped Ander make meat? He overheard at an earlier dinner that they too were supposed to also have 'met their makers'... So the help Ander got required Pokémon to also get trapped themselves?

Pleo shook his head. Whatever this phrase meant, it was clearly not something that was good at all.

"Oh…"

"On the _other_ hand," Elty said as the group continued on down the path. "If you grind them up _after_ you bust 'em, Apricorns apparently make for some really good shakes."

Maybe Elty was telling the truth, maybe he was leading them on in hopes that they might foolishly try to make these 'shakes' for themselves… But one thing was for certain in the minds of the other three Pokémon: they would much rather play it safe than try these 'shakes' out.

"We'll take your word for it, Elty," Nida mumbled.

As the group continued along the path, they noticed that their surroundings began to look a little strange. The path was still clearly marked, but there were no mats or mailboxes to be seen around them. Little patches here and there had undergrowth growing instead of being cleared out. And on top of all of that...

"Wait a minute, if there's no Apricorn trees on _this_ side of the island," Pleo murmured. "Why would there be part of an Apricorn-?"

It was then that the team rounded a bend in the path. The form of a high-roofed hut with a small door, and wide but short windows near the eaves came into view. Some smoke puffed lazily from a hole in the back and along the side there was a mound of charred rubbish.

"Oh! I think that's the house!"

So this was a place where 'meat' was sold? He had gathered through bits and pieces of conversation that the 'meat' that 'scavvers' like Ander sold actually needed to be treated specially beforehand. It needed to be cleaned, dried, and preserved in order to make it look and smell different so that everyone in town would find it agreeable. On top of that, this meat had to specifically be made by scavvers finding Pokémon that had been found to 'already met their makers' to maintain peace with the ferals outside town.

As the team continued up the entrance to the house, the contents of the rubbish heap became clearer and sent a chill down Pleo's back. Although much of the heap's contents had been blackened beyond recognition, little bits and pieces could still be made out. Chunks of Apricorns that had been hacked to pieces, loose feathers, scales, clumps of fur, and broken discolored objects that looked like pieces of burnt, white wood. Were these things left by the Pokémon Ander had found?

Pleo shuddered as he began wondering what sort of dreadful thing must happen to Pokémon that 'met their makers.' Why the 'meeting' must surely be something painful and frightening if the Pokémon left behind bits of the things that covered their bodies! _That_ was what the doggy and the purple Pokémon wanted him to do to Ander and his family? Before Pleo could think longer about what else those Pokémon must have left in the pile or what the whitish things that looked like wood were, he heard Elty's voice calling out.

"Hey, _buddy!_ You're a scavver, right? How much for your wares?"

The team turned and saw that Elty had spotted a Scyther with a blotch in the shape of a five-tailed comet on his head at the door, who cautiously answered the Growlithe...

"Hmm? It's-"

Until he spotted the white bird following along.

"I-It's not for sale!" Ander buzzed in a panic. " _We're closed!_ "

The Scyther hopped back and slammed the door to the hut shut with a terrific crash. As the team recoiled from the din, they then heard the sound of a faint creaking, and then a second, softer crash. When they looked back at the doorway, they saw that the door to Ander's hut had fallen off of its hinges and toppled over.

"A-Aaaah!"

Much to the horror of the mantis, who was now fleeing deeper into the hut as fast as his legs and wings could carry him.

"How hard did he _slam_ that thing?" Elty asked as he eyed the fallen door with a quizzical tilt.

"I'm not here to be mean!" Pleo squawked after the Bug-Type. "I'm not here to make you meet your makers!"

A wave of paws and claws slapping themselves against faces went about the rest of the team. Of all of the ways Pleo could have tried to soothe Ander...

"Just listen to me a moment!" he insisted.

Much to everyone's astonishment, Pleo then suddenly flew up. The little Protector beating his wings and sailing _into_ the hut, calling after the Scyther all the while as sounds of a racket and furniture upending began to break out.

"Pleo, _wait!_ " Crom cried. " _What are you-?!_ "

"Come _back_ here!" Nida shouted. The Nidoran hopped bounded in after the young Lugia, her teammates rushing after her to keep up.

The inside of Ander's hut was a mess. In his rush to try and escape the Lugia, the mantis had upturned tables and scattered various shades of tan and reddish-brown dried matter, presumably meat, all over the ground. The Scyther flew up to one of the high windows to try and exit the house that way, only to lose his balance after brushing up against the wall and tumble to the ground, Pleo standing over him and in the way of any escape.

"Pl-Please!" the Scyther begged, the creature beginning to curl up and tremble. "T-Take anything you want! Just go away!"

"Wait, really?" the Growlithe asked excitedly from the side, as he began to sniff at the hunks of meat littering the hut's floor. "Because I _could_ actually go for some-"

"Elty!" Nida scolded. She biffed the back of the dog's head and her eyes narrowed into a venomous leer, one that was joined by a similarly disapproving scowl by Crom. The Growlithe shook his head and huffed back defensively.

"What? He _offered_ it!"

Pleo chirped insistently to the quailing Scyther, beating his wings to try and grab his attention. Couldn't he see that he was just trying to be helpful? Maybe if he just explained why he came...

"I wanted to give Cassie something!" he blurted out.

The Scyther stared up at the young bird blankly, stuttering as he began to repeat Pleo's words.

"You- You wanted to give-"

A horrified expression suddenly washed over his face… Pleo was here, for his _daughter._ The Scyther immediately propped himself up on the ground with his scythes and hissed back at Pleo.

" _N-No!_ You leave her _out_ of this!"

"B-But I-" Pleo stammered. While Ander's voice was clearly still frightened, it had suddenly developed a worrisome fierceness to it. Team Traveller's blood went cold as they realized that Ander was now advancing on Pleo, his blades drawn and pointed directly at him.

"Ander, _wait!_ " Crom cried desperately. "It's not what you thi-!"

But before the Druddigon could finish, Ander interrupted him with a shriek as he swung a scythe at Pleo's breast.

"G- _Get out!_ "

The Lugia hopped back with a cry, the scythe just barely missing him before it carried on into an upended table and dug itself into the wood. As Ander hastily tried to free his arm from the table, Pleo's nerves failed him.

" _Aaaaah!_ "

The young Protector darted behind his also wide-eyed teammates, trying to hide behind them from this much bigger and erratic creature that had just slashed at him.

"Um, yeah. 'Running' would be a good option right about now!" Elty yelped, his fur standing wildly on end. Nida's pelt was in similar straits, flecked with upright barbs that made her look like a small, terrified, blue pincushion.

"C-Come on, let's get out of here!" she cried. Nida turned and bolted for the door, her teammates swiftly fleeing after her in a mad dash past the damaged doorway...

Directly into the path of a startled-looking mother Scyther and her accompanying child.

"A-Ack!" she buzzed. The Scyther hopped back and drew her blades, her startled voice joined by the frightened hiss of a young Scyther who quickly hid behind her mother for shelter.

" _M-Mom?!_ What is the demon doing at _our_ house?!"

"Why are you _here?!_ " the mother shrieked, waving her scythes at the group. "And why did you bring that _thing_ with you?!"

This was bad. The team could already hear Ander pulling himself free of the table he had gotten his blade stuck in, and here was his mate, in every bit as tense a mood, blocking their escape route.

"Oookay, on second thought, you can keep the jerky!" Elty whined, the color beginning to drain from his muzzle at the sight of the other Scyther.

"S-Sandra, _please!_ It's us!" Crom pleaded, his wings folded back to make himself look small. "We're just other Pokémon from town! Mom _buys_ things from you from time to time!"

"This is all just a misunderstanding!" Nida added, her ears lowered, her limbs stiff and unresponsive, and her heart racing as she hoped that the Bug-Types ahead would relent.

But no luck, this 'Sandra' was not budging. Worse still, she too was advancing on the group with blades drawn just as the team heard Ander finally pulling himself free inside the shop and rushing buzzing for the door. How had this even happened? Pleo had come to do something _nice_ , and here these strange creatures were ready to attack him!

Pleo watched helplessly as Sandra lifted one of her blades into the air. Why did she have to attack him?! If only- If only they could just understand...

"I- _I just wanted to give Cassie her picture back!_ " he cried out, screwing his eyes shut.

Nothing came afterwards. A long, uneasy, silent nothing. Pleo opened his eyes and saw Sandra had lowered her blade to her side, and was trading wary and hesitant looks with Ander and her daughter. Every now and then, their gaze would shift back to stare at the rest of the Team Traveller, the poor creatures still shivering from fright from their ordeal.

"Th-That's right! We've got it right here!" Crom cried. The Druddigon hastily dug out Cassie's drawing from a small satchel that Nida brought along and threw picture over, his claws still shaking as the paper fluttered to Cassie's feet.

The Scyther scooped up the paper in between the flats of her blades and quickly drew her drawing back to her chest, hiding behind her mother and avoiding eye contact with Pleo all the while.

"You dropped it the day before we went into the dungeon… I-I thought that you might want it back," he said in a small and quiet voice. "Wh-Why did you think that I came here?"

"T-To _hurt us_ for knowing the truth about Pokémon like you!" the little Scyther suddenly buzzed back, causing expressions of panic to start to spread over her parents' faces.

"Huh?!" Pleo squawked in shock. " _What_ truth?!"

"Cassie, wait!" Ander pleaded, waving his arms to the younger Scyther desperately to keep her from saying anything further. But it was too late, his child had already begun to bare her fears to the group.

"You're a _demon!_ A nightmare from the Abyss that was brought to life! A-And after long enough, you'll just wind up bullying and destroying everything around you!" she cried from behind her mother. "A-And if we try and do anything about it, you'll try and end our world like the _old_ demons!"

 _What?_ 'Demon'? 'Abyss'?

"I-I- Th-That's not true at all!" Pleo protested, beating his wings out. Nida and Crom immediately butted in, Pleo was supposed to be Tromba Island's Protector! How could the evil creature that Cassie was describing possibly be the same Pleo that Team Traveller had befriended and come to know over the last few weeks?

" _Travellers above!_ It's _insane_ , that's what!" the Nidoran interjected.

"He's the Protector! He _defends_ us!" the Druddigon cried.

"Is that why the town's been in such rough shape since you came, then?" Sandra asked. "The storm? The raid?"

The storm? The raid? Well- Yes, the second happened while he was around, and the first was supposed to have happened the night before he came to Bluewhorl, Pleo thought to himself. But they couldn't be _his_ fault! It was impossible! … Wasn't it? He… He hadn't done anything _directly_ to cause them… The young Protector opened his mouth to try and say something back, but every time, the words died as they came up.

Could it really be that somehow… he had made all those bad things happen without knowing about it?

"I- I-"

Pleo continued to stammer and his mind returned over and over to the dark possibilities that Cassie had raised when he felt a tug at his wing. Without thinking, he followed along, and slipped out of the cordon Ander and Sandra had formed with the rest of the group. Sandra and Cassie had went up beside Ander next to the broken door to their hut, the little one among them hiding behind their parents. In the other direction, the path was open, with no one left to block it.

"Pleo, Cassie's got her picture back," the Nidoran said, turning down the path. "Let's just get _out_ of here."

"Maybe it _would_ be better if we just parted ways here," Crom added uneasily. The dragon began to trudge on ahead when a panicked voice suddenly called out from behind, the group turning back to see Ander waving desperately.

" _Wait!_ " the Bug-Type interrupted, his face carrying the same sort of look one develops after a sudden, sinking realization. "Before you go- Can we- Can we _please_ keep what happened just between us?"

Elty's eyes narrowed into a venomous glare. After everything that happened, the bug had the gall to ask them to keep _quiet?_

"Eh?! _Between_ us?!" the dog snarled back at the Scyther. " _We're_ the weaker Pokémon here and _you_ were the one who took a swing at us and flanked us with your mate! _Why on earth_ should we shut up about that?!"

The mantis looked back at the group, his eyes becoming more and more despairing until Cassie spoke up.

"D-Daddy? Are they going to get us in trouble?"

Elty blinked and his leer softened. The young mantis had raised a good point. Even among pirates, going around trying to attack other Pokémon for no reason was a fast way to make enemies. (Granted, if they had something you wanted and you were tougher, that was usually a good enough reason to make them enemies anyways.) Did this family of Pokémon really need _more_ of them?

"Because this is all we have," Ander finally replied, lowering his gaze to the ground. "And it only takes a few upset Pokémon to lose everything."

The other Pokémon on Team Traveler began look at each other uneasily. Yes, Ander and Sandra had accosted them... but if others knew about this incident, what would they think? The Marked were supposed to have been descended from the same Pokémon that put the world in its current state long, long ago…

Considering how Pleo even found out how to _find_ this place, would _everyone_ understand that Ander trying to attack Pleo was all due to a misunderstanding?

Would _everyone_ even _want_ to understand?

The question lingered in the minds of the team, and as much as they wanted to give a confident, reassuring answer back to Ander and his family... they simply couldn't.

"Please, just forget that today happened," Sandra said. Her voice carried a less timorous tone than her mate's but still had a worn, defeated air to it. "All we want is to be left alone and allowed to live in peace."

"Pokémon like us have already accepted there's nothing we can do to stop your kind," Ander buzzed glumly to Pleo. "Not anymore."

No one on Team Traveler said anything after that, they simply kept quiet and turned away, setting off on the path back towards town. As the shack faded away behind them, the four decided that it would be best to heed the scavenger family's pleas and not tell anyone else about the events that transpired on that little path in the hills. Little by little, they trudged down the path, away from that lonely hut surrounded by undergrowth, and back towards the Rescue Guild.

All the while, Pleo couldn't help but think to himself over and over again…

Could all of the bad things that happened to the town lately…

Could they all really have happened because of him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _(¡)dale duro!_ \- Spanish: roughly, "hit him hard!"  
>  \- _klanowy_ \- Polish: "clannish"  
>  \- _breanueces_ \- Spanish: "tarnuts"


	16. Under Wraps

That night, Kiran noticed that the team seemed to be in low spirits when they came back to the Guild Hall. Most likely due to some tougher-than-normal training at the Dojo, he presumed. Perhaps he _should_ make a point of going to their session tomorrow, and move his meeting with Hatteras about Pleo to tomorrow night, during Hatteras's customary tending of the town lighthouse. Dinner seemed to dispel some of whatever cloud was hanging over the team, especially when the subject of using apples as a Gravelerock substitute came up at the dinner table again, and the rest that lingered seemed as if it would melt away with a good night's sleep.

And so it was that Kiran made a point to slip a note under Hatteras' door explaining his intentions to bring the team to take first picks (or as close as they could get to it) from the Guild's mission board bright and early in the morning.

Perhaps a little too early, even… The sun was still rising, the moon and the last stars stubbornly clinging to light even as the sky around turned blue, and Hatteras' tail was still winking out light as he dozed from the top of his domicile that doubled as the town lighthouse. Oh well, _a quien madruga, los dioses ayudan_ , or at least as much as they could as departed spirits, Team Traveller's captain thought to himself as the team sized up the rune-covered postings in front of the main tent.

The format was simple enough: a picture for Pokémon with weaker literacy, a description in text underneath of the objectives. At the bottom, there was the signature of the poster, and an empty space left for a second signature from the requester when the mission was completed. It was all part of some system the guild's bookkeepers used it in their calculations of team ranks, but more importantly, it was also the mark of a job well done. On the other hand, the difficult part of picking a mission still remained...

"Hrm… See anything that looks interesting, guys?" the Swellow asked with a yawn.

"Uh… Are they _all_ supposed to be _finding_ things?" Nida sighed, hopping up onto a small empty crate to get a better view of the listings.

"That's not true! What about the new bounties posted on the Iron Fleet?" Crom protested. The Druddigon waved his right claw and pointed out some recent postings near the top. Sure enough, there were crude sketches of the Pokemon that had slipped away from last week's raid, little blurbs jotted in runes underneath detailing rewards and known information about the villainous characters.

"Let me rephrase that, Crom," the Nidoran said, flattening out her ears. "Are all of the jobs that _we_ can reasonably do supposed to be finding things?"

"Now, now, that's the sign of a good day!" Kiran chirped. "When there's not trouble brewing, it's customary for rescue requests from lost and stranded Pokemon to be 100% less frequent!"

Yes, while perhaps a little drowsier than he planned, everyone seemed to have gotten over that curious funk they were in the night before...

With one exception.

"What about you, Pleo?" Kiran warbled. "Do you have any opinions?"

"Is... There something that will help someone the most?" the young Lugia asked uneasily.

"Hrm… What about this one to find one of the exposure chests?" Kiran offered, pointing at a listing just above the middle of the board. That would surely be one of the more helpful requests! Even if they weren't bulky and heavy, many of the merchants in town would struggle to simply get the seeds, berries, and other wares they left in them for the Distortion to alter _out_ of the Mystery Dungeon quick enough keep their stores stocked. The arrangement benefitted the rest of the town, too. A healthy stock of found chests meant full shelves at shops like Calino's for the Pokemon that lived in Bluewhorl.

"Why, if we find one of those, it'll help the owner make a living!"

"Sounds good to me!" Nida exclaimed.

"Yeah, and we'll get some of the items inside as part of the reward!" Crom added.

"Meh," Elty huffed in an unimpressed tone. "You'd get _more_ if you kept it for yourself!"

It _did_ seem like a good enough job… "Eh, why not?" Kiran said to himself, plucking the listing from the board with his beak and stuffing it into the team bag. He then lead his teammates off down the path for the Dojo, flying high above in the air to give Pleo a model to try and mimic as the young Protector continued to refine his flight skills. Every so often, he would stop with the Lugia to let Nida, Crom, and Elty catch up as the three continued to argue among themselves about whether it was right to keep a few extra items from the exposure chests for themselves.

So the process went on the way to the Dojo. En route, the team passed simple houses in town as some of the residents moseyed out for morning exercises. A little further on, there was Calino preparing his inventory for the day and hastily replacing a few burnt-up timbers here and there while his customers were still few and sparse. After that, there was a tired-looking Ninjask resting its wings in the sun who looked up at the group a moment, shook his head, and then flew off for the sea with a loud buzz, apparently in a hurry. Then the group went on past a few sea Pokemon that lived in the Bluewhorl's harbor engaged in a petty argument with some visiting sailors at the docks. Their argument of the hour revolved around the necessity for the harbor's sea creatures to wear scarves when in other places the belts and cords that they used to hold them in place were proof enough to show they weren't ferals in communities further offshore...

In the midst of all of that, Pleo had not said a peep. Why if Kiran didn't know better, he'd have guessed Pleo hadn't seen or heard anything at all on his way over to the Dojo!

Eventually, as the team caught up to the two birds on the team after a stop on the roof of one of the town's huts, the Swellow couldn't help but mention...

"You've been awfully quiet this morning, Pleo."

"Yeah, what's the matter?" Elty asked as he bounded up, and scratched a bit at the fur behind his left ear with a hind foot. "Skitty got your tongue?"

Pleo stared blankly at his teammates, the Lugia's gaze wavering before he drooped his neck down towards the ground below.

"Kiran," he murmured. "Is everything bad that's happened to the town lately… Is it really my fault?"

Immediately, some cries went up from down the path as Pleo's words filtered to the rest of the team.

"Eh?!"

"What do you _mean_ 'your fault'?!"

Which were followed by the sounds of swift footfalls, the team rushing in as Kiran beat out his wings in surprise.

"Why on earth would you say that?!" Kiran squawked. "Of course it isn't!"

Pleo suddenly raised his head and tilted it at the Swellow.

"It… isn't?" Pleo asked. What was it that made him so sure?

"Why _would_ it be?" Nida called out, the Nidoran finally catching up to Elty along with Crom and stopping to look up at Pleo and Kiran. "Bad things have happened to the town _before_ you came here, too! It's just a little bad luck!"

"Yeah, and we didn't have a _Protector_ awake to help make them better then!" Crom added.

"Well, you stranding me here _is_ your fault," Elty groaned, rolling his eyes. "But that's not exactly a bad thing for the _town…_ "

"Uh, no. I'm pretty sure that it _is_ ," Nida growled, giving a leer at the Growlithe. "But that's _your_ fault for getting involved in piracy-"

"If you ask me, Pleo," Kiran hastily interrupted Nida's budding argument, the swift-winged Flying-type beating out his wings. "It seems like a coincidence."

"Huh?"

"Bad things sometimes happen in life, and you just have to make the most of them when they come," he explained. "It's not healthy to instantly assume that _everything_ that goes wrong is your fault because you were there for it!"

Pleo turned his head away, his gaze shifting from Kiran. What Kiran was saying _sounded_ nice enough… But… somehow it just didn't seem terribly convincing when there were battered and scarred buildings everywhere he looked in town.

"I guess…"

"Besides," he reassured, patting Pleo with a wing. "There's things that have gone right since you came, too."

"Yeah, we graduated to Normal Rank with your help!" Nida said.

"And you helped keep the town shrine from becoming Aggron food!" Crom added.

"And you seem to be making a lot of friends," Kiran chirped. " _Those_ aren't also bad things, are they?"

Pleo looked back at Team Traveller's captain and gave a small smile (inasmuch as any creature with a beak can smile) back, which Kiran for a moment thought looked a little forced. After a moment, as Pleo visibly drifted in thought, the smile grew and began to seem more earnest and a hopeful brightness returned to his eyes.

"I… I guess they aren't," Pleo said to himself, his voice beginning to grow a bit more cheerful.

"Have some confidence in yourself, _pollito._ Life's about advancing beat by beat to a better tomorrow, even if there's a little turbulence along the way," Kiran said, the blue bird turning to point out a complex of buildings and courtyards across a bridge with a wing.

"Like, say… Flight practice, eh?"

"Oh _joy_ ," Elty grumbled. Yes, perpetually getting put into mismatched fights was _totally_ a way to get to a better tomorrow… Though one would be forgiven if a watching stranger believed that from Crom's sickeningly cheery demeanor.

"Yeah! Why, if you keep it up," the young Druddigon mulled. "Maybe you'll fly better than Kiran someday!"

Pleo's mind wandered after Crom's words, as he began to daydream of one day being able to fly swifter and stronger than his teacher. Why, maybe he'd even be able to lead _Kiran_ around when that day eventually came along!

"I guess when you say it that way, it makes sense..."

"It's settled, then!" Kiran chirped. "Let's all do our best today!"

The Swellow then hopped up and took flight, leading his teammates forward down the last stretch to the Dojo, beat by beat to what everyone was sure would be that better tomorrow.

* * *

As Team Traveler busied themselves with another day of flight and sparring practice, the Ninjask that flew for the sea was zipping out of the harbor with the wind's course. As the bug sailed along through the air, the wind whipped an ivory-colored scarf marked with a blue sun to and fro around his neck and a wooden ship began to come into view.

The ship was an imposing vessel, larger than the Iron "Fleet's" craft with three-masts flying lavender sails with purple squares that attached to notched cross-shaped piers dyed on them. As he zipped over, different features of the ship came into view. There were the two wooden grates over the cargo hold that let square blotches of sunlight into the orlop deck below.

Reaching the ship, the cicada passed over a tube made of planks bound together by metal hoops on the deck, the entire contraption resting atop a wooden block on crude wheels. The device was one of eight aboard the vessel. One end of the tube was reinforced by a metal cap, and had a small hole where Blast Seeds were meant to be thrown in. At the other end, there was a much larger hole that a Graveler was pouring Apricorns into from a thickly-padded bag into that was meant for… _persuasion._

But most important of all the features on the deck was the helm, or more specifically, the Samurott beside it who was casually sharpening one of the blades he kept with his arms against a whetstone.

The bug chirped to himself and flew down to the wooden craft's deck, hovering in front of the great otter with a loud buzz, drawing the Pokemon's gaze up from his busywork.

"You found a lead, I take it?" the Samurott asked. The creature pulled the blade away from the sharpening stone and carefully ran his free paw's digits along the sides of its edge… Sharp and not a single crack or imperfection, just the way it was meant to be before a day's work.

"They're headed to practice at the Dojo!" the Ninjask buzzed as he flipped his scarf. Opposite of the ivory and blue design on the cloth, there was a lavender underside with a single purple square on it. "It's the long complex along the creek!"

Hiding one's true colors like a bunch of stranded pirates trying to evade capture was a bit of a dirty trick, yes… but it was hard to argue with results. And the results the scout delivered were more than good enough for Lyn. Keeping the peasants he was tasked to collect from in line and in their rightful places was hard work, even for a Pokemon who loomed large over his fellow Company Commissioners and other Third-Ranks.

"Hmm hmm… Excellent," he replied. The Samurott grabbed his sharpened blade and smoothly slid it into the keratinous sheave on his right arm that served as its scabbard. The Water-Type then turned to a Tauros and a Electabuzz with disguising designs matching the one on the Ninjask's scarf hastily dyed over the front of their Company scarves, and drew near as the two fidgeted impatiently beside a railing on the edge of the ship's deck.

"You'll be able to work with that, right?" the Samurott asked.

"Shouldn't be a problem, sir," the Tauros dutifully answered.

"Good. Secure the package and have it brought aboard my ship during re-provisioning," Lyn replied, looking down at the bull with a hardened and serious gaze. " _Do_ try to keep this mum, though."

"Pbbt, what for?" a Electabuzz asked, the creature giving a flippant shrug. "You're not _seriously_ scared of some has-beens that chased off a flabby lizard once with a rig like _this_ , are you?"

Almost immediately, the Electric-Type saw Lyn reared up and towering over him, shooting a piercing glare into the hapless creature's eyes. The Electabuzz froze and blanched a moment before he hastily attempted to excuse his poor choice of words.

"Uh… I-It's not like I was expecting you to be-!"

" _I'm_ perfectly content going in hacking and slashing, thank you," the Samurott growled, maintaining his petrifying gaze all the while. "I'm simply acting on a request from my superiors in the Board that the rabble be kept as ignorant of our dealings as possible."

"Y-Yes, sir!" the creature squeaked.

" _Good!_ " Lyn barked. "Now get out of my sight and do your job!"

The Tauros in the group hopped the side of the ship into the water with a splash, coming up paddling the water furiously and waiting for his partner to clamber down a rope ladder onto his back. After the Electabuzz reached the Tauros in the water, the brown Pokemon swam off at a surprisingly brisk pace for one of the quieter shores near the edge of the harbor, fading away little by little. As Lyn saw the two get up onto shore and slip into some brush, he turned his attention back to his ship.

"All hands on deck!" he bellowed out. "We're going in!" The deck immediately became abuzz with action as the deck hands set about this way and that and around the wooden ship. The stones that served as the anchors were raised and a few of the accompanying fliers sent gusts of wind at the sails to give the ship a jolt forward into Tromba's harbor as Lyn walked up to the bow.

" _We've_ got a show to put on until those two get back," he said, giving a self-assured grin as he looked out at the pitiful little town ahead. The Samurott then leapt from the bow and into harbor's water, diving under before returning to the surface to tear along through the water towards shore, as was his custom whenever it was time to collect tribute on behalf of the Company.

The sea Pokemon that dwelled in the harbors of such towns were always the first to run into the Samurott, usually scattering in startled surprise much as a harried school of their feral counterparts would. But the _real_ fun always came at the docks, where there was _always_ some local with an overinflated sense of self-importance to humble.

And as it so happened as Lyn clambered up one of the docks in the harbor… There were a Granbull and a Mawile in lavender scarves that had been scrunched up into headbands, as was custom among this hamlet's guards. When Lyn came upon the two, he found the pair loafing around and playing a game with cards depicting various Pokemon and some pebbles that were placed on top of them.

" _You there!_ "

The Granbull initially swiped his paw lazily at the interrupting Pokemon, attempting to wave off the distraction from his card game.

"Yeah, yeah, cool it. We're on brea-"

Only to suddenly realize that the Pokemon looming over the card game was none other than the dreaded Comissioner assigned to Tromba, much to his and his partner's unpleasant surprise.

"A- _Aaaah!_ "

The racket immediately caught the attention of the other Pokemon on the docks and in the adjoining square, some freezing in startled fright, others taking off from the sight of the Samurott at the docks and the lavender-sailed ship entering the harbor in the background as fast as their limbs would carry them.

"L-Lyn?!" the Mawile cried out, upending the cards in his panic. The creature stammered and flailed before taking a moment to try and hastily recompose himself. "Wha-?! Er... Wh-What are you doing here?"

"Tribute payments! And that's _Commissioner_ Lyn to you!" he barked, his tone sending a shiver down the Mawile's spine. "Where's the negotiating party?!"

Immediately, a litany of protests went up from some nearby townsfolk who had the misfortune to hear Lyn's bellowing voice.

"H-Huh?!"

"Tribute?!"

"B-But the crops aren't even half-ripened yet!"

The unfortunate guards on the docks gulped. As if Lyn coming out of nowhere with his ship full of thugs wasn't bad enough! He wanted _tribute? Now?_ Of all of the times for Osmund not to show up snapping at them to get back to work...

"E-Eh?!" the Granbull whined. "B-But those aren't supposed to come until a-after the harvest!"

"Yeah, well your defenders need a little _extra_ right now!" the Samurott demanded, leaning in towards the hapless duo and quite literally breathing down their necks. "So have these peasants cough it up!"

"What's going _on_ here?!" a voice suddenly rang out.

The three Pokemon looked up, and saw a Sceptile with a lavender headband leering at Lyn, the blades on his own arms extended and tensed. The Granbull and Mawile hastily darted behind the green lizard, eager to have someone else standing between them and the Samurott.

"Oh, hello Osmund. I see _half_ of the negotiators are punctual, at least. And that lowering your standards by _going native_ and discarding the customary dress code has impaired your subordinates' skills," Lyn greeted the Sceptile, the forced amity in his expression belying a sneering gaze. The Samurott smirked and fished out a blade from one of his arms and twirled it about his knuckles. "You ought to be more _cautious!_ Why, if I were say... a _pirate_... I could freeze you to the ground right now! Or since we're talking hypotheticals, perhaps I'd just get direct and swamp you with a wave to trip you up! Both of which would leave me free to hack away at you at my pleasure..."

The Granbull and Mawile flinched and shuddered, praying quietly to their Protector and the spirits of the departed gods above that Lyn's veiled threats were mere bluster. The Sceptile remained unmoved, narrowing his eyes back at the Samurott.

"Grr… That's lovely, Lyn," Osmund harrumphed. "I thought that this was supposed to be a _negotiation_ , not a time to waste our breaths!"

"Well then, I suppose you ought to hurry that other negotiator along, don't you think?" Lyn asked smugly, his blade coming to a sudden stop in his paw. The Samurott had caught it by the handle, gripping it firmly as he shot a look at the Sceptile that seemed to dare him, or anyone in Bluewhorl at all, to come and try his patience.

"Ugh," Osmund groaned. The Grass-Type shook his head out of disgust before he turned and murmured to his subordinates. "Get Hatteras down here. Tell him that it's urgent."

"Y-Yes, sir!" they cried. The two darted off down the docks and towards the direction of Bluewhorl's guild hall, eager to be free of Lyn's presence.

"Oh, I'm in no rush, Osmund. Feel free to let your subordinates take _all the time they need_ ," the Samurott taunted. As the guards ran off, the Water-Type smirked as he heard the sound of his ship finally sidling up against the docks beside him. "I can _wait._ "

* * *

A short time after Lyn arrived in town, Team Traveler got through their day's practice. The session was more exhausting than normal that day, which after a little discussion, prompted the group to take a moment to rest at the front of the complex as they made their way out Mosca's Dojo.

"Whew… Battles are a lot harder and confusing once you get items involved," Pleo sighed, the bird turning to tiredly preen a few feathers along his back.

"You mean they're a lot more _fair_ ," Elty corrected. "Nothing like a good old-fashioned Cross-Eye Seed to bring a bird back down to earth!"

"Yes," Nida grumbled, rolling her eyes at the Growlithe's adamant insinuations. "Because you care _so much_ about fairness, Elty."

" _Enough_ , you two," Kiran admonished. The Swellow hopped down the steps and beat his wings to get his blood flowing, then turned back with a bob of his head. "Let's just take the rest of the day easy and prepare a bit for tomorrow."

"Uh huh! We've got a big mission!" Crom cheered, getting up from his place under a patch of sun. "And Pleo's gonna need a little extra help getting the hang of things, right?"

The team happily traded agreements with each other, until suddenly an unexpected voice chimed in.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"Huh?" Crom asked. "Who said-?"

Just then, the young Druddigon heard something whizz by his head and flinched as a round, peach-colored sphere that seemed to have clouds swirling about in it sailed past from the direction of the creek and shattered along the ground beside him.

"Ack!"

Before anyone could respond, a peach-colored cloud of smoke suddenly enveloped the group. As the cloud blotted out the sight of the blue sky above and the dojo behind them, the team's members all felt themselves becoming drowsy and their eyes growing heavy, their vision beginning to waver...

_Whump_

The smoke lingered a little before it dissipated and melted away, revealing the forms of five Pokemon slumped over onto the ground, asleep. A Tauros and Electabuzz then poked their heads past the corner of the dojo and walked up the creek. The two gave quick, furtive glances to verify no one else was around, before they walked up past Pleo's dozing teammates and circled around his sleeping form.

"Ungh..."

"Got him!" the Electabuzz cried as he quickly dumped a ratty red blanket out of a canvas bag he had brought along and then grabbed and stuffed Pleo's dozing body into the vacated sack. The Tauros that rounded the bend quickly looked about as his partner slung the bag onto his back, tied it down, and quickly threw the dingy blanket over the top. After the ropes were tightened and the two saw that the coast was clear, the bull turned back to his partner.

"Alright, let's move!"

The two Pokemon then took off, darting down the path, leaving the rest of Team Traveler behind asleep and sprawled-out on the Dojo's steps.

_Whap! Whap! Whap! Whap!_

Only for their slumber to be broken not too long afterwards by a series of stiff slaps. After some yelps and startled recoiling from the stinging smacks, the various Pokemon on the team turned and saw that the culprit who woke them was none other than the Dojo's Maestra.

"Oi! _No se duerme en mis peldaños!_ " she scolded.

"Urgh," Kiran groaned. What just happened? Someone was waiting nearby and had thrown something at them... Orb shards? Wait a minute! The Swellow looked around wildly and saw that much to his horror, Pleo wasn't with the group. "Ack! They took Pleo!"

"Aaah!" Crom cried out. The Druddigon ran about looking frantically this way and that, but there was no sign of Pleo at all. He caught the scent of something musky and grassy along with something smelling vaguely of electric burns mixed with saltwater, but it was all still so fresh that he couldn't tell which way the Pokemon came or went relative to it! "Who _were_ they?! Where'd they go?!"

"What on earth are you _talking_ about? You were the only Pokemon here!" Mosca exclaimed.

"That's impossible! We got _ambushed!_ " Elty yipped. "The creeps must have run off with the feather duster while we were asleep!"

"Eh?!" Mosca squawked. "But where would they go?!"

"Look!" Crom cried out, pointing at a white feather blowing about on the path. "They dropped one of Pleo's feathers!"

The team saw the feather, and then some footprints through a puddle of water that carried on a ways down the path before fading. As all eyes followed the footsteps, they lead to the direction of the harbor, where the sight of a tall, three-masted ship with lavender sails could be seen at the docks. The team's heart sank for a moment- the Company was in town, and of all of the possible places the kidnappers could have come from, it would surely be from them.

"No…" Nida murmured softly, lowering her head in defeat.

"Kiran? Isn't there anything that we can do to get him back?" Crom asked, his eyes pleading with the Swellow for some sort of positive response.

"From the _Company?_ " Elty muttered. "Just how do you expect any of _us_ to pull that off?"

"I- I don't know, kids…" the Swellow finally admitted, his head and wings drooping."

"Don't give up so easily!" a voice cried out.

The team whirled around, and saw Mosca gesturing excitedly at the ship in the harbor.

"E-Eh?! I'm not _giving up!_ " Elty huffed, taken aback by the Hawlucha's words. "I'm just saying, there's not any realistic ways to get out of this mess!"

"Oh yes there _is!_ " the Hawlucha adamantly rebutted. "You know those kidnappers are still on the island! _They ran on foot towards the harbor!_ That means that they _didn't have a faster way of getting Pleo away from here!_ "

Wait a minute… that meant the ambushers were going to bring Pleo aboard the ship from the docks? That meant still had to _get_ to that ship first and find something to sneak him aboard first!

"Ah! Of course!" Kiran squawked. "So we just need to make it _there_ before they can sneak Pleo aboard!"

"I'll get reinforcements!" Mosca squawked. "Just go on ahead and make sure Pleo doesn't get on that ship!"

"Right!" Nida cried. "They can't be that far ahead of us!"

Without bothering to dust themselves off from the ambush, the team took off flying and running for the harbor, desperately hoping that they would not be too late to rescue Tromba's little Protector.

* * *

Back at the harbor, Osmund continued to uneasily stare Lyn down on a rickety wooden dock. The Samurott outranked him in the Company's hierarchy, and had the strength to make the design on his lavender scarf mean something- a fact that Lyn seemed to be aware of given the predatory gaze and smirk on his face.

A small crowd of locals had formed near the end of the dock as they all continued to watch the standoff uneasily. Nervous chattering floated about the gathering and occasionally some Pokemon towards the front would inch away deeper into the crowd. While the leers and occasional growls and menacing gestures from the Pokemon in Lyn's entourage on the ship and the water around hadn't been acted upon yet, one could never be too careful with the Commissioner and his clique. The murmurs died off as the sound of a Pokemon tromping up the docks suddenly reverberated. Much to Osmund's relief, it came from the footsteps of an elderly Ampharos making his way up the docks.

"Hmph… About time the so-called 'mayor' of Tromba showed up!" the Samurott barked, shifting his piercing gaze over to the wizened sheep. "Just what kind of show are you running here?"

"One that doesn't lend itself well to unannounced interruptions. I'm sure you would know the feeling, Lyn," Hatteras replied, his words coming out firmly and unflinchingly to the Company tough. "What do your superiors want? And by when?"

"A third of the normal allotment, by _sundown._ "

Gasps and panicked yelps went about the crowd. He wanted a third of the harvest this early? How on earth was the town supposed to deliver that? Let alone it in a _day?_

"Lyn, be _reasonable_ ," Osmund protested. "Harvest isn't for another two months! Just what can the Company expect us to _give_ right now?"

"Hrmph, you _get_ three of them per year," the Samurott scoffed before casting an aside glance. "Give some of your surplus from the last one! We _know_ that the Pokemon here were unusually _adept_ at filling out tax forms last time!"

"Is there a _problem_ with humble Pokemon being a little well-read?" Osmund growled back. The Sceptile's voice betrayed hints of defensiveness to Lyn's ears, which prompted him to narrow his eyes at the impetuous Second-Rank.

"Well, it's certainly _suspicious_ coming from a bunch of bumpkins like these," Lyn retorted. "Why, if any _misconduct_ was at hand, the Board might need to _re-evaluate_ this town's little absentee arrangement with Administrator Darzin-"

Before the Samurott could continue, he felt something stiff and pointed strike his nose and bounce off. The otter recoiled, and after rubbing some feeling back into his face, he looked back at the negotiating duo just in time to see Hatteras pull his arm back to his side.

" _Ow!_ " the Samurott seethed. "Why you-!"

As the creature grabbed at one of the blades along his arms, he was interrupted by an adamant voice from the electric sheep.

"I believe that you're supposed to _inspect_ the tribute that you take off this island, are you not?"

Lyn looked down and upon closer inspection, saw that the object which struck him was a green, unripened Wiki Berry. From the looks of it, not useful for much _else_ than to be thrown at other Pokemon.

"Do you see that berry? _That's_ what the town's fields can offer for your hold right now, Lyn," Osmund insisted, as the Samurott refocused his gaze on the troublesome 'mayor' and Second-Rank. "We're not exactly swimming in excess out here!"

"We have enough left over right now to provision your ship, and no more," Hatteras added, narrowing his eyes back at the leering Samurott. "And if you would like to suggest that I, Bluewhorl's shepherd, _steal food from the mouths of the townsfolk_ in order to do so…"

"Need I remind you of _how_ Darzin and this town came to our current arrangement?"

Lyn's ears picked up a faint, crackling sound. When he looked closer at the old Ampharos, he saw that the sheep's hide was coursing with small electric sparks that danced on its surface, _far_ too close for his liking if he had to act on his threat. The Samurott's eyes betrayed a momentary unease and grip on his blade's handle loosened for a short moment… only to then see a Electabuzz and a Tauros with a bundle on his back covered by a red blanket tied quietly sneaking into the back of the crowd.

Good enough, this charade had lasted as long as it needed to. It was now time to steer things into an acceptable endgame and just wait for his target to be snuck aboard as part of the provisions.

"Hrmph. Calm your sparks, sheep. I don't see your 'Dragon Buster' in the crowd to help you out this time," the otter chided. Lyn shook his head and brought his paw on his now-sheathed blade back to the wooden planks beneath him, his gaze returning to its piercing norm.

"We at the Company _do_ understand the importance of healthy communities, and I have _better_ things to do than to sail around with a cargo full of inedible berries," the creature carried on in a forced cheeriness, the momentary lapse in his confident demeanor having smoothed over as he turned his head back to bellow at the lavender-sailed ship at the docks.

" _Oi!_ Get out there on the dock and start helping with the reprovisioning!"

Immediately, some cries went about the Pokemon on and around the ship, as planks were lowered, and a few creatures in lavender scarves shouted out orders to get ready to disembark. Osmund gave a puzzled, skeptical look at the Commissioner and his crew before he begrudgingly motioned for a few of the local guards to come and, after a brief moment chattering among themselves about how best to disperse the burden of provisioning Lyn's ship on the town, sent them off about Bluewhorl.

"I'm glad that you have a reasonable head on your shoulders, Lyn," Hatteras said, the sparks on his hide dying down and fading away.

"Oh trust me, in my experience on the job… you know when to adjust priorities," the Samurott replied, casting a brief glance at the two infiltrators in the crowd as they slipped in deeper between the mass of bodies.

* * *

Meanwhile, Team Traveler continued bounding up the path to the main square attached to the harbor. All the way over, the surrounding huts and fixtures of town and the occasional cry of protest from a resident the group narrowly avoided running over all seemed to be an indistinct blur to Nida, until the group neared the edge of the crowd at the docks. It was then that everyone noticed that down at the end of the dock where the lavender-sailed ship had docked...

"Wait, _Lyn's_ here?!" Crom cried, his eyes widening at the sight of the Samurott standing at the end of the pier.

" _Who_ now?" Elty asked, lowering his body in a tensed position at the sight of the large Water-Type and the chilling effect he had on all the nearby Pokemon.

"The Company Commissioner who collects tribute from here!" Nida exclaimed, fanning her barbs out. "He's a total jerk!"

" _No co ty nie powiesz!_ " Elty growled. "Since when was a Company Pokemon _ever_ not a jerk?"

"Um, Elty," Crom groaned, screwing his eyes shut. "You realize that the _guards_ are technically also part of the Company too, right?"

"Your point being?"

Nida and Crom traded scowls with Elty and then shifted their attention back to the ship. Rude or not, this wasn't the time to head down that Nidoran hole. It would have to wait until they got their friend back safe and sound beside them.

"Kiran, what are we waiting for?" Nida cried, hopping up and down in front of Kiran. "Let's tell everyone Lyn has Pleo!"

The Swellow paused, deep in thought, moving a bit too slowly for any of the three Pokemon's liking. The bird then shook his head and craned down to his younger counterparts and began to speak.

"If we don't catch him at the right time, he could hide Pleo and then just sneak him aboard later. Or say that he had nothing to do with it and come back later," Kiran said. "We _need_ to get Pleo out here in a way that Lyn can't deny."

"But..." Crom murmured. "How do we even _find_ them…?"

"Start looking around for someone that smells of musk and grass who's carrying something that would drop lint."

"Eh? What do you mean, Elty?" the Swellow asked.

"It's not much of a lead to go off of, and I don't know _why_ I'm telling you this, but…" the Growlithe trailed off, rolling his eyes.

"Remember how one of the scents by the Dojo was that one that smelled kinda bad but had a hint of grass to it?" Elty asked. "Well, on the way over I noticed that there was some red lint lying along their scent trail… Why it looked just like this piece-"

The Growlithe's voice died off as he looked down and shook his head to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Sure enough, there it was, a piece of red lint, sitting at the edge of the crowd.

"Right. Here," he murmured. The Growlithe stopped to sniff at the piece of lint and quickly discovered that the smell he had noticed on the way over was all over the little lump. Elty turned and looked down at the docks. The Pokémon he saw were a bit hazy for his sight at that distance, but he could tell that the movement was all coming _from_ the boat and not towards it, and still all concentrated on the dock… For now.

"He _has_ to be nearby, and it looks like no one's gone on the boat yet. Find him, and you might just find your _mewa._ "

The team looked over the crowd and blanched. It was on the smaller side, sure, but a decent portion of Pokemon in the harbor at any given time were from off the island. Worse still, the crowd would surely muddle the kidnapper's scent and the only Pokemon among them that could do a visual check from above was also the Pokemon with the sense of smell that barely functioned!

"A slim lead, but it's the best we have at the moment," Kiran murmured before turning to the team. "Crom! You and Nida go together and take this end of the crowd! Elty and I will take the far end! Raise some hackles if you find him!"

"Right!" the Nidoran and Druddigon cried. The team broke up and darted into the crowd, frantically searching about for any sign of Pleo or his kidnappers. As she weaved between legs and bodies in the crowd, Nida whispered to herself over and over again.

"Please still be here, please still be here..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _a quien madruga, los dioses ayudan_ \- Spanish: "The early, the gods help." Play off of "a quien madruga, Dios ayuda", a Spanish-language idiom roughly analogous to "the early bird gets the worm"  
>  \- _(¡)No se duerme en mis peldaños!_ \- Spanish: "No sleeping on my steps!"  
>  \- _No co ty nie powiesz!_ \- Polish: Idiom, roughly "Well, you don't say!"


	17. Force Majeure

Kiran and Elty disappeared from view as Nida progressed deeper into the crowd, darting here and there between bodies. As the spike ball hopped past, the occasional "Watch it!", " _Ojo!_ ", or similar yelp of protest would ring out, only to fall on unresponding ears.

There would be time to apologize. Later.

She looked frantically about, sniffed the ground, and occasionally reared up and flicked her ears for any sign of Pleo or the Pokémon that might have taken him. Not a single clue had come her way, and the Nidoran grew more and more disheartened... until she heard Crom's voice suddenly cry out.

"Nida! Look!"

Nida turned, and saw Crom waving from a few Pokémon over. Without thinking, she bounded forward and clambered up the Druddigon's spiked back, coming to a perched rest on his head. The young dragon pointed out an Electabuzz and a Tauros, with white scarves bearing blue suns, approaching some crates.

"The Tauros! That _has_ to be him! He's got something that would drop red lint!" he whispered before bending down to sniff at the ground. "And I saw him pass through this patch of ground earlier! Why, it even still has a hint of musky smell and seawater!"

Nida prepared to hop down from the Druddigon's head to confirm his observations, but stopped in her tracks as she noticed the pair of Pokémon moving.

"The Pokémon with him would've been able to throw that orb at us, too!" the Druddigon added. It all seemed to mostly add up, but something… Something still seemed amiss. The two white-scarved Pokémon neared a crate, and the Electabuzz began to unbind the bag from the Tauros and shift it towards the crate. Then, Crom suddenly saw it-

The underside of the Electabuzz's scarf. It had been exposed for just a fraction of a second while he was shifting the bag off, but it was all that was needed. The underside wasn't white as would have been expected.

It was unmistakably lavender, and it was proof to Nida and Crom that the two had something to hide. Any lingering reservations of acting up quickly left the pair's mind and the Druddigon shouted out after the Tauros and the Electabuzz.

"Wait! _Stop!_ "

It was time to _act._

The Druddigon rushed forward in the crowd, shoving a few of the Pokémon beside him out of the way. Nida tensed her legs and, without thinking, spread her barbs and leapt up and off her perch on Crom's head, straight for the Electabuzz.

" _Sácate la mochila!_ " Nida cried. Before her feet even hit the wood of the deck, she had already flicked a poisonous spike from her ruff at the Electabuzz. The little missile sailed on, until by good fortune, it found its mark on the Electric-Type's lower arm.

"Ack!"

The Pokémon cried out and clutched his arm grimacing in pain, losing his grip on the bag in the process. The canvas satchel fell to the ground, and a sudden squawk rang out from inside it.

"Gwark!"

A commotion quickly broke out among the Pokémon in the crowd as the bag shifted. A white head and neck with a navy blue scarf and a King's Rock around it drowsily poked itself out, in plain view of everyone present.

"Whuh?" Pleo yawned as he began to pull himself from the bag's mouth. "Nida? Crom? Where are you?"

"Wait a minute!" Osmund cried out. "That's-!"

"Eh?!" Hatteras bleated in shock as he saw Pleo pull himself out of the bag. "What is the meaning of-?!"

As the Electabuzz winced and nursed his arm from the painful little missile, his companion nervously nudged him and pointed out a few concerning developments. First, the formerly nervous looks and murmurs in the crowd of spectators had given way to baying and shouting. Second, their superior was seething and leering at them from the end of the dock behind the shocked-looking Ampharos and Sceptile. And lastly, the little white bird they had been sent to snag had gotten all but his tail free of the bag.

"Crud, throw the bird back in and let's get _off_ this rock!" the Tauros cried, much to his quarry's confusion.

"Huh? Aah!"

Or at least until Pleo suddenly felt a hot, numbing sensation course through his body from behind. The little Protector's limbs went rigid, sending him toppling forward with a startled squawk. The bird tilted his head back weakly and saw little sparks dancing among his feathers. Before he could try and make sense of what had happened to him, he felt the faint sensation of something grabbing him and his body being pulled from the dock.

Pleo tried to struggle, but no matter how much he fought back, his flails, kicks, and wingbeats came out as little more than feeble twitches to the two Company Pokémon. The only part of his body that seemed to mount any meaningful resistance as they shoveled the Lugia back into the sack was his mouth, as he cried pitifully over and over again...

"Lemme go! Lemme go!"

Pleo's tormentors suddenly heard running footfalls against the dock's planks. When the two turned to see their source, they saw a Nidoran and a young Druddigon forcing their way to the front of the crowd and charging towards them.

"Let him go!" Nida shouted, as she flicked forward another spike at the Electabuzz.

"Yeah, he's not _your_ Protector!" Crom bellowed, before he ran up and raked the Tauros' flank with opened claws.

The Tauros wheeled back from the Druddigon's clawing, his partner catching a barb in his stomach. While the two younger Pokémon had not done much damage with their attacks, the little jolts of pain still wore the pair's patience thin. The Electabuzz promptly shoved the still-flailing Lugia into the sack and tied its mouth back shut, before getting up and casting an ugly leer at the two pests in front of him for their attempts to get in the way.

"Buzz off, you little brats!" the yellow and black Pokémon growled, before he curled his body and shot out a crackling stream of electricity. Nida hopped back away from the Electric-Type, but was unable to fully clear the arc before it struck one of her hind legs, sending her into a headlong trip. Just before her head hit the planks below, she saw the Tauros charge Crom, the Druddigon narrowly dodging the bull's horns only to be knocked back along the dock...

"A-Aaah!"

Although the two had not been squarely struck by the two Pokémon's blows, they were still sent tumbling to a stop at the foot of the crowd. The two weakly picked themselves up and their hearts sank as the Electabuzz in the duo began to advance on them…

Only for the Electric-Type to suddenly pitch forward onto the docks as a stone abruptly struck him in the side of his head. Followed immediately by a Swellow's cry.

"Hang in there, kids!"

Much to Nida and Crom's joy, they saw Kiran swoop down in front them and whip up a gust of wind with his wings. The cutting wind sailed down the pier, knocking the Tauros off his feet and back from the weakly fidgeting sack that Pleo was trapped in. A orange dog then abruptly jumped out from the crowd behind the two and behind Kiran, growling and braced for battle.

"You really know a thing or two about getting in over your heads!" he called out to the infiltrators, who were still picking themselves up off of the dock. As the Electabuzz stumbled up, he narrowly dodged another Gravelerock, and then a beam of pinkish light, and then an apple which sailed on to hit his partner with a yelp.

The two braced to return to battle, only for their resolve to fail them when the pair saw that it was not just the two brats and their two allies who were advancing against them, but the entire front of the crowd. Guild Pokémon, local shopkeepers, visiting sailors, and a number of Pokémon with lavender headbands that had just recently been preoccupied with moving cargo towards the dock. All of them now baying for their hides.

"Gah! _That_ wasn't supposed to happen!" the Tauros panicked.

"Okay, new strategy!" the Electabuzz cried as sparks began to crackle on his fur. "Kick up a wave!"

The Tauros leapt into the water and kicked up a large wave towards the crowd. As the wave crested, the bull leapt back for the dock while the Electabuzz sent a weak current through it. Kiran hastily swooped down and tried his best to shield his teammates from the brunt of the swell as it came down with a roaring crash.

The crowd's advance abruptly stopped with a chorus of shouts as Team Traveller was pushed back by the wave and felt jolts of electricity run through their bodies. Kiran tumbled along the deck, his wings and legs becoming uncooperative. His teammates weakly flailed as they tried to get back up, only to discover...

"A-Aah!"

"Nngh! I can't move!"

Similar yelps and groans of pain rang out across the front of the crowd. The wave had knocked a couple of its members out cold, and had left a number of Pokémon in the front unable to budge forth another step from paralysis. Pokémon trying to press forward from behind quickly ran into their petrified compatriots, further throwing the entire group into disorder.

The infiltrators turned back and saw that their cohorts on the dock and in the water had hastily set aside their preoccupations with loading cargo onto Lyn's ship. Nida's eyes widened and her breaths grew shallow as she saw the entire lot begin to advance on the group, leering and growling. The Tauros sidled up against the edge of the dock and prepared throw another wave of water at the disorganized crowd.

"Hah!" the bull taunted the incapacitated Pokémon ahead of him. "Not so tough now, are ya-?!"

" _Enough!_ "

The Tauros was abruptly caught by a green, leafy blade in the flank, which sent the creature flying into the side of Lyn's docked ship with a cry and a loud thud. The sound of a splash quickly followed as the bull fell into the harbor's water below, floating listless and unconscious. The Electabuzz whirled around to attack, only to see that the creature that waylaid his partner was none other than Bluewhorl's Captain of the Guard… and that the Sceptile was about to bring his blade down on his head.

_Thwack_

"Yeargh!"

The Electric-Type tottered, dropped Pleo's still fidgeting sack onto the dock, and then tumbled off the side into the water before also floating back up to the surface. The creature groaned in pain as a long, reddish mark, visible even through his pelt, began to form along his head in between his horns. After seeing two of their compatriots so swiftly overpowered, the rest of Lyn's grunts on the dock fell back with yelps and panicked looks, a few of their number turning back to glare and shout invective at the Sceptile… from a safe distance, of course.

"Yeah, I don't _think_ so," Osmund snarled at the Electabuzz that now floated helplessly in the water, before redirecting his glare at the shrinking Pokémon around him. "Not while I outrank you creeps!"

With a flash, the Sceptile tore a small hole into the bag with his claws, as Pleo's voice unmuffled voice rang out once again.

"Lemme go! Lemme go! Nida! Crom! _H-Help!_ "

Back at the end of the docks, Team Traveler desperately tried to make their way to Pleo. Although they could feel sensation begin to return to their limbs, a sign that the effects of the electrified Surf were beginning to wear off, they still could not manage more than to feebly inch along the wooden planks of the docks. The four breathed a sigh of relief after they saw Osmund approach the still-crying and jostling sack, patting it to try and soothe the trapped bird inside.

"Hang in there, Protector! It's alright now!" Osmund reassured.

The Sceptile grabbed the bag, raised the mouth slightly to ensure there would be a gap between Pleo and the top, and with one smooth motion, cut open the mouth of the sack. The canvas flopped out along the dock and left Pleo stumbling about, still shivering from his ordeal and the effects of his body's paralysis as he slowly picked himself up back to his feet. Hatteras shook his head to try and make sense of everything that had just happened, then turned to the Samurott behind him, sparking with indignance.

"Lyn, I want an _explanation. Now-_ Baah!"

Before the Ampharos could finish his statement, he found himself stumbling back after a bumrushing tackle from the Samurott.

"Out of my way!"

The Ampharos fell backwards and fell off the dock into the harbor's water with a startled bleat and a loud splash. As Team Traveler continued to look on from the end of the dock, they saw that much to their horror, Lyn was charging down the dock. Directly towards Pleo.

"Pleo, _fly away!_ " Nida squeaked.

The little bird desperately tried to brace his numbed legs and wings for a leap into the air, only to see a flash of white from the corner of his eye and feel a freezing jet as his feet were suddenly covered in something cold and hard.

"A-Aah!"

Pleo looked down, and saw that his feet and the lower parts of his legs had been stuck to the docks in a clump of ice. He couldn't tell if the ice was really hard or if the sparks from the Electabuzz had just made him very weak, but no matter what he tried, he simply could not pull them free.

"I'm stuck!" he squawked in panic, beating his wings as frantically as his condition allowed. When Pleo turned towards the direction the freezing burst had come from, he saw a hulking blue otter running for him. The creature had fierce eyes, bared teeth, and held a blade flat to his paces on the dock with one of his paws. Pleo screwed his eyes shut and curled up, flinching from an expected pounce.

"Not so fast, Lyn!"

There was the sound of a loud cry, and of a large Pokémon tumbling across wood. When Pleo opened his eyes, he saw Osmund in the middle of the dock, blades drawn, staring down a livid and wild-eyed Samurott with a red scrape along his chest under his left shoulder.

"I don't care _what_ that scarf of yours means!" the Sceptile growled. "You're not sailing off with this island's Protector if _I_ have anything to say about it!"

"Grr… You should pray that you live to see a court-martial, Osmund!" Lyn bellowed. The Samurott then drew his other blade with a loud scrape and tore forwards at the Sceptile with blades drawn.

The Sceptile weaved out of the way, digging his claws into the hull of the ship and clambering along the wall before dropping back down to slash at his opponent from behind, making the balance-disrupted Samurott stumble forward.

"Is that the best you can _do?!_ " Osmund taunted. "You really _don't_ know when you're in over your head, don't you-?"

Before he could finish, Osmund saw Lyn whirl around abruptly. The Sceptile braced his blades, anticipating a charge, only to see to his dismay that Lyn stayed firmly in place- and spat out a freezing beam which froze his feet to the docks, much as he had done to Pleo a few moments earlier.

"Gah!"

"You're just forgetting one thing, Osmund," the Samurott sneered. "I wasn't given this rank from some friend in a high place. I earned it by grinding wannabes like you into the dirt!"

Lyn then leapt into the harbor as Osmund desperately tried to cut himself free. Before the Grass-Type could break free of the snare, the Samurott burst up from the water behind Osmund and slashed the Sceptile along his back, the force of the blow tearing his feet from their icy bindings and hurling him along the docks onto his side. As the Sceptile righted himself and attempted to stumble up, a searing pain shot through his body. Lyn had caught him with a stab in his stomach, causing the poor reptile to cry out and fall to his knees, much to the shock of everyone watching, including Team Traveler.

"Osmund!" Nida shouted.

"No!" cried Crom.

Elty flinched at the sight of the Samurott's assault, his words failing him save for a stunned whine.

" _B-Bogowie…_ "

"Come on, get it together, quick! He's almost upon you!" Kiran begged.

As the Sceptile's strength ebbed away, the deck hands around them lost their wariness of the Captain of Tromba's guards. Jets of water and flying missiles came at the Sceptile from every direction as he crumpled up onto the dock and tried to curl up to deflect the blows. Lyn, still smarting from the indignity the insubordinate gecko had forced upon him, bellowed out and bade his grunts to fall back.

The pleasure of doing in the traitor would be _his_.

Osmund was now defenseless and covered in bruises and ugly reddish scrapes. With what little strength remained in his body, the tree lizard struggled to raise himself off the planks of the dock. The Samurott threw an arm back and entered a falling chop at the Sceptile's neck- even if it wouldn't cleave it like a Substitute's, it would presumably do enough to his neck bones to make a court-martial moot.

Suddenly, a loud electrical crack reverberated, and yelps rang out on the docks. A number of the deck hands who had harried Osmund hit the deck cold, as others uneasily stumbled back up to their feet as static continued to dance on their bodies. The burst had even sent the Lyn tumbling back mid-swing along the docks away from Pleo. The great otter panted heavily as electricity continued to crackle on his hide, glaring at the culprit at the end of the docks, as the Lugia continued to desperately try and free himself from the ice about his feet. A sopping, leering Ampharos had butted in between him and Osmund, the Sceptile clutching his wounded stomach and trying his hardest to get back onto his feet.

"Learn some respect for your elders!" the Ampharos bleated angrily at the Samurott. The mustelid growled and eased himself back to his feet, deck hands who were still well enough to fight following suit as faces from the ship and the skies and water around it prepared to join as well.

"Okay, _now!_ "

_Thwam_

Only for a loud crash, a yelp, and the sound of one of the gangplanks slipping and falling into the water to ring out from further down the dock. All eyes turned to see a red and white blur of feathers leaping to her feet from atop a sprawled-out Excadrill groaning on the docks. Everyone's eyes widened as they realized... this was-!

" _Mosca?!_ "

A nearby lavender-scarved Roselia whirled around to retaliate against the bird, spikes poking from her petals ready to be launched out, only to freeze out of petrified terror as she saw a Tropius rapidly approaching.

"Yeah, we don't suffer bad apples here well!" Mildrew shouted as he promptly ran down the hapless Grass-Type against the dock, stopping by just long enough for Mosca to hop onto his back and leap back up into the air.

Wait, were these-?!

"The cavalry's here, kids!" Mosca squawked.

A brilliant, streaking multi-colored beam and icy flechettes rained out against the side of the ship as the Tropius departed, catching an unfortunate Dusclops and Crawdaunt by surprise as they tumbled in the harbor's water. One of the flechettes chanced to catch Lyn in his shoulder, and made him whirl around towards the dock opposite his ship.

At the other dock, there was a Froslass (the children at the Day Care must have done a better job at keeping her helper in line than anyone expected), a Porygon, a Nidorino, and a Nidorina. All of them leering at the lavender-sailed ship and poised for further attacks.

"You'd best swim back to where you _came from_ , bub!" Teja growled, the Nidorino fanning out his spikes.

"Or _don't!_ " Marley's voice called out, the Nidorina licking her paw as she leered all the while at the Samurott. "I could use some new trophies tonight!"

A volley of spikes from the two soon followed, sending what few Pokémon were still conscious among Lyn's lackeys on the dock swimming, flying, and running for cover behind under the dock and back on the ship behind a hastily-conjured patchwork of barriers of light.

"And don't think that I just brought reinforcements from _land_ either!" the Hawlucha cried out, before she motioned out to sea, revealing a large number of the residents of Tromba's harbor, disgruntled and leering at the Pokémon on and about Lyn's ship. Nervous looks and chatter went about some of the Company Pokémon as Lyn gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his seamitars. This wasn't the orderly visit he had planned at all.

"Heh, just in time, too," Kiran chirped, as he beat his wings. Wait a minute- he beat his wings! They were fully moving again! This meant...

"Ah! I think I can move again!" Nida cried out, as she paced forward, uneasily, but no longer inching forward as she had earlier, her teammates following her lead one after the other and easing into battle postures.

"Come on, we can do this!"

With their mobility back and reinforcements having joined them, the crowd returned to their tense and aggressive stances. The Pokémon in the huddled masses braced themselves to snatch their Protector from a wounded, if still-powerful enemy.

"Heh... How do you like those odds _now_ , Lyn?" Osmund said. The Sceptile, despite still being too weak to get back up onto his feet, couldn't hide a sense of satisfaction from his weary face.

"Rrgh… Do you honestly all think that you can _win_ this?" Lyn fumed, as he pinned Pleo to the ground with a squawk under a forepaw. "That getting one up on me would suddenly be the end of things?"

"You sure talk tough for a cornered _sea rat_ ," Osmund sneered, when some voices rang out from the harbor.

"Eat some brine, you Company scum!" the chorus went, as jets of water and waves flew about at the stern of Lyn's ship. Yes, this was finally Tromba's moment of triumph over the Company…

or at least so everyone thought, until Lyn's bellowing voice rang out:

"Get those miserable fish away from my ship and secure the perimeter!"

Suddenly, the sea Pokémon that accompanied Lyn's ship massed together and sent a massive wave crashing down the harbor, draining the water along the docks enough to strand the ships in the exposed sand for a moment. A torrent of shrieks and cries followed as the wave swept up the locals who lived in the water.

Upon subsiding, the harbor was littered with netting, formerly attached to boats in the harbor and the seabed beneath to provide places for sea Pokémon to rest at night. Along with the nets was a sorry-looking mass of entangled, dazed, groaning, and unconscious Pokémon in the water, as the other sea Pokémon scattered and swam away in a panic before Lyn's cronies could do anything more to them.

**_BLAM!_ **

Everyone's attention was drawn up to a flurry of colorful, round spheres tearing a series of holes into a tent in the main square.

As all the Pokémon in the crowd turned their stunned attention back to the docks, they became acutely aware that the barriers around it were now neat and orderly as opposed to the haphazard collection it was moments ago. On top of that, all eyes associated with Lyn's ship, whether on the ship, or freshly clambered off of it onto the dock, or in the air, or in the water… all were now focused on the town, along with a number of wooden tubes on rollers. One of them was aimed squarely at Hatteras and Osmund, another was aimed at the Pokémon on the other dock. Worst of all, the six others were trained on the crowd and the rest of Bluewhorl's harbor, including a tube still smoking from a spent Blast Seed targeting the damaged shop.

Every last Pokémon with the Company's scarves was now poised to strike and obliterate the surrounding portions of town. The abrupt reversal made Team Traveler freeze in their tracks, their stomachs growing knotted from the realization that they and everyone in town near the docks were at the mercy of these dangerous beasts. Some startled cries rang out in the crowd and a few more timid Pokémon turned and fled entirely, as Lyn dug his heels in and growled at a now-shaken looking Hatteras.

" _You._ Did you think that if you _somehow_ pull through right now with a boatload of casualties, it will be the _end_ of things? Do you think that would spare you from the Board getting wind of things and sending others to come to finish the job? The job that some of us have been waiting _years_ to finish thanks to that indecisive fat lump Darzin?" the Samurott spat before he turned back to the crowd.

"Who do you think it is that's been keeping your island from being turned into a den for pirates, huh?! Some little bird?!" he bellowed. " _No!_ It's muscle like _mine!_ The muscle that's gonna flatten your rebellious little hamlet right _here and now_ if you keep this nonsense up!"

"This isn't help!" Pleo angrily squawked from under Lyn's paw. When the Samurott looked down, he saw the Lugia craning his neck up at the otter, his eyes livid and momentarily forgetting all of the danger he was in.

"This is _you_ being a bully just like those pirates!" he cried as a glowing ball at the back of his throat. " _Get out!_ "

Pleo spat the ball into the face of the Samurott, causing the creature to recoil and let go of the bird for a moment. There was a brief moment of silence, which gave the young Lugia hope that perhaps he had knocked the mean Samurott clear over the horizon... which was promptly squashed along with his fleeting, angry resistance after he saw a blade abruptly shoved in front of his beak.

"Don't make things any _worse_ for everyone than you already have today," Lyn growled.

The Samurott's words struck the young Lugia like a bag full of Gravelerocks. Ander and his family said the other day that since he came down from the cave, that all he had done to Tromba was to bring it trouble… and now, here he was, in a situation where every move he made to try and stay on the island genuinely seemed to only make things worse for the Pokémon that lived here.

"I've- I've been making things worse for everyone?" Pleo whimpered.

"You're a 'Protector' aren't you?" Lyn growled, glaring at the white bird. "So protect these Pokémon from their own _stupidity!_ "

Pleo looked down uneasily at the docks. Could- Could Ander really have been right? Could this bully in front of him be right, too? As his teammates saw Pleo hesitate and a blank, stunned expression spread over his face, they called out, desperately hoping that Pleo wouldn't give in.

"Pleo!" Crom cried out.

"Don't listen to him!" Nida begged.

"None of this is your fault, _pollito!_ " Kiran squawked.

"I- I never meant to make things-" Pleo began, only to have his chance to decide for himself torn away. With a swift swat, the Samurott abruptly knocked Pleo's head to the docks with the flat of one of his blades, the blow sprawling the little bird out cold against the planks.

"Pleo!" Nida cried.

"Take him and the wounded aboard my ship," Lyn growled to his still-conscious subordinates nearby. A few of the Pokémon dragged their fallen counterparts groaning and spluttering off the docks and out of the water back up the gangplank. Others went about to inspect dents and damage in the hull from Mosca's intercession.

All the while, the Pokémon onboard Lyn's ship stood prepared to lob volleys of attacks strong enough to break any barriers thrown up by Bluewhorl's residents and the Pokémon behind the wooden tubes readied them to fire at a moment's notice. A Slugma sidled up against and melted away the ice holding Pleo's unconscious body in place before the Protector too was carried off, in front of a watching town.

"He's hurt and in need of medical care along with the deck hands you've been so _inhospitable_ to," Lyn said to the Ampharos, his voice filled with forced congeniality. "And _you_ have your own miscreants to patch up."

The Samurott shoved Osmund to the ground at Hatteras' feet, the lizard wincing and glaring back at Lyn all the while.

"Why, we'll even throw in a gesture of goodwill and load our own cargo today! So get off the docks and let us resupply like loyal subjects, and we'll all pretend this _blatant treason_ didn't happen," the Water-Type growled. "Or we can _settle_ this by fighting it out until the last hut and Pokémon standing in this hamlet. Your choice."

All about the gathering, defeated looks washed over the faces of Bluewhorl's residents as their hopes of wrestling Pleo free crashed to the ground. A few of the Pokémon who were younger or otherwise more dutiful visitors to the shrine up the hill broke down in tears. In spite of all of this, Hatteras somehow seemed to retain some uneasy shred of composure and determination.

"We… We can't really say 'no' to letting Pleo get healed... And I guess we can't have Pleo right _this_ moment," the Ampharos begrudgingly answered.

" _Good_ , nice to see that you've got a reasonable head on your shoulders… Hatteras," the Samurott said, giving a smug smirk at the elderly sheep before turning back to the amassed crowd.

"You heard your mayor! _Scram!_ These docks belong to _me_ and _my_ subordinates until we push off!"

As the Company Pokémon on the docks began to fan out on the docks, the crowd rapidly thinned out as its members darted away from the docks. Even Mosca and her on-land reinforcements retreated into the interior of the town after it became apparent there were no moves left to make from their position. The sea Pokémon from the harbor timidly came back to help the wounded in the water swim away to receive care on the beach next to the Guild. Hatteras helped Osmund totter down the dock and towards help in town in spite of his wounds, the latter occasionally receiving a kick or spittle from a weaker member of Lyn's crew that sensed a chance to ingratiate themselves with their leader at the rebel's expense. Team Traveler also fell back, heading with downcast spirits up a path away from the docks, casting longing glances at it all the while.

"Kiran! Wh-What do we do now?!" Crom cried, the poor dragon visibly misty-eyed from having Pleo snatched away from his claws.

"Yeah, your Guildmaster kinda just gave up the prize bird there," Elty murmured, his ears held low.

"We _had_ him!" Nida squeaked. "We're really just letting Lyn steal Pleo like that?!"

"Psst! Kiran!" a voice whispered from an alley.

When the team turned down the alley, they saw it was none other than…

"Eh?! Mosca?!" the Swellow squawked.

"Stop by the Guild's warehouse, it's urgent," she insisted.

"H-Huh?!" Crom asked. "B-But Pleo! He's-!"

"Hatteras said 'I guess we can't have Pleo right _this moment_ ' for a reason, you know! We're not _completely_ out of moves yet!" the Hawlucha whispered back, returning a faint glimmer of hope to the eyes of Team Traveler's members. There still might be a way to get Pleo back!

"Right! We'll be there!" Kiran answered. The Swellow took flight and led the team in a rush for the guild hall.

* * *

Crom, Nida, and Elty dashed all the way back, hot on the heels of their swift-winged team leader. They ran past the message board and through the main pavilion, where they saw a Luxio ducking down a path. After a moment's pause, they hurried along after the Electric-Type to the direction of a warehouse- or more accurately an oversized shed. The structure was a dingy, lonely building that laid at the periphery of the guild's grounds. Normally, it was a space to store things that didn't have an immediate use for most of the year, but today, it would host the most pivotal town meeting in living memory. Fighting fatigue and, in Nida and Crom's case, wounds from their encounter on the docks, the four hurried all the way up to the wooden structure's entrance…

"Hold it!"

Where they were stopped by a stern-looking Primape, who quickly pointed at the three younger Pokémon in the group.

"Not you three, just Kiran."

Nida and Crom's jaws dropped. Hatteras was going to hold possibly the most important guild meeting of their lives… and _they_ weren't going to be allowed to go to it?

"Huh?! But we're on the same team!" Nida protested.

"Yeah, we wanna help, too!" Crom cried out, trying his hardest to find a way to slip past the Fighting-Type.

"Yeah, well 'loose lips sink ships'. And this is a _very_ delicate ship this town is on right now," the ape answered, giving a serious leer at Team Traveler's leader. The Swellow hesitated for an uneasy moment, and then turned to his companions.

"It _is_ probably for the best if I handled this alone, kids," Kiran said, which immediately lowered the team's spirits.

"But Kiran-!"

"If whatever Hatteras comes up with has an opening for you to help out, I'll get you in the action first thing," the Swellow chirped, giving a pat to the Nidoran and Druddigon's head before he ducked into the warehouse.

"No eavesdropping either. We've gotta make sure any snooping grunts don't get suspicious!" the Primape admonished.

Nida and Crom glumly turned away and began to walk away from the shed… Until they saw Elty a little ways up the path lazily scratching at his neck with a hind paw.

"Were you just scratching yourself all this time?" Nida asked, her ears folding back and her eyes screwing shut out of frustration.

"What? You should've known you weren't getting in after that Pokémon's second sentence!"

"Elty, just… Don't sit there like that," Crom growled, covering his face with a claw.

The Growlithe shrugged and obliged and, after the Nidoran and Druddigon passed him, trotted off along behind them. Eventually, the three found a set of bushes by a path that still afforded a view of the mess hall and sank in. The brush was reasonably effective at hiding Nida and Elty. Crom on the other hand...

"Uhm… I think this is the best I can fit in."

Well, it probably should have come as no surprise to anyone that the bush would now have a Druddigon's head, wings, and tail poking out from it.

"So I guess we wait now?" the Druddigon asked.

"Well, my Community Service term is kinda sitting on a boat in the harbor right now," Elty replied. "So I'm kinda indifferent here."

The three sat and waited, the only company to the young Pokémon being the sound of other guild members rushing past them. Some faint overlapping words that the three couldn't pick out even with their relatively strong hearing burbled from the direction of the hut. Every second passed like a drip of water, faintly plinking in the minds of the Pokémon… and eventually, it got too much for the Nidoran in the group.

"Ugh... Why are we just _standing_ here?!" she huffed. "Pleo's down on Lyn's ship _right now!_ "

Crom warily looked about in thought. He peered at the warehouse, and then at the docks, before turning back. He paused for a long moment, and then suddenly spoke up.

"Actually, I think you might be onto something, Nida," he murmured to himself. "I mean, it's not much... And I don't _think_ it would mess up any of Hatteras' plans if it didn't work... but we still have a chance to get him while he's in port!"

"Wait… we do?" the Nidoran asked warily.

"Um… Yeah, 'fighting battles an entire town couldn't win' is kinda a non-starter there, you know," Elty grumbled, narrowing his eyes at the Druddigon as the Dragon-Type shuffled out of the bushes.

"Think about how they were going to get Pleo aboard," he explained. "They were going to sneak him in with the cargo! Who's to say _we_ can't do the same?"

"And if we got onboard and snuck him into something they were gonna throw out during resupplying," Nida said to herself as she hopped out of the bushes, her eyes suddenly widening from an abrupt realization. "We'd get him out of there and have time to hunker down before they came back!"

"Then come on!" Crom cried. "Let's hurry up and-!"

"That's all fine and dandy for you," Elty replied as he turned around and poked his head out the bush at his two er… teammates? "But I don't see why _I_ should care."

"What?!" Crom growled. "How do you figure that?!"

"Because this plan's _insane?_ And besides, 'no Pleo' means 'no more Community Service' for me," the Growlithe scoffed, turning his head to the side.

"Listen, you fat jerk," Nida huffed as she fanned out her barbs and walked forward, pressing their tips against the Growlithe's hide. "If Pleo doesn't get back to the Guild Hall safely by the end of the day, I will personally volunteer you for babysitting at Hariti's to make up for it!"

"And _I'll_ support her for you sitting on your butt when we had the chance to do something!" Crom added as he stooped down to glare at the Growlithe.

"So what's it gonna be?" Nida asked, poking the Fire-Type a bit more forcefully with her barbs. The Growlithe blinked and looked at the irked Nidoran and Druddigon uneasily. After letting visions of getting chased around by children and rowdy, poisonous Nidoran kits like the poor Quilava at the Day Care flash through his mind, the little dog growled and begrudgingly resigned himself to the fact that he would be better off playing along.

"Urgh, _psiakrew_ … For young Pokémon, this guild of yours sure teaches you to be tough at bargaining."

"Is that a 'yes'?" Nida pressed.

"Fine," Elty grumbled, rolling his eyes. "But this is still a bad idea!"

"Great to hear you're on the same page, now let's hurry!" she cried, turning and bolting down the path. Crom and Elty quickly followed after the little blue spike ball.

It was a long shot, to be sure, but with the fate of Tromba's Protector hanging in the balance, they couldn't just give him up without trying to do something about it! They had to do something!

For their families.

For Bluewhorl.

For Tromba.

For their friend.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _(¡)Ojo!_ \- Spanish: "Watch out!"  
>  \- _(¡)Sácate la mochila!_ \- Spanish: "(You, )drop the backpack/knapsack!"  
>  \- _Bogowie_ \- Polish: "(Oh) Gods". Derived by using the plural equivalent of "Boże", which is used as an interjection in Polish.  
>  \- _psiakrew_ \- Polish: Mildly vulgar interjection, often translated as "darn/damn (it)". lit. "dog's blood"


	18. Hope Against Hope

Perhaps the sense of urgency made everyone more fleetfooted, or perhaps the lack of other Pokémon along the path after Lyn and his underlings had intimidated Bluewhorl into submission had allowed the team to keep a faster pace, but the trip from the Guild to the harbor went by faster that day. Nida, Crom and Elty dutifully kept their distance from the perimeter that the Company had set up around the docks, spying carefully down the town's paths and in between structures for any sign of an unmonitored approach.

Eventually, the group got their break after Crom spotted a Dusclops with a hastily-applied bandage stained with Oran juice and a Heracross walking away from a small cluster of crude wooden crates down an alley.

"I get why we didn't have the peasants load the cargo, but why do we have to handle these crates?! We have teleporters on the crew!" the beetle chittered as the pair slipped past the end of the alleyway. "Wouldn't them blipping things into the hull make this go by _faster?_ Pokémon like them can teleport teams out of Mystery Dungeons just fine!"

"That's 'cause they have those teams' extra mindpower to _borrow_ for that, and even with the help, it still takes the wind out of them and eats into their accuracy," the Dusclops scoffed as the pair slipped out of Team Traveller's view. "If it was that easy to get aboard the ship like that without an accident, don't you think we'd have just blipped that Wingull aboard earlier?"

As the pair's chatter faded into the distance, the team quietly crept down the alleyway towards the boxes, which were each about as tall as Crom.

"So what's your plan?" Elty asked.

"Look for open crates in that bunch there!" Nida cried. "If we get in one, we'll get a shot at-"

"Someone's coming!" Crom whispered hastily after sniffing at the air. The three Pokémon froze in their tracks as they heard footsteps approach the end of the path, and saw a Krokorok pass the alleyway carrying a crate with stains from crushed berries around its lid.

"Lousy hicks, some 'provisions' these are!"

"Meep," Elty gulped.

The creature set down the crate with a rough thud and once again passed the mouth of the alley, pausing for a brief, heartstopping moment to scratch his backside. As the Dark-Type lingered on in front of them, the party of Pokémon froze. Their breaths became shallow and slow, their hearts raced, and their heads began to feel faint as they found themselves devoid of strength or will to continue forward. After what seemed like an eternity, the Krokorok continued on his way, his grumbling about the local residents eventually fading with his footsteps, leaving the team to exhale loudly.

"Phew, that was-" Crom began, only to abruptly stop his train of thought as his snout caught a whiff of a vile odor that lingered in the air.

"Er… Something smells rank," Crom gagged as he covered his snout with a claw.

The smell brought to mind the stone-lined pits that the town maintained on the fringes of town, hidden from view by tall partitions with herbs planted about them to block the odor. Places where Bluewhorl's residents could rid themselves of muck and grime that had no further use other than to be periodically burned to ashes and returned to the earth. Except, this was not the outskirts of town, and the smell was here, making Nida instantly jump to conclusions about its source.

"Ugh, _Elty!_ " Nida complained, as she too attempted to block the stench from her nose.

"That _wasn't_ me!" the Growlithe huffed back angrily. "The smell's stronger in your direction!"

"No wait, he's right!" Crom cried, suddenly gesturing down the alley. "Look!"

Nida and Elty poked their heads out of the alley and looked towards the crate that the Krokorok had set down. There were some stains around its lip, most likely from being forced shut with an overflow of berries in the past. The lid had come loose, revealing that its contents were a mix of fruits, with a number of green, spiky fruits clustered towards the top.

"Durin Berries?" Nida whispered.

"Well, we _do_ grow them on this island," Crom whispered back. "And they _do_ taste good in spite of the awful smell if you prepare them right, so..."

"Isn't that why you'd pack them at the _bottom_ of the crate with some herbs to block the smell and put the rest of the berries on _top?_ " Elty grumbled. "And I thought they were bitter and sour fruits that only old Pokémon liked!"

Perhaps that was normally the case, but Company shakedowns were hardly anything the town wished to consider normal, and there were only so many ways for most residents to air their displeasure without incurring the wrath of the lavender-scarved Pokémon. More importantly than that, it occurred to Nida that if the fruit's smell was overpowering from that distance…

Who on the ship would be able to sniff them out after sneaking aboard?

"Enough, I think that we've got our cover," Nida interrupted. "Come on!"

The three quickly darted out from the alley and up to the boxes. Crom pushed back the lid to the crate full of berries, where there was a gap at the top, just big enough for the two smaller Pokémon to fit in. Nida hopped up onto the reeking crate, then paused a moment before she shook her head and jumped in, perching among the fruit. Crom dropped a flailing and protesting Growlithe alongside her. When it came time for the Druddigon to join, though…

"Er… I don't think you're going to fit here," Elty said, flattening his ears as he looked at the remaining space, and then back at the Druddigon. The ruddy lizard looked about anxiously, trying to think of some way he too could fit into the box with his compatriots.

"Uhm… Well… What about…?"

The Druddigon trailed off as his eyes searched about, until he noticed a worn, empty crate with a crack on one of its sides plugged with wadded-up paper. The sorry container was tilted over on an undamaged side, with its lid lying detached next to a tangle of sea-drenched rope. As soon as he saw the crate, an idea dawned on the young dragon...

"Aha, this one's empty!" he exclaimed. Crom hastily scurried over, righted the box, snatched up the lid, and pushed the wooden container over to Nida and Elty's crate. "Move some of the Durin berries over to cover me! They'll think that it's just a second batch of berries!"

"Right!" the Nidoran answered. Crom clambered into the cracked crate and, after folding his wings back and fidgeting some, was able to fit snugly into his wooden box. Nida and Elty then quickly kicked up and threw some of the pungent berries around them onto Crom, forming a thin layer over the dragon who poked his head and arms out of the crate.

Crom then slid the lid to Nida and Elty's crate over its opening. After a few fumbling attempts and crushing a couple berries in his crate, he did likewise with his own, leaving the three to sit there in the darkness, with only the stench of fresh Durin Berries to keep them company.

"Well, I guess always putting off that bath _wasn't_ such a bad id-," Elty began, only to be met with a sharp kick and a hiss from his Nidoran fellow-traveler.

"Elty, _shush!_ "

Nida's insistence for quiet was well-timed, as shortly after her admonishment, the sound of footsteps and chatter drew nearer and nearer to the crates- until it was quite literally on top of Nida and Elty.

Nida's heart skipped a beat when she felt the crate move, and after a tense moment where she expected the lid to get ripped open at a second's notice, she felt the crate rise off the ground. The crate then rocked back and forth as a voice prattled on, which she supposed to belong to the Pokémon moving the box. As the carrier's paces continued, Nida began to breathe again. Each step forward was one step closer to Pleo, and one step closer to making this whole mess right again.

* * *

On Lyn's ship, Pokémon in lavender scarves milled to and fro, moving crates and barrels from the docks up gangplanks and onto the deck. From there, they were piled in the center, where other Pokémon would grab them and then hoist them below the deck with some netting attached to a crude wooden pulley, hewn by patient claws for impatient sea hands.

The Krokorok Team Traveller narrowly eluded earlier picked up a crate with old berry juice stains around its lip. The creature grumbled a little under his breath about it being a touch heavier than usual, but shrugged and put the crate down on the netting to be hoisted down next, ignorant of the racing heartbeats inside that the wood muffled. A Graveler tugged at the rope and began to raise the crate when a commotion suddenly broke out from behind.

"Gyah!"

One of the deckhands, a Grumpig, had tripped while struggling with a particularly heavy crate with a crack clumsily caulked with wadded paper. Such slip-ups were to be expected from time to time, if more likely to attract derision rather than sympathy from one's peers on a crew like Lyn's. What made _this_ slip-up different was...

"Ouch!"

A young, but rough cry that rang out from inside the crate. Oblivious to the young and unseen hearts among them sinking like stones at sea, all nearby Company eyes looked around, before settling on an askew crate in the middle of the boat's deck.

"Did that crate just _yelp?_ " a Crawdaunt asked, the creature moving slightly to avoid disturbing some bindings over a tender spot on his thorax from the earlier battle.

"Open it up," a Weavile growled, flashing his claws at the cracked box.

The Grumpig got up, brushed himself off, flipped the crate, and moved a paw to the side of the lid. With one swift movement, the Grumpig flung the lid open and caused a dazed, young Druddigon to tumble out along with a few stray berries...

Into a sea of glaring eyes.

"Um… H-Hi?" Crom stammered, as he tried to backpedal back into the crate, only to be drug out and shoved onto the deck.

"And just what do _you_ think you're doing here, brat?" the Weavile snarled, as his compatriots quickly joined in and began to ring the young intruder. The simmering chorus of hostility was suddenly pierced by Lyn's voice calling out from the stern.

"Isn't it obvious?" the Samurott asked, the Water-Type leaping over a railing near the helm and coming to a stop on the deck. The captain hung towards the back of the crowd, glaring over the heads of his subordinates into Crom's increasingly wide and intimidated eyes. "He wants his bird back like the rest of the peasants here."

The Druddigon trembled a little at the sight of all of the cruel gazes around him, before he dug his claws into the wood. Mustering the bravest face he could throw together, he growled back at the Samurott who so callously tormented his town.

"Th-That's right! Pleo's not yours, so give him back! Right no-OW!"

Only to be cut off by a kick to his stomach from one of the lackeys, and then a punch. After quickly discovering that the Druddigon had a rough hide, another lackey threw a Gravelerock, a stream of electricity, another blow, and another after that. Crom's pained and frightened cries rang out across the deck in between sickening thuds as the Pokémon that ringed him bore down on him. At this point, the young Nidoran in the juice-stained crate could take it no longer. If the crate were not there to hide and muffle her, they could have seen beads of poison dribbling off Nida's raised barbs, a wide-eyed look of stupefied shock, and heard her cry out in horror.

" _Cro-!_ "

"S-Shh!" a Growlithe's quieter, shaken voice scolded, muzzling the Nidoran by throwing a paw over her mouth. "You'll give us away!"

Crom's cries grew weaker and weaker; by the time that Lyn motioned for the Pokémon attacking him to leave him be, all that was left of the once-defiant intruder was an unconscious blue-and-red lump covered in deep bruises and scrapes, drawing shallow breaths and groaning weakly from time to time.

"Hrmph. Now then, since _that_ waste of my time's over... throw him off my ship and back where he _belongs_ ," Lyn growled, before he turned for the stairs back up to his perch at the helm.

The Krokorok dumped out the stray berries from the crate before the Grumpig shoved the unconscious dragon back into the empty crate and lifted it over his head.

"And take your lousy crate with you, too!"

He steadied his feet and with an overhead hurl, sent the crate flying towards the main square by the docks. Lyn watched the crate sail up before it tumbled back to earth and splintered against the hard ground below, ejecting Crom and sending him rolling up against a wall. The racket made Mirlia poke her head out with her daughter from their damaged Juice Bar. The sight of Crom slumped over in the square drew a startled cry from the two, and the elder Pokémon quickly rushed out to scoop up the wounded dragon. As she spirited him back into her establishment, Lyn turned back to his crew.

"Search the cargo!" he barked. "He probably brought others!"

After the Samurott's command, the deck went abuzz with activity. Deckhands began to force open the crates that were in the same bunch as the cracked one that held the intruder, rooting through their contents in search of other conspirators. The Graveler began to bring the half-raised crate back down to the deck, as its occupants desperately tried to dig deeper and hide in the mass of berries and fruits… just as a voice called out from above.

"Captain! There's a storm brewing!"

Its owner, a Xatu, swooped down and perched in front of the Samurott, beating her wings excitedly. Meanwhile, the Rock-Type set the crate down on the deck and began to clear away its netting.

"Yes, yes, you told me about the storm earlier today," Lyn grumbled. "It's taking a long route over, you said."

"Um, yeah… I kinda need to revise that forecast," the Psychic-Type said, showing off a little glass flask shaped something like a plum with a neck grafter onto the side filled with colored water and attached to a string with her beak. The boulder-like Pokémon opened the lid to the crate now on the deck, and pulled it away as the bird continued.

"We're already going to be pushing it for beating it to port in Kenobi, Captain. If you want to leave, the time is now."

Everyone on deck paused after hearing the creature's words, including the Graveler, who turned to see that their captain was rather visibly mulling on what to do next.

"We just checked the crates that were next to the one the lizard was in!" a Heracross volunteered. "There's nothing in them! If others snuck in, they'd want to stick close to him to coordinate with each other, right?"

Lyn looked out at the sea, and then at the town ahead of the bow. He then frowned and shook his head before bellowing out to his crew.

"Raise the anchor and lower the sails! We're getting out of here!"

"But we still have crates on the-!" a Dusclops interjected, before Lyn adamantly interrupted.

"I _said_ we're getting out of here!" he growled. "I'm _not_ letting myself get stuck here with a restive and scheming bunch of peasants, waiting for a storm to pass while we have such a big prize to lose!"

The deckhands, knowing better than to challenge their superior over something he had set his mind to, immediately set to work carrying out his orders as an afterthought rang out over the deck.

"And get the rest of those crates below deck before we hit the open water!"

The Graveler, looking back at his opened crate and seeing nothing but berries from a glance, shrugged his shoulders and put the lid back on. He then hoisted the crate up in the netting and sent it below the ship's decks. Once the crate completed its passage down to the orlop deck, a Heatmor grabbed it and slid it into a corner, as the boat began to drift out for the open ocean.

* * *

Crom began to stir, feelings of aches and pains all over his body coming to him along with a bitter, herbal taste in his mouth. Little by little, his vision returned to him and became less indistinct, as he saw Mirlia, Minia, and a Sableye peering down at him. When he looked around, he saw that he was lying on a cleared table at Mirlia's Juice Bar, as the rest of the battered establishment came into view.

"Nngh…"

"Easy there, Crom," the elder Kangaskhan said. "You had a bit of a hard knock earlier."

"Yeah, those Company jerks threw you from their ship!" her daughter added.

"Gwuh? Where am I?" Crom asked as he gagged on something and spat up something that looked like a chewed-up root onto the floor, much to the displeasure of the Sableye.

"You're at my place," Mirlia replied. "You were in really rough shape earlier, and it looked like you needed some patching up before you went to the medics' hut."

"Yeah, if you can't make it up there, we'll help you there now!" Minia interjected.

"A- _Aah!_ Forget about them!" Crom shouted, as he woozily clambered off the table and stumbled to his feet. "I need to get back to the ship!"

"Eh?! You're nuts!" the purple imp exclaimed. "You want to pick _another_ fight with them?!"

"Um, Crom… I know that the Protector means a lot to this town, but that's simply a fight that you and I can't win," the elder barkeep said as she got up and cut the Druddigon's path off, her words growing more reluctant and faltering and her gaze more ground-bound as she went on. "And…"

"Lyn's ship just unmoored from the docks a couple minutes ago," her daughter interrupted, the little Kangaskhan's voice quiet and mournful. Minia's words suddenly threw the young Druddigon into a panic.

"Wh-What?!"

He stumbled to his feet and darted around Mirlia. Although every bone and muscle in his body cried out in protest, the Druddigon bolted for the door, leaving the barkeep to call out after him:

"Cr-Crom?! _Wait!_ You're still hurt!"

Crom reached the path and turned to the harbor where, sure enough, it was as the Kangaskhan had said. Lyn's ship had left the docks, and had already sailed off into the open sea, growing smaller and smaller as Crom began to blink away larger and larger tears.

"N-No…"

* * *

Back in the wooden crate that smelt of Durin Berries, things were similarly grim, as Nida and Elty fumbled around in their wooden snare in a panic. The only things keeping their hysterics restrained to hushed whispers were the lingering enemies all about them.

" _No!_ C-Crom!" Nida sobbed, her sniffling little voice filled with frightened anguish.

"Crom?!" the Growlithe barked back indignantly, sorely regretting giving into the little spike ball's paw-twisting earlier. "What about _us?!_ At least _he's_ on land!"

Elty's words made Nida pause, as she began to sniffle a little less and attempt to reassure herself.

"That's- That's right! The town would help him! They'd patch him up!"

"It's nice to hear that you can somehow salvage your plan at a time like this," Elty growled. "But was getting _caught_ part of it, too?!"

"It… It…"

"It's- It's not over yet!" she cried, trying to muster a defiant tone in spite of her fear and sorrow. "We can't just throw our paws up and say ' _así es la vida_ '! We just need to wait until the coast is clear and then we can still find Pleo!"

Yes. They could still find Pleo, and then they would all escape. Back to Tromba. Back to Crom. Back to Kiran. Back to _Mami_ , _Papi_ , and all those little spike balls that suddenly meant more than anything in all the Cradle to her right now. Back to a world where all things would be right and well again. That would be the end of everything!

"... I hope."

* * *

Back at the warehouse, the gathering of team heads and other selected Pokémon from around the town continued on. The Ampharos, the metaphorical and literal illuminator of the group, dominated the proceedings as he mulled the next course of action before the gathered townsfolk.

"Guildmaster…" Pitys asked, the voice of Team Sawtooth's Shiftry leader betraying hints of frustration. "Do we have any plans? I mean, 'charging the ship' is kinda out of the question. You saw what happened earlier, we can't just rousingly cheer ' _Al abordaje!_ ' out of that!"

"And so's 'having Pataki and the rest of us blip in to the Protector's location,'" a Kadabra from the teleport crew added. "Even if Lyn hasn't thrown his badge away, without backup, we'd get picked off by Lyn's cronies before we had a chance to get out! And with how cramped that ship is, we'd have enough trouble just teleporting ourselves in!"

"Almost!" the Ampharos cheerily answered. "Just need to wrap my head around a few last details…"

"Hatteras, Lyn is leaving at _sundown!_ " Mosca interjected. "At this rate, he'll sail out of the harbor before we do anything!"

"And boss is busy getting patched up right now!" a Mawile in guards' garb added, waving his arms for attention. "It's not like we could have him try and cut up Lyn for us before he gets away!"

"Aha! I've got it!" the Ampharos sparked, his tail bulb suddenly glowing brighter as he excitedly hopped up in front of the surprised crowd.

"We'll have Mincho here stand one of the bluffs overlooking the harbor!" he cried, gesturing at a Wynaut towards the back of the crowd. "And put a mirror next to her! And put _another_ mirror aligned with _that_ mirror pointing at Lyn's ship! And then, Mincho will Mirror Coat a Flash Cannon into _those_ mirrors, reflecting all the way until it burns up Lyn's sails!"

The gathering was left speechless for a few moments, before reluctant and skeptical voices began to air themselves one by one.

"Um…"

"Er… Guildmaster… I'm not sure if I can pull that _off_ …"

"Guildmaster Hatteras... _That's_ seriously what we're going with?"

"I know! Isn't it brilliant?" the Ampharos cheered as he sparked and accidentally set alight a fuse to a round object wrapped in paper. A Seel noticed the burning fuse was near a number of other round objects of the sort and yelped as he quickly shuffled over to pop the sphere onto his head and headbutt it through a canvas partition that served as a window shade.

A few seconds later, everyone flinched and hit the ground as a loud blast rang out. After stumbling back up to the sound of a few cries from outside, a few Pokémon from the group ran to the now shade-less window to see that the sphere had left scorch marks on the ground and the side of the warehouse, along with smoldering fires that some of the guild's Water-Types were hastily putting out.

"… Or, to clean out the stash of supplies from the last New Year's festival, we'll just wait for him to reach the edge of the harbor from those same bluffs and blow some holes in his hull with _these!_ " the Ampharos exclaimed as he picked up one of the other spheres with fuses.

"We're going to blow up his ship with a bunch of Blast Seeds and berry powder glued together?" the Kadabra asked.

"Ah-ah-ah! A bunch of _firework shells!_ " Hatteras corrected.

"Same difference, but that works!" the Psychic-Type replied.

"Yeah! Surely losing a ship will keep Lyn's cronies busy just staying above water!" a Luxio added. "All the better to keep them from wrecking the town!"

"See, now _that_ sounds like a more reasonable plan!" Mincho cheered.

"Mmm hmm, it'll certainly put some rain on his parade!" Pitys exclaimed.

"With fire, too!" the Mawile exclaimed only to stop and bite his tongue, frowning after the Steel-Type noticed something seemed amiss. "But… I feel like we're missing something still, though…"

"Now that you mention it," Kiran murmured as he ruffled his feathers out of disquiet. "Wouldn't this be about the time that Scout normally said something sarcastic?"

An awkward pause filled the room before Mosca finally cleared her throat.

"Oh, Scout's not in town," the Hawlucha said. "He left on that ship that set out for Boisocéan last night."

"Oh. Yes. Poor us. How will we _ever_ survive without Scout?" Pitys said, rolling her eyes.

"Hrm, we'll have to manage nonetheless," Hatteras said to himself before he cleared his throat and turned back to the rest of the gathering. "But anyways! Are we ready to put this show on the road?!"

" _ **YEAH!**_ "

"Are we ready to knock Lyn down a peg?!" the Ampharos asked, and was once again met with a rousing cheer from the gathered Pokémon.

" _ **YEAH!**_ "

"Are we ready to take our Protector back-?!"

That time, there was no cheer, but the sound of the Primape at the door crying out startledly.

"E-Eh?! Wait, don't come in _here!_ You're _hurt!_ Go see the-!"

And the sound of Crom running into the meeting bawling loudly.

" _K-Kiran!_ "

The young Druddigon was a mess. Mirlia and her daughter ran in a hurry through the door after Crom and came to an uneasy stop at the edge of the stunned gathering… Had- Had he come all the way up here in his wretched state? There were scrapes and deep bruises all over Crom's body that were still untreated, and his face was drenched in tears that were still dribbling down his snout.

" _Crom?!_ " Kiran squawked out of shock, as he rushed over to his battered teammate. "What _happened?!_ "

"Th-They took everyone else!" the Druddigon cried. As the creature continued to sob, his voice broke in between words that came out as something that sounded almost like a pitiful howl.

"Crom! Calm down! Calm down!" Kiran desperately tried to reassure his distraught teammate, as speculation abounded around the gathered Pokémon as to what might have happened to Crom, and what Gwenith was going to do to the unfortunate saps who did this to her child when she got her claws on them.

"What's going on here?!" Hatteras exclaimed.

"W-We were t-trying to get Pleo back, and Lyn, he- he-"

Crom couldn't get any further before he broke down again, crying into Kiran's wing. But there was no need, everyone already pieced it together. The rest of Kiran's team had gotten into big trouble with Lyn, and now needed someone to bail them out. They could take care of that!

"Come on, let's use those fireworks now! The harbor might take a bit more of a beating, but we can still make it work!" the Kadabra exclaimed.

"Yeah, let's stop hi-!" Pitys began, only for her words to die in her throat and the determined mood of the gathering to come to an abrupt crash as they crossed the doorway out of the warehouse. There in the distance, they saw Lyn's ship, now heading for the edge of the horizon out at sea.

"Oh no…" the Mawile muttered.

"Eh?! He left _early?!_ " Mosca cried out in shock. All the while, Kiran's heart began to sink, and the Swellow turned to Hatteras, stammering in panic.

"G-Guildmaster Hatteras, we _do_ have a way of getting them back, yes?"

"Er… Well," the Ampharos struggled, as he racked his mind trying to think of _some_ way to salvage his now-derailed plan for stopping Lyn before he could slip away. "We can have the Pokémon from the harbor catch up with him and chuck them at the ship to blow it up there!"

"Um, Guildmaster Hatteras…?" a Persian asked.

"How are we supposed to do that when half of the harbor's Pokémon tough enough to do that are hurt right now?" an Azumarill from the docks asked as she pointed at a number of wounded Pokémon from the harbor who had lined up along the beach to be treated by the guild's medics. If _they_ could have already been dealt with so severely, what hope did the others in the harbor have of overpowering his sea escorts?

"Well- Uh," Hatteras muttered, desperately trying to think of something, _anything_ else that could still be done to rescue the rest of Team Traveler. "Then we can always have Kiran and our other Flying-Types bring the fireworks over to the ship by air!"

"They'll get picked off by Lyn's fliers and cannons, though!" a Hoothoot cried out. To this, the proud Guildmaster had no answer, but simply stared blankly off ahead.

"Guildmaster Hatteras?" Kiran asked quietly as Crom continued to sniffle into his plumage. "Isn't- Isn't there anything at all we can do?"

"I'm- I'm sorry, Kiran," the Ampharos replied, hanging his head before looking up falteringly. "The only solution left I can think of right now…"

Hatteras trailed off and turned out to the sea, the words finally coming for him to finish his thought.

"Is to pray for a miracle."

* * *

If that miracle was somehow waiting in the wings, it was surely not in the same room as Pleo at that moment. When the young Protector woke up from his bump to his head on the docks, he was greeted with a forlorn and unassuring environment. It was a dark, featureless room, devoid of lighting from any source. The only reassurance that the place was even a room at all and not some abyss was the texture of wooden planks underfoot that bobbed and creaked up and down rhythmically.

There was some sort of cloth over his snout, loose enough to allow him to speak, but still snug enough to even keep him from fully yawning, let alone to be able to form and spit up a glowing ball. His feet and wings were held in place by strange, smooth ropes of some sort. The bindings were made of interconnected loops that felt as cold and unyielding as stone no matter how hard he tugged or pecked at them, with no discernible knot to try and undo.

It felt like nowhere on Tromba at all, not even like a place beyond the fog and in the Mystery Dungeon. From everything that Pleo could remember from before he woke up, he reasoned that wherever he was, it _had_ to be the fault of that Samurott. So with nothing else at his disposal for breaking free, Pleo did what little he could think of at that time.

"Let me go! Let me go!"

Namely to shout repeatedly into the darkness and thrash against his bindings, over and over again, until his voice started to become hoarse, his body began to grow sore, and tears of exhaustion welled up. How did this even _happen? Why?_ Why wasn't his power as a Protector, the one that was supposed to have helped the town, there for him _now_ to blow away the darkness all around him?

All of a sudden, a harsh voice called off from the distance, muffled by an unseen barrier.

"Are you _still_ going on about leaving that hamlet?"

The darkness gave way with a creak as a door opened, letting in a little blotch of light from a candlelit jar outside. The light made the room a little more visible: the walls and ceiling were made from rough wood much like the floor, and the loops that connected and tied down Pleo had a dark, grayish-black color to them that reminded the young Protector of Hess' hide and metal armor.

The young Lugia's observations of the room around him were quickly cut off as Lyn entered. Banette and a Toxicroak followed closely behind him, shooting a piercing, scowling glare at the young Lugia all the while.

"Why are you doing this to me?!" Pleo squawked. "Tromba's my _home!_ "

"Because if I bring you to my father, it'll validate me in his eyes and he'll finally accept me for the first time since I was young," the Samurott answered absentmindedly as he fished out one of his blades and began to twirl it in his paws lazily.

"E-Eh?!"

Pleo's startled cry was answered with a scoff as Lyn spun his blade a few more times about his knuckles. The seamitar's twirling suddenly came to an abrupt halt as Lyn grabbed its hilt and addressed the young Protector in a much more serious tone.

" _Nah_ , I'm doing this because _you're_ my ticket to being promoted to an Administrator. Unlike some Pokémon, I don't let emotional sops get in the way of my tasks."

"An 'Admi-what'?" Pleo asked, before he shook his head and hardened a leer at the Samurott. "And I'm a _Protector_ , not a 'ticket'!"

"You _still_ can't figure it out?" Lyn scoffed. "Really now, that island's an awful lot like the clutter around your neck there."

The Samurott then placed his seamitar at the side of Pleo's neck, holding it still as Pleo's eyes widened in frightened shock. Pleo flinched as he felt a swift motion forward and away from his neck.

_Thump_

Pleo heard something small abruptly drop to the ground. Looking around, he saw that Lyn was still in front of him, but had moved his sword away. Lyn's lackeys were picking up a few objects bundled in cloth off the ground... when it suddenly hit him.

That bundle was his scarf, his badge, and the lucky charm Hatteras made for him!

" _Wait! What are you doing?! Those are_ mine!" Pleo cried.

"Quiet! You won't need those anymore!" the Samurott bellowed, as the Banette suddenly came up beside Pleo and roughly slipped another cloth about his neck. After the Ghost-type finished her claw-work and made some sort of remark about "There, much better now," Pleo looked down, and saw that the creature had replaced his scarf with a lavender one with a violet square in the middle.

" _As I was saying_ ," Lyn continued. "They're cute to look at and have around, but they're utterly useless to you and weigh you down. Why should a god, a creature meant to protect Pokémon and their livelihoods, be watching over some nowhere island when there're much bigger problems in our territories we can point you at?"

The ship's captain then looked over his shoulder to the Toxicroak, and spoke nonchalantly.

"Give the King's Rock to Mercury after your shift's done outside, she might find some use from it. As for the rest, it's garbage. Do whatever you want with it."

The pair gave a summary "Aye" and promptly walked out of the door, much to Pleo's indignance.

" _No!_ Give them back!" he shouted, struggling against his strange bonds. "Give them-! A-Aah!"

Pleo's angry cries abruptly gave way to terrified silence as Lyn swung his seamitar at his neck, touching the tip just under his lower beak.

"Tell me, did you ever wonder why your flight feathers were _untouched_ instead of clipped short like some captured pirate? It's because getting too forceful with you would risk trouble with bleeding-hearts like Osmund that might have slipped past screening when I put this crew together," the Samurott growled. "So I'll be nice and explain this to you _once._ "

"You're _ours._ The _Company's_ asset on the _Company's_ territory. So play along _nicely_ and help me and your future superiors out as we need, and it'll all go well for you," Lyn said as he slipped his blade back into a sheath along his arm, while Pleo continued to tremble. "And if not… well, even a _god_ can have the foolishness whipped out of it and have its priorities set straight."

The Samurott then walked over to the door, and called out back to Pleo.

"Your old life is gone. Dead. Buried at sea. You don't have a prince to come and rescue you and carry you over the horizon, so get over it and move on to your _new_ life as the Protector of the Company's interests."

He slammed the door, the barren room returning back to its inky blackness. The sounds from the room died and an eerie silence lingered for a few moments, punctuated only by the creaking and groaning of the ship as it bobbed on the sea's waves… only to then be joined by a whine and the quiet, despairing sounds of a young Pokémon sobbing.

* * *

For what seemed like an eternity, Nida and Elty waited in the berry-juice stained crate in the cargo hold. The pair did everything they could think of to try and ease the passage of time... They treated their wounds with Oran Berries in the crate... Nida nervously shifted Durin Berries to the bottom of the crate to try and keep herself busy and cut the stench down… Elty helped himself to some of the berries and stuffed them in his satchel, mentioning a "two-clawed discount"… It was a monotony that should have been broken by a daring burst out of the crate, except something would always come up.

Many times the Nidoran had been sure no one was around and began to open the crate's lid, only to see some Pokémon in a lavender scarf walk by, or hear one further down the hold, too close to risk them overhearing an escape. Other times, the coast was preoccupied by less dutiful guards, such as a group whiling away time in the middle of the hold playing a game of numbered cards and stones, or two deck hands who smelt strongly of berry juice arguing about how to _properly_ recount the tale of "Butts, the Warrior of Light and Restorer of the Wind".

But at long last, a long lull came, and the Nidoran popped the crate's lid open, seeing that this time, finally, there was not sight, sound, or smell of anyone nearby.

"Psst! Elty!" Nida whispered.

"Eh?" the Growlithe yawned, having dozed off after so many false alarms and a general dearth of things to do in the crate.

"I think the coast is clear! Come on, let's get Pleo and fly out of here!"

"Nida... _we're on a boat surrounded by Company grunts._ There's _strażnicy_ outside, too!" Elty grumbled. "Even if we _find_ Pleo without getting caught, how do you expect us to get _off_ this boat? There's no junk that's getting offloaded at a dock to hide in!"

"We'll cause a distraction to keep them busy while we fly off, then!" she insisted. "Pleo can carry _you_ while flying around. It's worth a shot to have him try carrying us both, right?"

Elty furrowed his brow and shook his head. Weren't Nidoran supposed to be skittish and quick to flee as ferals? Why did he have to have the luck to get stuck with one that didn't know how to pick her fights?

"Look, I'm sure that you want to help your friend and all, but seriously, focus on staying in one piece here!" he whispered back. "Just ride this out and we'll sneak off during unloading."

"Elty, don't you think they're going to check the cargo when they take it _off_ too?" Nida growled, glaring into the Growlithe's eyes. There was a moment of awkward silence as Elty stared back into the Nidoran's eyes, before he blinked and sighed.

"Point taken. Just don't do anything _stupid_ during this, alright?"

Nida then lifted the lid up, and with a few small kicks, pushed it back along the crate enough to leave a gap big enough to crawl out of...

_Whump_

And promptly pratfall about three feet onto the floor of the cargo hold below.

"Gih!"

"Oi! What did I just tell you?!" Elty huffed as he hopped out of the box, landing on his feet just ahead of the Nidoran. "Are you _trying_ to get us caught?!"

"Get off my case! I didn't _ask_ to get stuck with you!" Nida hissed as she picked herself up off the floor, fanning her spikes out. "And if Crom were here, I'd partner up with him and _leave_ you back in that box to try and pull your escape on your own!"

The Growlithe turned back to the Nidoran, and the two leered at each other for an uncomfortable moment before the Growlithe spoke up with a vaguely teasing tone.

"You _like_ him, don't you?"

" _Shut up!_ " Nida growled. The Nidoran opened her mouth to begin to tear into the lippy little dog when all of a sudden, the sound of something shifting made the two's fur stand on end.

"Nngh… Your turn, I'm tired of being stuck here at the brig with this bird," a sleepy voice called out.

After a tense silence, the two heard… Snoring? After looking up past the grate which separated the cargo hold from the deck, it became apparent that the moon and the stars were out, and even after a long, cautious wait, Nida couldn't see any of the forms of the flying escorts pass over the grate. Aha, so that would explain why they hadn't heard anything. Most of the ship must've been asleep!

"Wait a minute," Elty murmured. "That voice just said something about watching a bird..."

The Growlithe crept on ahead, and saw that at the end of the hold, a Toxicroak was dozing on a crate by the door muttering in his sleep. And in his claws were a blue scarf and a length of cord.

"Ah!" Nida squeaked. "Those are Pleo's!"

The two snuck over to the frog, and after waiting for the creature to stretch in his sleep, quickly snatched up the purloined effects. Pleo's badge was still just as it was before he was taken… Everything else, not so much. Why, his scarf had been cut on one side, and so had the cord which used to hold the stone ring that Zigzagoon gave him, the King's Rock itself being nowhere to be found. Nida shifted her ears uneasily and looked about the hold.

"Do you think that's-?"

"Do we _have_ any other leads?" Elty grumbled, flattening out his ears.

"We'll have to go with it, then. But how on earth do we find this 'brig'?"

Elty stepped under the grate and stared up, sniffing at the air a moment.

"Brigs are supposed to be places where crews like the Company's keep Pokémon tied down. On ships that have them, they're usually in the steerage, which is always opposite the direction that the wind blows against the sails to make a ship go forward," he murmured to himself as he circled about.

"So then, we need to head _that_ way!" he barked, gesturing with his muzzle at an open door on the opposite end of the hold.

"Right!" Nida answered, as the two Pokémon crept down the darkened cargo bay of the ship. Their friend was so close, and yet so far from them...

But there was no time to get hung up over that, as the Nidoran whispered to herself.

"Please hang in there, Pleo. We're almost there."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _así es la vida_ \- Spanish: "such is life"  
>  \- _(¡)Al abordaje!_ \- Spanish: "All aboard!"  
>  \- _strażnicy_ \- Polish: "guards", "watchmen"


	19. Hide and Seek

As the ship rocked with the waves at sea, Nida and Elty edged towards the stern in fits and spurts. They'd frequently pause to sniff the air or listen for the sound of footfalls over the creaks of the timbers around them, take a brief look further down the corridors formed by the stacks of crates, and quickly dart down to the next wooden box large enough to hide behind. Their erratic pace was set by the need to avoid detection at all costs; after all, if the Company dealt with stowaways like they did with Crom, there would be no townsfolk to come running to their aid… Or a dock to fall on, for that matter.

As her stomach knotted from stress and the steps under her feet felt light and unsteady, Nida's mind would still wander elsewhere. She thought about the young Protector at the stern... Had the Company hurt him since they took him aboard? If they had roughed him up too much… or put ritual aside and cut his flight feathers, where would any of them turn to? Was he scared? Surely he must be feeling all alone right now… But would she and Elty have anything better to offer him when they found him?

"Look alive!" the Growlithe's voice suddenly rang out, or at least as much as a hushed whisper could.

The Nidoran hopped up, and with a startled cry, whispered back.

"Huh?!"

"Someone's coming!"

She became aware of the smell of Herdier, and the sound of large footsteps coming directly towards their position. Nida froze as her legs wobbled and became unresponsive. Even her barbs seemed to be unable to rise up to face this obvious danger that was coming for her, with no place to hide, and nothing to meaningfully fight back with.

"Stop _stalling!_ " Elty chided. "This way!"

Without thinking, Nida hopped after the voice, and followed it into a narrow gap in between crates. She stumbled in, not daring to breathe as she heard the steps pass directly by her. The blue and brown dog stopped, sniffed the air, and nosed open a crate's lid to check inside. The creature looked about for a moment and then set the lid back down, going on its way. The hound's footsteps grew fainter and fainter until they all but faded over the sound of the creaking timbers… And Nida and Elty's own heartbeats.

"That was way too close," Nida panted. She was sure their scent would have betrayed them, but the blasted Durin Berries she smelt all the while during their passage down the hold must have staved off the Herdier's suspicions. All's well that ended well, she supposed, but there was still something that nagged at Nida's mind...

"Where are we right now?" she asked, just in time to see Elty sniffing at a wooden crate. She too sniffed at the box… It had… straw in it?

The Growlithe paused, before giving a headbutt at the crate.

_Tink tink tink_

It was the unmistakeable, if muffled sound of something glassy inside. Elty's face lit up, as he suddenly realized...

"We're exactly where we need to be!"

The Growlithe leapt up and latched onto a corner of the lid with his mouth, using his weight to pull it off. Nida hopped up onto the ledge of the box, where inside, the source of the glassy sound became apparent.

The crate was packed full of orbs! The straw was the padding all around them, to keep them protected from rough jolts at sea. Every orb Nida remembered seeing around Tromba before was in there. There was a Totter Orb, packed with small yellow spheres of light inside that glowed in the hold's darkness. A Blowback Orb, with a whitish, wispy substance swirling around in it that looked like the clouds up in the higher parts of the sky. The familiar light blue with swirling bubbles of a Cleanse Orb that Elty was stuffing into his bag- Wait a minute.

"Eh?! What are you doing?!" Nida cried out.

"What does it _look_ like I'm doing?" Elty shot back as he nosed the Blowback Orb into his bag. "If we're going to be doing stupid stunts anyways, we might as well give ourselves a leg up!"

"Elty, _en serio?_ " Nida hissed, flattening out her ears. "Stealing things _now_ of all times?"

"Oi, _do odważnych świat należy!_ Do you want to try taking on one of those guards with a bag full of berries if we get caught?" Elty growled. "Or something that might actually give us a chance?"

Nida stared at the leering Growlithe, and then down at the orbs, and then out further down the hold where she could hear the sounds of a Pokémon shifting about. These orbs _were_ the Company's... If she and Elty didn't use them, the Pokémon aboard this ship surely wouldn't hesitate to use them against the two.

"Okay, point taken."

Nida immediately helped dig up orbs from deeper in the box, not paying attention to what kind they were. At the very least, more orbs couldn't _hurt_ the two right? Eventually, Elty's satchel began to visibly fill up and run out of spaces. After sliding a final violet orb in, Elty drew his bag shut, shook it up a bit to make the orbs settle towards the bottom, and with a swift motion, slung it over his back and prepared to hop out the crate.

"Alright, let's get-" the Growlithe began, only to notice the sight and sound of a Nuzleaf mumbling to himself from the direction of the stern… And drawing closer.

"Er… Not that way."

"Elty," Nida hissed. "There _is_ no other way out!"

"Er… Uh…"

"We'll stay and hide here!" he barked. "If we hunker down, the straw's smell should cover us!"

"Hiding in _another_ box?" Nida grumbled. "Seriously?"

"I don't see _you_ offering any other suggestions here!" Elty growled. "And if he opens it, we'll be able to get the drop on him!"

Good enough, Nida thought to herself. She hopped in as Elty dragged the lid back onto the box. The Nidoran fanned her barbs out as Elty began to fish through his bag, searching for an orb to use just in case the lid got pulled off all of a sudden, before settling on the violet orb from earlier. After noticing a dark, jagged blotch that reminded Nida of a Zubat's shape from above, she saw that it was a One-Shot Orb. An orb that was mostly the purview of Pokémon who were desperate enough to hope fate would let the orb knock out a foe as intended, and had no other way of doing so on their own.

The sound of the approaching Pokémon came closer and closer until the Nidoran and Growlithe could hear its breath from outside the crate. The two waited and waited for the lid opening that never came.

Instead, they felt the box suddenly rise.

"Gih!"

"Ack!"

And head off, under the rocking motions of being carried along by yet another Pokémon. The creature sounded fatigued, and the sound of an occasional yawn evidenced that the guard was clearly not used to night shifts.

"Eh?" Nida asked as she felt the box come to a stop along the floor. "What on earth do sailors need a box full of orbs for right _now?_ "

"Hmm…" Elty mulled, before he propped the lid to the box open. Nida's jaw dropped as Elty poked his head out and dragged a round, yellow berry with green circles on its hide back into the box as the lid shut.

"Whelp, whatever the reason, it apparently involves going through a galley!" the Growlithe cheered as the box rose up and started to move again. Elty contentedly began to nibble at his prize Aspear Berry while Nida seethed, her barbs fanned out, though not from an expectant battle this time.

"Elty, what is _wrong_ with you-?" she began, only for the little dog to cut her off.

"Do you _really_ think that whoever's carrying us wouldn't have noticed the extra weight if he were _fully awake?_ " he retorted. The box then stopped moving, and the two felt the Grass-Type set it down and shove it to the side with a yawn. There was the sound of some shuffling and of some other Pokémon chiding the Nuzleaf for being late...

"Draw seven cards and play a basic," the other Pokémon's voice instructed. The Grass-Type could be heard chewing into something, before asking back in a voice that sounded noticeably less fatigued.

"Four prizes this match, right?"

For a card game?

"Sailors play cards in galleys?" Nida asked. Her barbs dropped from a curious befuddlement; something wasn't adding up here. Whoever had taken the box obviously needed the orbs for some reason, but surely there had to be a reason that wasn't tied to card games, right?

"Hrm…" Elty mulled, before he once again poked the lid open and shoved his head out of the crate. Just as quickly as it left, Elty's head returned, his teeth clamped around the lip of a primitive clay jug that sloshed with fluid in it.

"Looks like we're next to something a bit more secure, which would explain why they brought the orbs over," he answered as he pulled a cork off of the jug and tilted it to begin to lap up its contents from its neck. "Maybe that brig the Toxicroak mentioned."

As the Growlithe continued drinking from the jug, the faint, but perceptible sound of a Nidoran grinding her teeth filled the inside of the box.

"Rrgh… _Elty!_ "

" _Relax_ , rum may be poison, but a little sip never hurt a Growlithe's belly fire," the dog answered. "Besides, the guards seem a bit preoccupied right now."

"Ha! Your bench is looking thin tonight!" the Nuzleaf's voice gloated. "Weren't expecting me to run a Haymaker deck, were you?"

"Grr… I can still bounce back- Wait, I thought you got an Aspear Berry for me. Did you eat it?"

"Of course not! I brought the Chesto Berries to keep us both awake, didn't I? What, can't win without distracting me to peek through my deck?"

"I already _know_ what's in your deck! Seriously, give me the- Wait a minute, you took my rum, too!"

"I did _not!_ Unlike you, I don't _have_ to stoop to tricks to win at cards!"

"Why, you!"

The conversation outside rapidly deteriorated, being replaced by the sound of blows striking bodies.

"Gah!"

A guard was thrown into the side of the crate, sending it tumbling behind some other crates. The box toppled over and dumping Nida and Elty out with a pile of straw and assorted orbs, as Elty's upended jug spilled some manner of tawny-colored fluid all over the floor. Nida's eyes widened as she realized the two of them were now out in the open, and tensed her spikes…

"You'll _pay_ for that, bub!"

Only to see that the two guards, the Nuzleaf and a Hitmonchan, were preoccupied with their childish, violent squabble and oblivious for now to their presence.

"Hey, it's a _distraction!_ " Elty interjected. The dog rolled to his feet and quickly pointed out a now-unguarded passage, presumably the way to that brig he had surmised they were at. "Now come on!"

The two darted past the quarrelling guards and down into a hallway lined with wooden doors and some glass jars with candles in them along the floor. The doors looked heavy and sturdily built, lacking any windows. There were also no signs of hinges on the doorways, as would be expected if the doors opened outwards- Meaning that whoever had built these doors wasn't worried about Pokémon going in…

They were worried about them _coming out_ afterward.

"They had places for Pleo all this time?" Nida asked, her ears drooping.

"Pbbt. Nah," Elty answered. "They're for Pokémon they don't want to deal with right away."

"Oh, so for _canallas_ like you," she snorted, rolling her eyes.

"And _you_ too if we get caught!" the Growlithe shot back with a glare. "So stop running off your yap and start sniffing around for clues!"

The two paced up and down the corridor, stopping at the different doors. There were certainly a number of smells alright, if some muddled with age. Of Pokémon that had trodden up and down the passage, of hints of seawater, a faint but still gag-inducing smell near one of the doors that reminded Nida of an alley behind a Juice Bar after a particularly rowdy night…

But, alas-

"None of it smells like the _mewa_ ," Elty murmured.

Nida's heart sank. Could it be that Pleo really wasn't here? That they had risked limb and possibly life sneaking from the cargo hold to these cells for nothing?

It was then that Nida noticed a smell among the different odors that seemed just like the Samurott that had bullied the town earlier.

"Eh? Wait a minute… _Lyn_ was here? And this scent's fresh!" Nida cried out.

"Oh come on, I'm sure that he's been down here before," Elty scoffed. "He is the captain."

"Maybe, but if he was here _recently_ ," she murmured as she followed the scent along the ground. "What would he have been doing other than going to see…?"

Nida walked on, sniffing intently at the floor until she felt a bump on her head. The Nidoran pulled back and looked up, seeing that she had run into one of the sturdy, windowless doors at the end of the hallway.

"This has to be it!" she cried, hopping up and pushing against the door, only for nothing to happen.

"Eh?! It won't budge!"

"Of _course_ it won't!" the Growlithe piped. "Look! There's a lock on it!"

Nida followed Elty's gaze towards the door and saw that there was a metal plate placed along the edge, with a hole meant to accommodate a key.

"Uhm," Nida groaned. The Nidoran scrunched her whiskers uneasily before pointing an ear at the orange dog. "You wouldn't happen to have swiped the keys back there, would you?"

Elty stared back at the Nidoran with his ears folded back and an unimpressed scowl. If she had to _ask_ the question...

"Yeah, I didn't think so either," she said, sighing and shaking her head.

"Well, I'd _love_ to be able to burn it open here," the orange dog said. He reared up on his hind legs to inspect and sniff the lock, before slinking back down and shaking his head. "But I think that it's a little soon to be setting the ship on fire while we're still on the _orlop deck._ "

"I'll kick it down, then!" Nida cried, as she hopped back and braced her feet to prepare to rush at the door.

"And _wake up the entire crew_ while you're at it? You don't honestly think you're going to be able to kick that open in one try, do you?"

Elty watched as the Nidoran caught herself and froze. It seemed she hadn't considered that possibility, not that living on some island all her life would have done much for reference pools. Nida visibly fumbled with her thoughts for a moment.

"Uh… Er… Hey, wait a minute," she said, the little spike ball's ears suddenly perking up as she motioned back towards the lock. "Come over here, Elty."

The two went up to the door, where, much to Elty's surprise, Nida hopped up on top of him.

"Ack!" he yelped, his legs wobbling as he tried to adjust to the sudden weight on his shoulders. "Hey, what do you think you're-?!"

He looked up, and saw that the Nidoran inspecting the keyhole. Just what was she-?

"The lock… Why it looks like one of my barbs would fit just nicely in there," she said, hopping off the Growlithe.

Wait a minute… Could it be that this little spike lump really knew…?

"Aha! Lockpicking!" Elty cheered, as he wondered why _he_ hadn't thought of the idea himself earlier. "Why, I didn't think that a guild _amator_ like you would know how to-!"

Only for his cheery demeanor to crash back to earth when he saw the Nidoran rear up and flick a spike into the pinhole with an audible crunch, followed by the sound of pieces of brittle iron spilling out along with dribbling poison out of the hole. Elty's jaw fell open- _That wasn't what she was supposed to do at all!_

" _Ty- Ty bałwan!_ What on earth was that?!" he growled. "You were supposed to _pick_ the-"

The door then creaked, making the pair flick their ears in surprise. Elty ran up, sniffed at the door, nudged it, and found that it now moved under his push. The Growlithe looked down at the metal fragments ejected from the keyhole and saw they were parts of small levers fashioned from brittle iron, leaving him to blink incredulously as he took a moment to register what had just happened.

"Huh. I guess _breaking_ it works, too," he mumbled. All of a sudden, a voice from behind the door cried out.

"W-Whuh?! Who's there?! _Please!_ Let me go!"

Nida's ears flared as she instantly recognized that the Pokémon inside could be none other than...

"Pleo!"

The Nidoran kicked the door the rest of the way open, where in the middle of the floor stood the form of a white bird that looked like he had just seen a ghost.

"N-Nida?! E-Elty?!" he squawked. The little Lugia gave a startled wingbeat (or at least as much as his bindings allowed him to) as his friends darted into the room. How had they managed to-?!

"Shh! Not so loud!" Nida shushed. "We're here to bust you out!"

"B-But I'm stuck!" Pleo cried. "I'm in cold and heavy ropes without any knots in them!"

As the light filtered in from the candlelit jars outside, the two were finally able to see the pitiful sight before them. Pleo's neck and limbs had been tied down with sturdy metal chains that were bolted to the floor, which drew an involuntary shudder from Elty. Metal was hard to come by in the Cradle, with the easiest way of making anything with it requiring large quantities of metal spikes or thorns found in Mystery Dungeons to be melted down. This made chains like the ones Pleo was bogged down under vastly harder and more expensive to fashion than ropes- But once a Pokémon got tangled up in them, they rarely broke free.

"These guys weren't messing around with trying to keep you here, even if they were a little cheap on the door lock," Elty murmured to himself, nosing at a small metal padlock. "You're gonna need to do this the hard way this time, Nida."

"The hard wa-?" she began, only to be cut off by a sharp pain from her rump. Nida whirled around and saw Elty holding a freshly-plucked barb in between his teeth before spitting it out onto the floor.

"Ow! _Hey!_ " she hissed, her spikes raised and her blood boiling at Elty's decision to suddenly rip a barb out from her. " _Qué te pasa?!_ "

"There's supposed to be a pin inside locks like this one here," the Growlithe quickly explained, spitting the spike out onto the floor. "When you push it up, it'll make a click and then you can pull it off those chains."

That… made a surprising amount of sense. Nida growled and picked the spike up, muttering under her breath about "You could have _told_ me that!" as she slipped the end into the lock's keyhole.

As Nida wobbled the spike back and forth to try and find that pin, she began to notice the effects that captivity had had on Pleo, and wasn't sure if she wanted to rant or cry. The little Protector's feathers around his bonds had been damaged by repeated struggling, and the plumage on his face were sullied from dried tears. The only respite from the sorry sight was that fortunately for them all, it seemed that Lyn had _some_ respect for the gods, as he had chosen to not cut the flight feathers on Pleo's wings.

That, and the fact that, for now at least, Pleo's tears had vanished, even if they weren't replaced by the elation that she hoped he would have at being rescued.

"H-How'd you get here?!" Pleo cried.

"Long story short, we snuck aboard," Elty answered after a furtive glance at the door. "And now we're getting you _off_ this rotten ship!"

Pleo looked at his teammates, and noticed immediately that something was amiss. His friends seemed just as frightened as he was, but more importantly...

"Where's Crom? And Kiran?" he asked. There was a long and uncomfortable silence as Nida looked down at the floor, her paw slipping from her spike a moment she struggled with how to respond to the little Lugia.

"Nida? What's wrong?" Pleo pressed, starting to grow unnerved. Nida's expression sank before she looked up at the Protector and reluctantly answered him.

"Crom's… Back home, Pleo."

" _H-Huh?!_ " Pleo squawked, tugging against his chains. "What happened?!"

"Crom got roughed up while trying to follow us, and had to stay back-" Elty began to answer, only for Pleo to promptly cut him off.

"E-Eh?! He's _hurt?!_ "

"Pleo-" Nida began. But it was no use, the young Protector had already begun to slip into a panic. If Crom wasn't here because he was hurt...

"Wh-What about Kiran?! And Hatteras?! What about your parents?! Are they-?!"

Each name stabbed into Nida's heart like an Iron Thorn; all of them seemed so impossibly far away right now. Were all those Pokémon back home also scared and worried about them?

"Quiet down!" Nida barked, her voice wavering as her eyes misted up. "Y-You'll give us away!"

"B-But I'm supposed to protect you all! And-" Pleo insisted. His voice began to trail off and his head drooped as he saw Nida's expression. Could it really be…? "Just being around you seems to hurt you and your friends instead."

Nida paused. Noticing the effect the tears in her eyes were having on the Protector's psyche, she brushed them aside and tried her hardest to fight back further drops. There would be plenty of time to let them flow when they weren't all in danger, and when Pleo was out of these horrid chains. She shook her head and shot back at the Lugia.

"Pl-Pleo, don't say such nonsense!"

"H-Huh?!"

"We came _after you_ because the entire town's miserable about you being trapped here!" Nida insisted, as she made another attempt with the spike in the lock to find the pin.

"They… are?" Pleo asked.

"Yes! You're someone very special to Tromba!" Nida cried. "Even if we've had a run of bad luck lately, it hurts to see you taken away like this! And-!"

_Click_

That was the pin. Without thinking, Nida pulled the lock down and watched it pop open.

"Alright, now we just need to get these off of you!" Elty barked, as he slipped the lock out of the chain links with his mouth and whigged it across the room. He and Nida then set about undoing the chains that were held in place, the Nidoran continuing her explanation as she freed up Pleo's wings.

"Pleo, _we_ were worried sick about you, too! You're our friend!" she cried. "That's why we snuck aboard in the first place! To try and help you!"

"It… was?"

"Well, that and _not thinking things through_ ," Elty added, shooting a leer at the Nidoran. Nida rolled her eyes and turned back to Pleo as he stepped forward and beat his wings- being chained up surely could not have been kind to his blood flow. After his motions settled, she walked up and sidled next to him.

"You'll have plenty of time to figure out how being a Protector works, and to make everything that's happened today right, Pleo," she said. Even though her eyes were still damp, the Nidoran gave a reassuring nuzzle into Pleo's breast to try and lift her friend's spirits. "For now, let's just get you off of this-"

All of a sudden, the light from the hallway's candles was blotted out by shadows and a gruff voice called out.

"Oi, wait a minute! What do you think you're doing?!"

Nida's blood ran cold and her barbs raised at the harsh voice. She watched as Pleo's expression give way to a frightened grimace and whirled around to see the leering forms of the Nuzleaf and Hitmonchan from earlier. They were battered and bruised from fighting among each other, but still very much alert, and in battle-ready stances.

Hold on a minute... Neither of the two were holding orbs, so they must have been in a hurry coming into the cell block. A realization which also dawned on the Growlithe, and made his eyes suddenly light up.

"Pleo, _quick!_ Stick a wing out!" Elty barked.

Pleo quickly complied, just in time for the Fire-Type to grab the first orb he could find from his satchel and brush it against Pleo's plumage. With a swift motion, Elty whirled his head as his jaws let go of a whitish orb containing what looked like swirling clouds. The Blowback Orb carried on into the wooden floorboards at the Nuzleaf's feet with a crash. In the twinkling of an eye, the glassy sphere burst into shards. As was the orb's nature, it acted upon the nearest Pokémon that had not made contact with it earlier, whipping up a strong wind which launched the hapless Grass-Type backwards into the doorpost.

" _Now!_ " Elty cried.

The Growlithe spat out a surprisingly strong column of cinders at the Hitmonchan and knocked the creature to the floor before he could react to his partner's plight. Nida dashed up and gave a stiff kick at Nuzleaf's gut. Another followed, leaving the creature to crumple up and groan on the ground. The Fighting-Type staggered back to its feet, before a glowing ball cut it off and threw it against the cell's wall, slumped over.

"Whew, knew the drink and those orbs would come in handy," Elty sighed, eyeing the scattered shards of the Blowback Orb.

"Yeah, great," Nida panted. "Can we get _out_ of here now?!"

"To where?!" Pleo squawked. "The mean Pokémon are all around us!"

"If we sneak out, you can fly us out of here!" Elty barked.

Could… That really work? No. Whether it could or not was out of the question. It would work, it _had_ to work. And after they broke free, they would fly back home… Back to Crom, back to Kiran, back to _Mami_ and _Papi_ , the siblings, and everyone else who Pleo was meant to protect.

"Come on!" Nida cried as she darted out the door, Pleo and Elty following closely behind.

One deck. One deck stood between the three of them and the sky outside, from being able to fly off for home. But, all of her earlier fears and worries came back to her…

Would they be able to get past the guards in the ship? Would they be able to distract the ones outside enough to slip away?

No matter what happened in the end, they had to try! They had gone through so much already…

Even if it looked impossible, how could they not take flight now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _do odważnych świat należy!_ \- Polish: "fortune favors the bold!", lit. "the world belongs to the brave!"  
>  \- _canallas_ \- Spanish: "rascals", "swine". Can carry offensive connotations depending on context of use.  
>  \- _amator_ \- Polish: "amateur"  
>  \- _Ty bałwan!_ \- Polish: "You moron!"  
>  \- _(¡¿)Qué te pasa?!_ \- Spanish: "What is wrong with you?!"


	20. Flight Risks

The team slipped back into the darkness from which Nida and Elty came, leaving the overpowered Company Nuzleaf and Hitmonchan behind them. It would only be a matter of time before Pleo's absence was discovered by the other Pokémon aboard, but fortunately for Team Traveller, the sleepy atmosphere in the ship's hold hadn't brought that calamity on just yet. Beyond some footfalls and murmurs beyond blind corners, there were no further run-ins with other guards in that portion of the orlop deck. While by no means ideal, it was perhaps as smooth and peaceful a search Nida, Pleo, and Elty could have hoped for as they looked for the stairs to the next deck. Nida could see moonlight leaking through the grate and cracks in the places where the cargo hold met the weather deck up above, allowing her to recheck her earlier guesses about how far they still had to go...

"There's one deck between us and the top," she whispered. "We just need to find a way up!"

Pleo looked about his surroundings, dimly lit by the moonlight filtering coming from past the grate and the floor below... Why, there were nothing but boxes and corridors in every direction around him! How on earth were they supposed to get out this way? Suddenly, the sound of a faint thud rang out, followed by a Growlithe's voice yipping.

"Here!"

Pleo saw Elty perched on top of a stack of crates, and hopped up with a flap to join him. From his perch atop the crates, he saw a wooden pole that cut down the middle of some short planks fastened on the pole's top. Those were stairs! Honest-to-goodness stairs!

"Nida! This way!" he cried as he flew off for the pole, Nida and Elty bounding after him through the maze. The three clambered up the ladder's steps, Pleo leading the way with fluttering hops, Nida and Elty carefully planting their forepaws on the rungs above them before springing their hindquarters up, one after the other...

"Alright," the Nidoran panted. "We just need to make our way through, and then-"

"Gack!"

Only for the two to run into Pleo from behind after he abruptly stopped at the top.

Team Traveller came to a tumbling stop in a disheveled pile, just past the end of the steps. Nida, Elty, and Pleo dazedly tried to sort themselves out, the Fire-Type in the group thankful that the little spike lump hadn't had her barbs spread out. As he shook out his fur along with some sense back into his head, he whirled around at Pleo, growling.

" _Hey!_ Just what do you think you're-?!"

Before he could get particularly far in his rant, the Growlithe suddenly noticed that Nida and Pleo were frozen in their tracks, wide-eyed. Elty then detected the strong scent of many Pokémon around them, and the sound of…

_Zzz…_

Snoring.

The entire room was packed with a larger variety of Pokémon than even the guild's sleeping quarters back on Tromba, curled up as they dozed on beds of straw and nestled on perches along rafters. Much to Elty's horror, every last one of them wore the lavender scarf of the Company. The Growlithe grimaced, starting to feel his belly burn from stress while his legs shook nervously.

"Uh… On second thought," he began. "Maybe we should try another-"

As the Growlithe continued on, he saw Nida's ears suddenly flick and her head whirl back towards the steps. Elty then heard it too…

_Tromp tromp tromp_

The sound of tired, shuffling footsteps heading straight for the ladder from the deck below. Elty gulped and looked around at his teammates. Pleo was starting to panic, looking around wildly for somewhere, anywhere to flee to. All of a sudden, a hushed cry cut through the confusion.

"We don't have any other options here," Nida whispered, her voice tense as she raised her barbs. "Let's just try and sneak through."

The Lugia and Growlithe looked across the room, and saw a faint white light near the end. There was an opening! A way to the surface! Without thinking, Pleo spread his wings and-

"Move _quietly!_ " Nida hastily interrupted, wide-eyed.

The little Protector caught himself and hastily drew his wings back. The Pokémon coming up the stairs was close enough for the team to hear its yawning! They needed somewhere to hide, somewhere like…

"Quick, over there!" Elty whispered.

All eyes quickly darted over to a sleeping Ursaring, next to a Donphan and the Electabuzz from earlier in the day, now with bandages about his head. Without thinking, the three darted over and slipped behind the brown bear, his belly rising and falling with every tired breath he took. The creature's breaths reeked of stale gummis and a good deal of drink, while the creature and his neighbors smelled of straw and many hours of exertion under tropical weather. But in spite of the less-than-bearable sensations around them, no one dared to move a muscle beyond the shallowest of breaths in and out their lungs.

The guard from below deck then came up with an audible yawn. The three could hear the Pokémon's footsteps plod along the timbered floor. After a tense few seconds, they heard the muffled sounds of the creature settling down somewhere in the room, and the presence faded below the sounds of the snores floating about. But… was the coast really clear-?

" _Gwark!_ "

Pleo suddenly cried out and bolted forward in a panic, darting past a number of Pokémon before coming to a stop. After hearing the crunch of straw, Nida and Elty realized that the Ursaring was shifting in his sleep. The two quickly ran after Pleo, and braced themselves for battle… Only for the Pokémon to roll over, mutter something about "stop hogging the 'consideration cookies'", and then began to snore again as Pleo panted for air, his heart racing...

Only to abruptly feel something warm and furry swat against his underbelly.

"E-Eh-?!"

"Shh!"

Pleo whirled to see the sound of the voice, and saw Elty scowling at him, the Growlithe none too pleased about the close call.

"Let's try a _different_ strategy, okay?" the dog huffed. "Keep darting off like that, and you'll get us all caught!"

"But the big furry Pokémon was gonna get me!" the Lugia piped back.

Elty gave an irked growl as he racked his mind for some throwaway reassurance. If only Pleo still had that stupid rock! Then he could just throw together some slapdash yarn about how the lucky charm would keep him safe as long as he kept his beak shut and crept along with the rest of them! Wait a minute…

Maybe there _was_ still a card from that deck he could play!

Elty set down his satchel and nosed over a clear sphere near the top with what seemed to be flecks of greenish light glowing in it, pointing the bauble out to Pleo.

"Here," he said.

"H-Huh?"

"If you and Nida rub all of the orbs we picked up from the deck below, then even if everyone around us wakes up, we'll get out of here safely," he explained. "That way, if we have to use them, you'll stay on the right side of whatever their effects are."

"Really?" Pleo asked, tilting his head skeptically.

"Would I steer you wrong?" the Growlithe asked. Elty wagged his tail expectantly, only to frown as Nida and Pleo looked at each other and nodded back.

"Okay, let me rephrase that," Elty grumbled, screwing his eyes shut. "Would I steer you wrong considering that we're probably going to get _thrown overboard_ if we get caught here?"

The Nidoran hardened her gaze into a withering glare for a brief moment. She started to mouth something before pausing, and then begrudgingly took up the Luminous Orb from Elty's satchel.

"I think Elty might be onto something," she whispered to Pleo, in a tone that sounded almost confident. "Come on, let's try it out."

She removed orb from the bag and looked into its translucent surface for a moment, before rubbing it a smidge and offering it to Pleo. The young Lugia took the orb as he shuffled along with the team. As he brushed it with his feathers, he became entranced by the warm glow from the light inside it. For a fleeting moment, he felt far, far away from the danger all around him as he gazed into the round, colorful, and surprisingly captivating bauble. The little Lugia then felt Nida nose at his wing, prompting him to deposit the sphere in Elty's bag and take whatever orb Nida passed next.

The sinister, bubbling green clouds of a Foe-Fear Orb… The vibrant blue of a Petrify Orb flecked with dancing electrical sparks beneath its surface... The orbs Nida and Elty first stuffed in also turned up in the process, including a ball filled with glowing yellow spheres… As he paced forward and looked into the orbs in between rubs, Pleo could occasionally see dim reflections of little bits and pieces of the surrounding room. The rafters above, Elty and the light of the stars ahead, a dozing Slowpoke just behind his shoulder with a crown-shaped rock by her forepaws…

Hold on a minute!

"That's my lucky rock!" Pleo squawked. The Lugia whirled around, dropping the Totter Orb with an audible thud, leaving Nida to squeak and dash after it. As she caught the orb with her forepaws, Elty gritted his teeth and grimaced.

"Hey, _wait!_ " he barked.

It was no use; the little bird had already darted over to the pink and cream mammal, uneasily craning his neck from side to side as he tried to puzzle out how to retrieve his stone from the Pokémon's grasp.

"What do you think you're doing?!" the Growlithe yelped. "You can get another one of those once we-!"

By then, the Lugia had already thrust his beak down and promptly snatched up the stone ring. Elty's heart skipped a beat, and he lowered himself to all fours.

The Growlithe braced himself as Nida fanned her spikes out like a blue Durin Berry. The two set their teeth on edge and waited in dreadful anticipation for the moment the grunts all around them to suddenly wake up and dogpile the team. Except…

That moment didn't come.

"Got it!" Pleo cried, his voice muffled by the stone ring that he was holding in his beak as he crept over, bobbing his head in triumph. The Growlithe shook his head and scowled. Was that bird _trying_ to get them all caught?

"All's well that ends well," Nida sighed, as she quickly snatched up the King's Rock and stuffed it into Elty's bag, making sure to bury it deep for safekeeping.

"Whuh? What's- _**Hey!**_ "

Elty heard a voice call out, and turned to see that the Slowpoke had woken up and was glaring daggers at the group.

" _Kurczę_ ," the Growlithe muttered. The creature hadn't been oblivious to Pleo taking his rock back at all! As was common to Pokémon of her species, she'd simply just had a delayed reaction!

"Oi! Everyone, wake up!" the creature shouted. "We've got stowaways!"

The other guards had a much faster reaction to the Water-Type's shouting, and quickly sprang up to attention. No matter which way they looked in their panic, the three young Pokémon found themselves staring at the glaring and growling mass of lavender-scarved Pokémon about them.

"N-Nida?" Pleo stammered, starting to shrink back. "Wh-What do we do now?"

Nida's mind raced for something to say back. She couldn't sting or kick her way out of this one, not even with the help of her teammates. Pleo's power was nowhere to be seen, and going down with the ship thanks to a fire started by Elty was not exactly her idea of an 'escape'.

If only they'd had the time to stock up on seeds, or Gravelerocks, or orbs or- oh, _duh._

Nida looked down at the glowing yellow orb in between her paws and slammed it against the floor. As she felt it disintegrate into shards against the wood below, a mass of yellow spheres burst out and fanned out, slipping past the group and enveloping the Company grunts within the room and throwing the unfortunate creatures into a defocused daze.

" **RUN!** " she shouted.

There wasn't any time to think after that. As the guards about them struggled to overcome the disorienting effects of the orb and shouts rang out along with a few complaints about seasickness, the three bolted for the stairs up to the deck. Nida and Elty darted along the ground as Pleo flew overhead, haphazardly dodging rafters and half-awake guards stumbling up from their bedding in the confusion.

"Here, stay toasty!" Elty barked, as he spat out a column of cinders at some straw bedding, just in time to catch a Dusclops that had freshly phased himself out of an overhead rafter. The creature was still tired and disoriented as he readjusted to sudden corporeality and the unexpected confusion in the barracks, only to suddenly shriek as he felt a burning pain underfoot.

The Ghost-Type's cries rang out as he recoiled back from the cinders, followed by the realization that the bedding beneath his feet had caught alight, and was already starting to spread to nearby heaps of straw.

Panicked cries of "Fire! Fire!" began to ring out about the barracks, various guards stumbling about in conflicting and often colliding directions trying to get at the intruders, the dangerous flames in the room, or simply away from the confusion to safety.

" _Did you seriously just start a fire?!_ " Nida cried, just as she saw Pleo swoop down to the base of the steps to the top deck, and begin to run up them.

"You're _welcome!_ " he cried, digging out the violet One-Shot Orb and throwing it off somewhere into the confused and panicked mass of Pokémon. "Now are we escaping with the _mewa_ or wha-?"

"Nida! Elty! Look out!" Pleo's voice suddenly squawked.

Nida and Elty bounced forward as a dark blue blur of a beetle zipped past, slamming a long, chitinous horn down onto the floor where they had just been. Ah, it was the Dusclops' companion, and none too pleased about the rude welcome Elty gave him. The Nidoran instinctively reared up and tackled the Heracross as he tore a plank out of the floor while pulling his horn free, her barbs raised to try and embed themselves in between the plates of the Bug-Type's exoskeleton. Elty hastily clamped down on one of the beetle's arms, but while the Heracross seemed visibly stung by the wounds, his eyes were still full of enraged vigor. The creature whirled around towards Nida-

"Gyaah!"

Just in time to be caught mid-stride by a gust of wind and crumple to the floor.

"Gack..."

The gust was sharp and cutting, like the beats that Kiran would blow from his wings in battle, and Nida could see a crack dribbling drops of yellowish fluid along the underside of the Bug-Type's thorax where the wind had struck. But… Who on earth-?

"Eh?!" a Lugia's voice stammered. "But that was supposed to send him flying ba-"

Nida looked over to Pleo, who was now standing at the base of the stairs. She blinked for a moment and looked back at the groaning Heracross, when she put two and two together.

"Nice work, Pleo!" she grunted. "I think that one was stronger than normal!"

"It… was-?" Pleo began, only for a Growlithe's voice to cut him off.

"Oi! Brag about your moves later!" the little dog yipped, gesturing at flames behind him that were now mostly smothered from panicked jets of water from Pokémon about them. "No one else is in our way and the stairs are _right there!_ "

That was as good a point as any. The three dashed up the steps, not daring to look back to see who might be following them. Then came the deck, the sails above them along with the night sky with the Moon, the stars, and Forest Guardian's Traveller shining above. Pleo skidded to a stop to let Nida and Elty hop up onto his back, the white bird stumbling a bit from the sudden weight, when all of a sudden, he wavered.

"Nida?! Is this really going to work?!" he cried.

"It _has_ to!" she squeaked, as she dug out the Foe-Fear Orb from the bag. "We don't have any other options!"

"Hurry _up!_ " Elty seethed. "Just get us out of-!"

"Going somewhere?!" a booming voice bellowed from the stern.

The three turned, and their hearts sank as they saw Lyn perched at the helm of the ship, glaring. The Samurott leapt forward, drawing his blades in midair as he dove down at Pleo, who hastily darted ahead of a slash from a seamitar.

"A-Ack!"

The bird stumbled forward, and batted his wings out uneasily to try and regain balance. Pleo's tumultuous attempts to stay on his feet made Nida lose her grip on the green sphere in her paws before she could throw it. The sphere went rolling on the deck like an oversized marble, making the Nidoran cry out in panic as it slipped out of her reach.

"Pleo, come on!" she pleaded, as she reached for Elty's satchel. "If we take off now-!"

"You'll be swimming right into our fins, missy!" a voice cried from below, which was quickly followed by another.

"And don't think the skies are clear for you either!" a voice taunted from above.

"H-Huh?!"

The three looked down and saw a Huntail, flanked by a number of leering creatures circling in the water, waiting for the foolish little Pokémon to go ahead and try and fly over them. Pleo craned his head up, and saw that the skies were similarly uninviting, with flying Pokémon led by a Crobat near the crossbeams of the masts circling about the group. To make matters worse, guards from the barracks were spilling out onto the deck, Elty's fire having apparently run its course as a distraction and the Foe-Fear Orb lying unbroken and out of reach, now in the claws of a very awake and grumpy-looking Ursaring.

"Really now, how incompetent do you think I am?" Lyn sneered, drawing nearer to the group. "Did you seriously think that my ship wouldn't have any escorts? That they would just let some stowaways slip away?"

Pleo grimaced, he scanned his head around desperately as he inched back towards the railing. There really didn't seem to be any way out of here, or at least not one he could see. But his teammates… Did they see anything he couldn't?

"N-Nida? E-Elty?"

"I think I've got something," Elty whispered. "Follow my lead."

The Growlithe suddenly arched his back and bristled his fur, and proceeded to shout out the mightiest, fiercest roar that his young voice could muster.

" **OUT OF OUR WA-!** "

Only to be cut off by a much louder, bellowing " _ **SHUT UP!**_ " from the Samurott that made the group's blood run cold, and made Pleo to stumble forward in a blind panic and bonk his head on the deck railing.

"O-Ow!"

As the color returned to Team Traveler's faces and senses to their rattled minds, they could hear jeers going about their gathered captors.

"Pffahaha! Was that seriously the best you could think of?"

"Yeah, that yap's _nothing_ when you deal with a Samurott on a regular basis!"

"Captain, they're clearly desperate if one of them was going to try and _roar_ his way out of here!"

"Didn't I _tell_ you this once already?" Lyn spat, glaring at Pleo. "Your old life is _over_ , move on already! Really, what are you going to do here? Do you think that you can just fly away from us? That we can't swat you out of the sky like a common Wingull?"

The Samurott slackened his grip on his right paw's seamitar, and spun it about his knuckles.

"Or are you going to try and _fight_ me? At the tender young age of what, a _moon?_ With a pair of rookies that most of my subordinates were sweeping _back in their days as pups?_ " he sneered. After a few cycles, the Samurott suddenly stopped the blade mid-spin, bringing it to a stop with a firm grasp at the hilt. "For crying out loud, know when to give up!"

The little Lugia froze. It really didn't look like there was going to be any way out of this one. Everything the Samurott said was definitely true, the powers all of Tromba counted on hadn't come to him when he so desperately needed them earlier… Should… Should he really just give up?

Pleo suddenly stumbled a little. The weight of Nida and Elty on his back was still awkward to balance, especially with the two shaking as they were. He tilted his head back and saw that the two were trembling, their ears folded back. Surely things must have seemed just as hopeless and impossible-

"N-Not likely! I'm not about to give up here!" Elty growled, baring his teeth even as his body quaked and betrayed the fear the little dog felt.

Huh? Elty wasn't giving up? But, _why?_

"Captain, we've got a clear shot at them-" the Ursaring began.

"Hold your fire!" Lyn interrupted, the bear hastily quieting down at the sound of his superior's snarling.

"We- We're- We're not giving up our friend!" Nida stammered, baring her barbs as she tried her hardest to put a brave face on in spite of the situation. "N-Not without a fight!"

Pleo looked around at his teammates, his mind drawing blanks as to how on earth they could still stand their ground even with how bad and hopeless everything looked.

* * *

After the meeting at the guild's grounds fell apart, Kiran quickly hurried Crom to the medics' tent. The Druddigon's injuries were treated and bandaged, and his mother, hearing how one of her children had been battered, came to take the young Dragon-type home to sleep his wounds off.

The wounds ran deeper than Crom's hide, alas- the entire rhythm of the little baker family was thrown asunder, their normal routine of making bread and pastries to sell to their fellow villagers grinding to a halt. The oven went cold much earlier than normal without anyone to kindle the wood with dragonfire, and the flour and dough for the evening rush went unkneaded.

The rest of the day was marked by Gwenith tearfully growling invectives at the Company when she felt sufficiently alone. Cenn also wasn't immune to the heightened gravity of the situation, as his normal adamance (or "brattiness" as Crom often put it) gave way to periodic, nervous pestering of "will Crom be okay?" Even Pyry's ritual complaining subsided, as he spent most of the day uncomfortably running errands outside to try and avoid the oppressive atmosphere in the little hut.

Crom eventually bawled himself dry of tears, but the poor Druddigon remained mired in a quiet, inconsolable depression over the loss of his friends to Lyn's ship. The setting of the sun and onset of night brought nothing to ease the dragon's spirits. The simple dinner of gummis and homemade loaves that his mother brought in was similarly ineffective, and continued to sit on a rude wooden table next to the fresh straw bedding his family prepared. Well after the moon and stars rose in the sky, Crom remained curled up and stared off at a wall next to the doorway of the room he shared with Cenn at night.

"Crom?" a younger voice called from the side. The voice made the wounded Druddigon uneasily shift about, and he looked up to see a fellow young, if smaller, Druddigon prodding him.

"Whuh?"

"We're heading to the shrine now," Cenn said. "The whole town's been stopping by there all day to offer prayers."

Even though his brother's words were devoid of the teasing and naive mean-spiritedness that sibling rivalry tends to slip into, they still stung to hear, and served only to make Crom sink deeper into his bedding and curl up tighter.

"We'll be back soon!" the younger Druddigon hastily tried to reassure, waving his claws. "And you won't be alone here, Kiran came to watch you while we're out! Mom says to call him if you need anything."

Crom weakly grunted back something resembling a response. Cenn lingered around for a moment before walking off uneasily, giving one last look at his elder brother as he slipped past the doorframe.

For a few long, quiet moments, Crom sat there, his only company being the aching wounds under his bandages and the dull and now vaguely mournful sounds of night outside. The Druddigon tilted his head to look out the window in the room, and saw the night sky full of stars, the Forest Guardian's Traveller currently making its arc as the Traveller before it set beyond the horizon.

It was then that the dragon decided, no matter how haggard his condition was, he needed to be at that shrine too. If he had only held his tongue back in that crate! But perhaps, he could-!

"Agh!"

Crom's preoccupation with the shrine briefly faded from his mind as he stumbled and tripped while getting up out of bed. His balance was still weak from his injuries, feeble enough to be overcome by a careless pebble trodden underfoot.

"Eh?! Crom?!" a Swellow's voice suddenly squawked. "What are you doing?!"

"Huh?!"

The Druddigon looked up as Kiran swooped into the room, and settled down before his snout. The blue and white bird ruffled his feathers and promptly lectured the dragon, the Swellow's voice thick with concern.

"You're in no shape to be trying to skimp on rest!" he exclaimed. "Why, from my prior experience, skipping rest with wounds like these will keep you bedridden 100% longer!"

"Kiran, _please!_ " Crom insisted, dragging himself up to his feet. "I need to go and pray with the others at the shrine! To pray that Pleo will come back to make all of this right!"

"Absolutely not! You're in horrible condition! Why, almost as bad as Osmund is right-!" the Swellow cried, before the sound of a crash and footfalls outside rang out.

"Ack! _Marley!_ " the sound of elderly bleating rang out. "This is no way to treat a mayor!"

Hatteras? But, what on earth was happening out there?

"Hatteras! **Get back here!** " a Nidorina's livid voice rang out. "That's my _niñita_ out there! You can't just 'have nothing' for a way to get her back!"

"Dear! Calm down!" a Nidorino's voice frantically interjected. "Give the sheep some time to think of something!"

Kiran lowered his head and put a wing over his face. Of all the times for Nida's mother to have her temper get the best of her, did it really have to be _now?_

"Besides, it probably wouldn't be good for your nerves to see Marley in her present state right now," Kiran sighed, ruffling his feathers.

Crom flinched at the racket outside and shrank back. Going out while a scary Pokémon like Marley was so upset out on his doorstep was certainly not what he wanted to get into while still hurt… But-

"But none of this would have happened if I wasn't so stupid!" he cried. "If I had stopped and thought about what we were all getting into-!"

"Crom! _Please!_ don't blame yourself!" the Swellow suddenly interrupted, beating out his wings. "Everything happens for a reason, and-"

"What _reason_ could there be for this?!" the Druddigon growled. "Pleo's _gone!_ And so's the rest of the team! And-! A-And-!"

The young dragon's voice broke and began to trail off as tears started to well up in his eyes again. As he began to sniffle and wipe at his nose with a claw, he was suddenly interrupted by a soft feeling enveloping his chest. He looked down, and saw that his team leader had wrapped him in his wings, or as much as a Swellow could for a creature that was a full foot taller than himself.

"I don't know, Crom," the bird responded, his head drooping. "All I know is that since I was young, I've been told that was how things were. That no matter how bad things might get, the gods that were and are yet to come work in spite of it, to make the things that need to happen, happen."

"H-How do you _know_ that, though?" Crom asked. The dragon's tears stopped coming and his eyes gave way to a piercing, pleading gaze as he waited for some, for any reassurance from his team leader.

"I don't, Crom… It's all a hope," the Swellow sighed as he rummaged through his bag. "And it's all that we've got right now."

The Swellow poked his beak in, and grasped something with it. When he pulled it out, the article was revealed to be a silvery-white feather, its tip split at the end.

"That's one of Pleo's feathers," Crom mumbled. "Why did you bring that here?"

"Well, it's said that Lugia's feathers allow for the pleas of Pokémon to reach him. And that the spirits of the old gods still have power over our world, especially over things related to them, and..." Kiran began, as he held the feather out to Crom. "It's not much, I'll admit… But I knew that you would have wanted to help out with what's going on right now."

The Druddigon paused, and after hesitating a bit, pinched the feather in between his claws and brought it up to his eyes.

"I… I suppose it was easier than dragging the shrine all the way down here…"

The Druddigon stared at the feather and was unsure how to start. Was there some sort of rite for calling to Pleo? Did they have to do some sort of weird dance? Did they have to also ask for help from the old gods' spirits in the Travellers above?

"If you can somehow hear this, Pleo- I mean, Travellers above-" the Druddigon fumbled for words one after the other, until Kiran interrupted with the pat of a wing on his shoulder.

"Crom. Don't overdo it," the Swellow reassured. "Just say what's on your mind."

The Dragon-Type looked down at the feather in between his claws again, and after a pause, he shook his head before beginning again, this time his words coming out as a desperate plea.

"Please! _Whoever_ I'm talking to! Let our friends come back to us!" he cried. The Druddigon and Swellow stared and stared at the feather, but nothing happened. It was still the same old night outside, the same simple room inside, with the same aching wounds on his body, leaving Crom to hang his head as his heart began to sink.

"We- We just want to know that they're okay..." he murmured weakly.

* * *

That's when it hit him. The reason why Elty and Nida were digging in their heels on his back and not backing down was for him, and for the town back home that desperately wanted their Protector back…

Pleo whirled his head towards the sea. For a moment it felt almost as if they were right there! Crom, Kiran, Hatteras, Mosca, and everyone else from Tromba! It was like they were all pleading for him to come back home!

Then… Maybe… The proper thing to do for all of them was to stand his ground and try to help them back, to refuse to let things end without trying…

" _Let us go!_ " Pleo squawked to the Samurott, beating out his wings. "We even made it to the deck fair and square!"

"I see that you're too stubborn to listen to warnings," Lyn growled, as he flicked both his blades to his sides in a battle stance. "So be it! I'll drag you into a life of service the hard way!"

The Samurott readied his legs and was about to spring forward when a shrill cry suddenly cut him off.

" _No!_ I don't _want_ your awful new 'life'!" the bird shrieked. "And I won't let you hurt my friends for it!"

All of a sudden, the dimly lit ship deck became awash in a silvery glow. From Pleo's back, Nida and Elty saw Lyn freeze in his tracks. The two looked down at their carrier and saw the markings on the Lugia begin to shine bright, his white plumage glowing softly.

"A-Ah," Elty murmured, his muzzle dropping in startled awe.

"Pleo?" Nida asked quietly. Just then, her ears pricked and her blood ran cold as Lyn cried out to the surrounding guards.

"Take them down!"

The Samurott lunged for the group, just as Pleo shouted back to the approaching Pokémon.

" _Let us **go!**_ "

The little Protector then sprang up, leaping from the deck and beating his wings below him. The noises of raging winds howled all around the three Pokémon as Pleo shot upwards with his teammates, punctuated by the sound of sails tearing and thick ropes being whipped about as if they were blades of grass. As they sailed higher and higher, they heard the cries of Lyn and the guards around him that had been blown across the deck, some of his underlings having tumbled over the railing into the sea. The leering fliers in the air were knocked from their places by the sudden gale and fell past them out of the sky, onto the ship and into the sea below. The sea Pokémon that stonewalled the group struggled amid violent waves whipped up by Pleo's winds, some turning tail in a panic and swimming away as fast as their fins and appendages would let them.

All the while, Nida and Elty clung to Pleo's plumes for dear life (with what means their bodies allowed) as they rocketed up and away from the Company ship.

"Aaaaah! Not so fast! Not so fast!" Nida shrieked. " _Blasting away hurts the Nidoran!_ "

And then as suddenly as it came, the glow faded. Pleo's flight slowed and wobbled a little as he poked his head about, leaving his confused and tired voice asked aloud in the darkened skies...

"Huh? What's going on?"

Elty and Nida turned back to see the ship's tattered sails behind them as frantic and disoriented shouts rang out.

That was about where the good news ended, though.

The faint outlines of Company Pokémon still on the deck around the ship began reorienting themselves under the moonlight, along with some of the sea Pokémon who weren't preoccupied fishing out struggling forms from the water. Lyn rushed to the railing, still dripping seawater, and inhaled deeply, readying a torrent of water. One after the other, the various shapes followed their captain's lead and readied attacks and missiles to throw at the group.

"Gah! We can't shake them!" Elty yelped. Without thinking, Nida dug a paw into the Growlithe's satchel, eliciting a bark of protest as she dug out a Luminous orb, leaving a berry and another orb to spill out and fall from the air into the sea below...

And then she threw it.

The glassy sphere sailed on into the darkness, before a bright flash suddenly erupted behind the group. For a fleeting moment, the form of the ship became visible, revealing two masts that had had their sails torn to ribbons. The flash swallowed up the ship along with the waters around it in a blinding light, forcing Nida's eyes shut and leaving her to totter forward as spray from a fast-moving column of water zipped past her ears. As she felt the air beneath her front feet she fanned out her barbs in a panic.

"A-Ack!"

" _Uważaj!_ " Elty's voice suddenly yelped. "Don't go taking sudden trips, spike ball!"

Nida felt a nip at the back of her neck, and a painful yank back onto something soft and downy- Pleo's back she presumed. The only other comfort in her dazed blindness was the sound of her Growlithe teammate's voice.

"Keep going, _mewa!_ Keep going!"

Slowly, but surely, a darkness with muddled blotches began to return to Nida's vision. They slowly began to reform into the moon, the Forest Guardian's Traveller, the major constellations, the Rainbow Road, and the rest of the heavens. After Nida blinked and cleared away the last of her disorientation, her heart skipped a beat as she began to notice their light reflecting off the world around them, dancing off of waves churning below.

After looking back at the now-distant form of Lyn's ship, the Nidoran could see the faint forms of Pokémon struggling aboard the ship from the water, and hear confused and frightened cries ringing out from the direction of the ship. The Nidoran blinked and stared speechless for a moment, as she realized…

_They were free…_

_They were free!_

"We- We made it off the ship!" Nida cried, her voice crackling with excitement as she pricked herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. "Thanks to you and your power, Pleo!"

Pleo squawked and looked around him, and realized that the wind was blowing over his wings, his feet were sailing through the air, and that far, far below him was the sea. Why, this meant that...

"Ah!" he chirped out of overjoyed triumph. "We're flying! _We're flying!_ "

"They'll be busy for a while," Elty grunted as he looked back at the ship in the distance. The Growlithe spat a few embers in the direction of the ship before sighing and sinking into Pleo's feathers. "Talk about your close shaves, though-"

Only for the faint, unmistakeable sound of a bellowing Samurott's voice to ring out in the distance.

"Shoot him down! _Now!_ "

"Huh?!" Pleo cried, as he craned his head about. "What's-?!"

All of a sudden, a bright, searing gout of fire passed by the tips of his wings. The Lugia recoiled, and much as any young Pokémon that has had the misfortune of narrowly dodging an attack of that sort...

" **AAAAAAH!** "

He screamed and desperately tried to get away. Pleo pitched forward and flapped desperately away from where the light came from. Nida and Elty clung on to his feathers as tight as they could, the sea below suddenly feeling much more dangerously distant than in the initial euphoria surrounding their escape.

"Quick, to the left!" Elty's voice cried out in a panic. "To the left!"

Pleo tilted his wings and lurched abruptly to the left... of all the times to not have this 'turning' thing down… Couldn't it have been sometime when other Pokémon weren't attacking them? While Pleo's passengers struggled to fight off vertigo as Team Traveler's predicament continued, a frigid, slender beam shot past him under his wing and carried on past him, prompting the Growlithe to hastily cry out...

"Your _other_ left!"

"They're still coming!" Nida cried.

A large jet of water, another gout of fire, a coursing bolt of electricity. One after the other, attacks of the like that Nida had only seen the stronger Pokémon back home use, sailed on past Pleo's body. Still, they noticed that with each attack, they seemed to miss the white bird with wider and wider margins.

"Their shots are getting worse!" Elty barked. "We must be getting out of their range!"

"Just hang in there, Pleo!" Nida reassured. "We're almost free!"

"Yeah! We're losing the-!" Elty began, only to see a bright, blinding flash from the deck of the now miniscule ship... and rapidly come closer and closer.

"Aw, _kur-_ "

The next thing that anyone could remember was a sudden, searing pain swallowing up their bodies, followed by the hazy feeling of their bodies getting thrown through the air and the stars in the sky turning into an indistinct, rapidly-passing blur as everything faded to black.

* * *

Were they conscious, Team Traveller would have been treated to an impressive view further along their trajectory. Faintly lit by the stars and heavenly bodies, there was an island consisting of a low and worn-down peak that was shrouded in forests, its shores lined with dense mangroves. Much like Tromba, it too was partially covered in fog, though said fog clung to the eastern shoreline, unlike the veil that hung from Tromba's peaks.

And last but not least, there was a settlement among the mangroves a ways west of the fog, one that was most curious in design. Whereas Tromba had been built on firm ground, in this settlement, the docks and the sparsely placed buildings near them were perched on stilts in the water among the mangrove trees. Every so often, a ladder or rickety set of stairs would lead up along one of them, up to a much thicker network of huts and walkways that were nestled among the branches.

The part of the town in the treetops was a bit more active than Tromba would have been at that time of night, if not by much. There was a shop that had been fashioned after a Kecleon's head at a split in a slow, meandering river. Its scaly owner dozed on the counter as a Spinarak, apparently his partner, waited attentively, occasionally calling out to the occasional passing figure.

A few short treetops (and about as many crossings over the river) away from the Kecleon Market was a tangle of roots that crossed the river. The roots, coupled with heaps of twigs glued together with mud, formed a barrier set inland from an estuary whose design evidenced three purposes: its narrow gaps kept aquatic Pokémon passing in and out in a neat and orderly manner, it prevented ships from sailing up the river, and it acted as an anchor to the settlement's docks. In a shack, perched in an overlooking mangrove tree's branches, a Shuckle was busily shuffling around clay cups to tired-looking Pokémon who traded stories about a recent haul, the lot of them apparently sailors that had just straggled into port chattering lazily about a recent offshore sighting of a shifty-looking ship with golden sails and a mast torn off just above the stump. And, at around the time Team Traveller was attempting to dodge attacks thrown at them as they flew... a Tepig, a Purrloin, and a Venipede stood a few bends upstream on a walkway among the branches that passed in front of an interconnected collection of huts along the treetops, looking through pieces of paper attached to a wooden board.

"Venner, are we seriously picking through listings at _night?_ " the orange pig asked, giving an unimpressed snort as he looked about the sparse layer of papers on the board. "I thought that you ran a tighter ship than this!"

"This wasn't my plan, Francoeur... We _would've_ gotten them in the morning if _Actor_ here didn't make us waste the entire day waiting on some glorified ribbons at the docks!" the Venipede chittered. The venomous creature paused from rubbing his antennae over a posting about someone's 'lost marbles' to turn and leer at the Purrloin. "And what kind of stupid _nom de scène_ is 'Viroqua' anyways?"

"It was _Virokoe._ And I'll have you know that I used to have quite the following back among Giotto's culture scene thanks to having an eye for effects like those 'glorified ribbons'!" the violet cat hissed back. "Not that a pair of common Hunters like you two could appreciate it!"

The Venipede and the Tepig traded unamused looks with each other, before the Fire-Type broke the silence with an exasperated sigh.

"Yes, it takes _such_ a refined Pokémon to call Rescue Team members 'Hunters' like a run-of-the-mill sailor."

"Must have certainly been one interesting dive you used to work at, that's for sure-" the Venipede grumbled, only for his words to suddenly die in his mouth. The creature suddenly noticed a faint flash off in the distance from the corner of his eye, and abruptly whirled around.

"Eh? Did you see something?" the Tepig asked. The bug's companions then turned, and also saw further flashes on the horizon, some dimmer, some stronger. And then all of a sudden…

"They just… Stopped," the Purrloin murmured to himself.

By chance, 'Actor' looked up at the moon, just in time to see an indistinct shape slip past it.

"Ah! Wait a minute!" he cried out. "I think that's a Pokémon up there!"

The three looked about the sky, scanning here and there for any sign of the creature that just passed in front of the moon. Fortuitously, the group happened to pass their gazes over to the fog that rose up from the eastern shoreline, where they saw three forms suddenly slip into the haze. The trio turned to each other and looked at each other blankly.

"Did… They just fly _into_ the fog?" the Tepig asked, blinking uneasily at the curtain of mist out on the eastern side of the island.

"Whelp, that's someone who's going to need to be bailed out," Venner grumbled.

"Mmm hmm, that's certainly-" the Purrloin said to himself, just in time to hear the Venipede begin to scuttle off on a walkway in the direction of the path to the local Mystery Dungeon. "Hey! Where are you going?!"

"Um… Hello? _Rescue Team_ here?" the Bug-Type chittered back, clicking his mandibles impatiently. "Just what do you think those Pokémon are going to need right about now?"

"We would be able to avoid the competition for the listing if we went out and got them now," Francoeur added. "It's a textbook rescue! Nothing _un Gruikui, un Venipatte, et un Chacripan_ couldn't pull off!"

All eyes then turned to 'Actor', who after an uneasy, scowling pause, finally answered back.

"Bugh, I don't believe you two... I just groomed myself an hour ago!" 'Actor' complained, before he turned back to the sparsely-populated mission board. "But I _suppose_ if we can find them somewhere on the upper floors, it's worth a shot."

"So stop stalling and let's _go_ already!" Venner cried. The Venipede scuttled off to the east, his teammates dashing off after him all the while.

* * *

The first thing that Elty felt when he woke up was a faint prick, and another, and another.

"Elty, come on! Get up!"

He heard the spike-ball's voice. So he _hadn't_ been knocked into the Spirit World by that beam, not that 'fire and brimstone with Houndour sniffing at his bottom'- as he had heard an opposing Grass-Type threaten a few raids back- really sounded like a punishment. Unless… Being stuck with the Nidoran for all eternity _was_ his punishment.

"Wha-?! Hey, wait! I never agreed to die with you!" the Growlithe yipped, throwing his eyes open and springing to his feet. Only to yelp out of pain and stumble back down to the ground.

"Elty, stop joking!" the Nidoran huffed back weakly, thrusting her face into the Growlithe's vision. "This is serious!"

Oh great, he was stuck with her in _life_ still. Nida was covered in singed fur and barbs; the incoming beam had not been kind to her at all, and probably not to himself either, Elty guessed. He then looked over and noticed that behind her, Pleo was sprawled out along the ground, still out cold, his breast rising and falling in shallow breaths.

"We need to get him up! _Ahora mismo!_ " Nida cried to the Growlithe. "We don't have much time!"

"What are you going _on_ about-?" the dog spluttered back, only to be cut off by the faint sound of whistling wind.

Elty whirled around and looked up, where he saw a chain of broken tree branches, evidently where they had fallen in. It was what lay beyond that which made his heart suddenly sink.

Beyond the treetops, where the moon and stars ought to have been, was the sight of an inverted forest canopy, a likewise-inverted floor distantly visible in little bits and pieces on the ground. Everything suddenly came together for him.

"Oh no…"

The beam that struck them and sent them tumbling through the air… It knocked them into a Mystery Dungeon!

Into one that neither Nida nor Elty recognized, and in a place that neither of them knew…

And it would not be long before the Distortion's reshaping winds claimed the floor they were all on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _Uważaj!_ \- Polish: "Watch out!"  
>  \- _niñita_ \- Spanish: "little girl"  
>  \- _nom de scène_ \- French: "stage name"  
>  \- _un Gruikui, un Venipatte, et un Chacripan_ \- French: "a Tepig, a Venipede, and a Purrloin"  
>  \- _(¡)Ahora mismo!_ \- Spanish: "Right now!"


	21. Out of the Frying Pan

The stretch of sea between the third and fourth Spiral beacons (named after the designs painted on the beacons marking this particular sea route) between Kenobi and Tromba was inviting that day. The waves lolled along with their normal undulations and marine Pokémon occasionally swam about between them giving spirited calls to one another. The sea air was crisp and refreshing, as it tends to be in the immediate aftermath of a recently-subsided storm.

Although the storm that passed upwind of the third Spiral beacon the night before was gone, the stretch of sea route was still marred by the presence of a two-masted ship with lavender sails with purple squares captained by an ill-tempered Mothim. The Bug-Type flitted here and there in his species' usual, erratic fashion. Every so often, he would bark orders to subordinates on deck, and to those escorting his craft in the skies above and the seas below.

It had been five hours since Lyn was supposed to have passed the fourth beacon, long enough for word to get out and reach Kenobi Island and the ears of its Administrator. The absence of news was neither expected, nor desired, and gave the Mothim plenty to grumble about to himself on his voyage over. Lyn never seemed to have trouble reining in those Tromban peasants before, could he _really_ have been caught so off-guard by some inclement weather rolling in earlier than expected?

A call went up from a Pidgeot flying alongside the ship, prompting Ellsberg to over to some rigging along the side to perch and look off into the distance. Just a ways off starboard was a three-masted ship- if you could call it that.

The sails were torn to ribbons and the net-bedding normally towed from the hull for the sea escorts to rest on at night snapped and trailed after the ship in a tangled knot in the water. The rigging fared little better, and was strewn haphazardly here and there twisted up among the masts… So in spite of the reports the Mothim heard, Lyn hadn't been able to outrun the inclement weather after all.

"Of all the times to get ahead of yourself, Lyn," Ellsberg sighed to himself. The Mothim called to his lavender-scarved subordinates to bring the ship to a halt. The Pokémon aboard steadied their footing and the cry went out to drop the anchor. Not too long afterwards, the ship slowed, thanks to the escorts whipping up a sudden headwind and opposing current against the ship's present course. As the vessel slowed, and the splash of a stone anchor hitting the water sounded over the waves, the ship's moth captain hopped up and fluttered off towards Lyn's stricken ship. Even from that distance, it was apparent that Lyn's crew was busy. All over the deck and in the seas and skies around the damaged boat, Pokémon darted here and there attempting to patch together temporary fixes to their craft. Even so, their numbers seemed unusually sparse... Ellsberg was _sure_ that the Samurott had brought along more escorts than the number that paid it watch at that moment, and that there were more deckhands when he left than the skeleton crew on the deck...

As for Lyn's whereabouts, it took Ellsberg a moment, but after having his attention drawn to a wake approaching from the port side, he saw the ship's captain clamber up to the deck from the stricken ship's side. As the Mothim flew closer, it became more and more apparent the Samurott was in a sour mood, the Water-Type having one of his seamitars drawn and clenched in his paws in spite of the lack of any obvious target for them. Just as Ellsberg flitted up to Lyn's side, the moth flinched and caught his ears as the Samurott bellowed into the face of an unfortunate Nuzleaf with a bandaged stomach who had set down a damaged block and tackle to catch his breath on deck. The captain's yells drew a startled yelp from the dryad, and prompted him to pick the crate back up and dart away as fast as his legs allowed him to under such strain.

Ellsberg shook his head, and then cleared his throat, prompting the still-scowling Samurott to grudgingly turn his way.

"I see that the early storm caught you off-guard," the Mothim grumbled. "Administrator Farn's been _wondering_ about why the sighters didn't see your ship go past the fourth Spiral this morning."

"Mrph… Something came up last night," Lyn growled back. Was this… hesitance? Obviously it would not do much good to overly injure the pride of a Commissioner, but even so…

If Lyn had made it to the third Spiral when the spotters there said he had, he should have been out of the storm's path when it blew through...

Then what had _happened_ here last night?

"Well, obviously! I don't think I've ever seen your ship in such a state before!" Ellsberg piped back. Things were in a sorrier state than the mangled sails and tangled ropes left on from afar. As the Mothim fluttered about the deck of Lyn's craft, he noticed that it seemed that half the Pokémon had bruises or bandaged wounds on them. Except… something wasn't adding up.

There were far too many injured crewmates from the tumult of a simple overnight storm. And upon closer inspection, the damage to Lyn's vessel seemed to radiate outward. There were chunks of the railing on the other end that were broken and splintered from heavy objects careening through them and into the sea. Why, it was as if the storm winds had clustered in one place and blown out in all directions like the fiery burst of a Blast Seed! And there was also a nagging concern from earlier that struck the Bug-Type as all the more pertinent now...

"Where on earth is the rest of your crew?"

The Samurott gritted his teeth for a moment, before he exhaled and started to answer the Bug-Type.

"The storm swept away a couple things last night," he answered. "They're a little preoccupied with recovering them right no-"

Only for a panting Crawdaunt with a binding over some cracks on his thorax's exoskeleton to clamber up the side of the ship behind the Samurott and dash red and white crustacean plates still dripping seawater when he suddenly cried out to Lyn...

"Captain! We've canvassed the second search area on the bow end! Still no sign of the Lugia or the stowaw-!"

The crawdad's words died in his mouth as he saw a Mothim with a Second-Rank scarf fluttering in front of him with a face that was slipping increasingly into shock. More concerningly, Lyn was just to the side of the bug, and glaring daggers at the now-paling creature.

"I… wasn't supposed to say that out loud, was I-?" the Crawdaunt stammered, only to be cut off with a sudden _thwack_ as the Samurott drew his blade and struck the Pokémon with its flat.

"ARGH!"

The hapless Water-Type went flying over the deck's railing and into the sea below with a splash, bobbing up to the water's surface dazed and stunned.

"Get back out there and be a little more _observant of your surroundings_ this time!" the Samurott barked after the Crawdaunt. The creature quickly swam back away from the ship, his quiet wincing being swiftly replaced with a startled Mothim's buzzing.

"What?! You mean this isn't storm damage?!" Ellsberg fluttered around nervously as his mind began to put two and two together about its culprit. "You let the sea god _get away?!_ "

"Ellsberg, does it look like I'd _ever_ let anything just 'get away'?!" Lyn spat, clearly unpleased with the wording of the notary's question. The Samurott shook his head and gestured at an Ursaring preoccupied with helping to sort out wadded up pieces of one of the main masts. "Misha downed him last night! I saw the flash and smoke with my own eyes!"

"Then _where_ is he?!" the bug insisted. The Mothim flitting anxiously about the Samurott, Commissioners didn't just lose Pokémon like that! Let alone Pokémon that were pivotal to the Company's future fortunes!

"Does it really _need_ an explanation?" Lyn growled back, gesturing at the lolling waves around the ship. "We're currently doing a search of the nearby seafloor for him and those meddlesome brats. One of the sea Pokémon around here probably found them and brought them into the Subway."

Of course! The Cradle was still in one piece, so that would logically preclude anything _too_ drastic happening to the Guardian of the Seas. So the Subway, the maze of breathable passages and Mystery Dungeons under the waves that crossed the seafloor and seamounts like strands on an Ariados' web… that was the most logical place that the seabird could've escaped to!

"I'll send out word for reinforcements as soon as I pull back into port," Ellsberg cried, flapping his wings anxiously. "The-"

"No, you _won't_ ," Lyn interrupted, his voice taking a growling seriousness to it. "The Subway's riddled with choke points and the Guardian would be in no condition to travel far along in it. This isn't an unmanageable situation… yet."

"Lyn, are you _daft?_ " Ellsberg spluttered. "The Subway leads to almost every island in the Cradle-!"

Any further objections melted into a yelp as the Samurott caught Ellsberg by the scarf. Before the Mothim could so much as react, he found himself staring into Lyn's smoldering eyes.

"I'm _perfectly_ aware of the potential disadvantages, Ellsberg, and they're more than manageable given the mission the Board gave me. Are _you_ forgetting that they specifically asked _not_ to draw attention to the extraction? You can't dismiss rumblings of Legendaries roaming about as 'peasants' tall tales' when they're coming from major settlements!" he snapped back. "Just _what_ do you think the future would hold for the Pokémon that compromised the Company's interests by needlessly running his mouth off instead of getting out of the way from a quick and quiet canvassing of the nearby Subway passages? My inability to pass my current post as Commissioner down to you would be the least of your worries!"

The Bug-Type paused and quietly blanched. The Board wouldn't be happy about what happened, no… But the otter raised a good point. Ellsberg himself hadn't filled in even his own crew to the specifics of what Lyn's mission was about, precisely because the more mouths there were to silence, the harder it was to keep things mum. "Loose lips sink ships," or so the saying (created by a Pokémon that _had_ lips, clearly) went. And as for the fate of the lips that sank the Company's plans for the young Protector, especially if it was because of a mere Second-Rank like him… Well, "expulsion from the Company's ranks and abject poverty" was the least unpalatable of several unpleasant possibilities that came to the moth's mind.

"Point taken," Ellsberg gulped. The Mothim felt the Samurott's grip release and the Bug-type quickly flitted back away from the Commissioner. He would need to remember to give Lyn a larger berth when he was in a poor mood he thought to himself, before turning back to try and settle one remaining loose end...

"But then what am I supposed to tell Farn and the rest of the Board?"

"Tell them that I've had a slight complication," the Samurott answered. "The Guardian of the Seas damaged my ship, but crippled himself in the process and exposed himself to imminent recapture."

Ellsberg's face fell. Those were _surely_ not the words Farn would want to hear immediately after "the Protector escaped," but… there weren't really any better ways of mincing the situation. Kenobi's Administrator had eyes that were said to pierce through walls as if they were empty air, and her perception of attempts to mislead her were similarly sharp. There were few things more intimidating than an Administrator crossed, and given how little Farn thought of would-be hoodwinkers and how intimidating she already was while at ease… Well...

"Let's… go with that, then," the Mothim answered. The Bug-Type perched on a railing and looked back at the Samurott. "Just don't make me regret this, Lyn."

And then he took to the air, fluttering back to the smaller ship from starboard side of the battered craft. As the moth slipped from view, Lyn turned and looked out to sea, growling under his breath.

"Where are you, you little whelp? You couldn't have been blown _that_ far..."

* * *

In spite of Lyn's estimation of the Ursaring's strength, Team Traveler was in fact blown all the way to an island, coming to a crashing stop on a Mystery Dungeon's floor filled with a dense forest in the dead of night.

_Woosh_

One that would not remain as it was for much longer. After Elty came to, he and Nida desperately tried to drag Pleo's still-limp body along with them through the rough corridors amidst the tangled maze of trees and shrubs. A process that in spite of their efforts, bore little fruit as the young Protector was much bigger and bulkier than either of the two.

"Well, wherever we are, it's not on Tromba, otherwise Pataki and her friends would have sensed it. There's no way my badge hasn't gotten pressed at least once in all of this!" Nida panted as she tried to shove Pleo's body ahead from behind. "If there are Psychics watching this Mystery Dungeon at all, they don't know to look for us right now."

Elty meanwhile tugged along at the young Lugia's wing, pulling him along off of a mossy patch and into a section covered in fallen leaves and twigs.

"Nngh…"

"Hey, wait!" the Growlithe barked. "I think he's getting up!"

Pleo's body suddenly recoiled and shifted, his body curling up and thrashing as if someone had drawn a fire to it. He murmured incoherently, something about "get away" and "falling", until all of a sudden-

" **A-AAAH!** "

Nida and Elty recoiled as Pleo suddenly threw his eyes open and charged ahead wildly, tripping over a root.

"N-No! St-Stop! _It hurts!_ The light hur-!"

"Pleo! Calm down!" Nida cried. The Nidoran rushing to the white bird's side and nuzzling into the bird's breast. "You're okay! You're okay! They're gone now..."

Pleo panted and his pupils slowly returned to a larger and less panicked appearance. His movements were awkward and jerky much as Nida and Elty's were, clearly suffering from the effects of the Hyper Beam and the subsequent fall through the fog and canopy. The Lugia looked around and saw that sure enough, they were all no longer at sea, but in a place that seemed like the path up to the Mystery Dungeon back on Tromba.

"W-We got away?" he asked, the Protector's voice betraying a desperate longing for an end to his ordeal. No more Company. No more growling and glaring Pokémon. No more painful, burning rays of light. No more falling. Just to be able to go home and rest alongside all their friends and family back in Bluewhorl…

Nida bit her tongue as she tried to think of how to explain their predicament to the young bird, only for Pleo to abruptly get shoved forward from behind.

"We're away enough!" Elty yipped. "But we need to get moving! _Now!_ "

Again and again, the dog pushed Pleo forward and back onto the path, drawing pained and bewildered cries with each shove.

"O-Ouch! Wait!" he squawked. "Why are we moving so fast?!"

_Woosh_

Suddenly a stiff wind coursed through the corridor, sending leaves and dust flying pell-mell all while disturbing the fur and feathers of Team Traveller's members. Pleo looked puzzledly at the sudden wind, and he noticed that both Nida and Elty looked shaken.

"Did you feel that? The floor's about to get cleared out by the Distortion here!" Elty cried. "If we can't find the stairs or a place to hunker down, we'll get blown who knows where!"

Blown… Who knows where? Like with the beam of light earlier? With all of the searing pain it brought? Pleo's eyes widened again and he beat out his wings in panicked flails.

"I d-don't wanna to get blown away again!" he cried.

"None of us are getting blown anywhere!" Nida squeaked, flailing her paws to try and draw Pleo's attention. "We can find a place to get away from the winds! We just need to stick together!"

"Yeah, that way!" the Growlithe grunted, pawing off in the direction of the path.

The three hastily returned to the path, moving much quicker now that Pleo could move on his own… Not like that said much. No matter how much Pleo tried, he simply wasn't able to muster the energy to get airborne, and was forced to waddle and hop along the ground. Nida and Elty were not much better as their dashing was reduced to a middling, hobbling gait by the wounds all over their bodies.

They went down corridor after corridor, but every way they turned, there were no stairs nor sight of the comforting fog that marked a possible stable zone. Those zones were patches of steady ground and clear weather on dungeon floors which the Distortion's winds had left untouched. They hadn't even seen a single seed or orb all this time, and by extension, none of those so-called 'Escape Orbs' that Nida had heard of, which were supposedly lifesavers in situations like these. Only dead ends, and intersections, and-

_Woosh!_

The sound of the wind had grown much louder and closer- there were not many winds left before the floor would finally be reclaimed by the Distortion. It was something that Nida was grateful Pleo hadn't experienced yet, but even then...

"A-Aah! N-Nida!"

The wind did little to assuage his panic, as the little Protector whirled about and tried to look for somewhere, anywhere where he could run to.

"We're trying! We're trying, Pleo!" Nida cried back, desperately pleading with the young Protector to calm down. "Just- Please! _No te rindas!_ Don't panic right now!"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Elty drawing near a patch of well-packed dust on the ground, and sniffing at it.

"Elty?!" the Nidoran hissed. "Can you _not_ wander off at a time like-?!"

"Didn't you notice?" he exclaimed. "The leaves and dust didn't get kicked up as badly as last time!"

Nida and Pleo looked around and sure enough, in this particular corridor, the leaves on the ground had shifted only about as much as they would have in a stiff breeze, as opposed to the heavy wind they felt earlier. The Growlithe suddenly stopped at a curtain of vines and called out.

"There!"

The Growlithe breathed a cone of embers at a curtain of vines. The plants shriveled under the heat and a few of the vines fell away, revealing the beginnings of a curtain of fog in the gaps behind them.

"H-Huh?!"

"Wait, that's a stable patch! But how on earth did you-?!"

"I didn't go into my first dungeon yesterday, you know!" Elty shot back. "Places near stable patches aren't affected by changes in the Distortion right away! So-!"

_Woosh_

That time, the leaves definitely moved much further, and the sound of the wind in the background had become a deafening, howling roar.

"Hurry up and get _in_ there!" the dog barked.

The three ran in past the vines as the howling outside continued and the winds grew stronger and stronger. As they progressed further down the passage, they noticed that the mist had started to grow thicker. Why this was like the fog at the entrance! But… travelling through it...

"H-How are we supposed to make it through in time?" Pleo squawked.

"Hold onto my tail! It'll be close, but I think I can get us through!" Elty shouted "And no matter what, don't stop for anything!"

Pleo latched onto Elty's tail with his beak as Nida hurriedly hopped atop Pleo's shoulders, and the Growlithe was off. The little orange dog hurried ahead, leaving Pleo to follow whatever way his head was yanked. The fog grew thicker and thicker with each hurried step forward as the howling grew more and more garbled. As legs and tails vanished into the haze, Elty's pace grew slower and slower; apparently he couldn't rush tracking a path even in these circumstances.

Pleo grew more and more panicked, but still, he did not dare let go of the furry fluff in his mouth. As the sound of the wind grew more and more incoherent, it suddenly dawned on the group… the noise was also growing weaker and weaker. Elty's pace started to quicken, and the team began to little by little hear the muddled din fade into progressive silence, followed by the smell of grass and flowers growing thicker and thicker.

Sure enough, the mist started to clear out, revealing a small meadow next to a high stony ledge that was ringed by a wall of fog in all directions.

Elty stumbled forward, and collapsed onto a small clump of short ferns. Nida tumbled off of Pleo and onto the ground.

"Ah-aaaah…"

The Nidoran stayed on the ground, her legs not cooperating and her breaths heavy as she couldn't help but have her mind drift back over and over again to how close the team had come to being swept away to gods-knows-where.

Her ears then pricked up as a soft sniffling noise reached her ears. Nida staggered to her feet and flared out her barbs, until she realized that the sound was...

"Pleo?"

The Nidoran looked over and saw that as Pleo continued to sniffle, tears dribbled from his eyes and onto the ground. The Nidoran limped over to the bird and sank her muzzle into his plumage, stroking her partner.

"Pleo," she pleaded. "Please don't cry."

"Yeah, it's alright," Elty's voice added, its owner having staggered up to his feet from his resting place. "We're safe… er… ish."

"B-But we don't even know where we _are!_ " Pleo exclaimed in between continued sniffles. Nida tried to think of something to say back to him, but… she couldn't think of anything, the awful truth of Pleo's statement sinking in as her ears began to droop. They really _didn't_ have any idea of where they were. They were in a Mystery Dungeon that was completely unlike the one on Tromba, one that could be in the middle of the sea for all they knew.

Was there really any way to know where they were? All they had to work with that moment was that they were in the middle of a clearing in an island of stability, located in the midst of a constantly-shifting Distortion. Their only other clues consisting of a few trees, some low plants, and a ledge covered in writing made from charcoal and berry juice a few paces over.

"Eighth floor… Eastern Groves," Elty murmured to himself as he stared at a small patch of script on the ledge. "I swear that I've heard of a dungeon named that before…"

Nida hopped over to get a better look at the scrawls. This was writing, much like she had seen on signs and pieces of paper back home... Hold on a minute! This was _writing! A Pokémon's writing!_

"Pleo, we're not the only Pokémon that have gotten stuck here before!" Nida said, watching as Pleo's crying started to die down.

"We- We aren't?"

"Really! We aren't! Look!" she replied, as her eyes settled along the wall filled with runes of various colors and shapes, onto a line of similar, but sloppier symbols in black streaks from charcoal. "Look at this line right below the one Elty read! It's leaving encouragement for Pokémon stuck like us, Pleo."

The Growlithe went up to the message, stared at it for a moment, then scowled and tilted his head.

"'If you're stuck here reading this, always look on the bright side of life'... Oi, are you sure that message wasn't sarcasm?" he asked. "Because the messages right next to this one look like something you'd see on the alley outside a juice bar, or the inside of a lat-"

Nida swiftly hissed for silence from the Growlithe and glared at him as the dog shot a sour scowl back and roll his eyes. Darn it Elty, _it was encouragement!_ How sincere or not it was was unimportant when it was making Pleo settle down right now.

"The writing here means _someone_ was stuck here once before, and they got rescued later on," Nida quickly reassured Pleo. Her eyes then drifted towards Elty's bag, when a sudden thought crossed her mind. She dug through it and saw that, buried at the bottom, was an envelope, a piece of paper, and a small piece of charcoal to write on it with (if with a couple obvious bite marks at one end). Not as much as she'd have wanted, but Elty at least didn't go into things totally unprepared with that bag of his. She fished out the three articles and proudly showed them to Pleo.

"And we have a way of letting them know we're here, too!" she explained. "As long as we stick together and stay calm, we'll get rescued just like whoever wrote that message on the wall!"

"Well, you'll need to let the Distortion's winds blow it _out_ ," Elty corrected. "But we _could_ be in worse straits right now."

Pleo seemed to have cheered up, and the little Protector brought a wing to his beak and paused in thought...

"Can you let me send it off, then?" he asked.

"Yeah," Nida replied, giving a tired smile back to the Protector as she began to get up. "I think we can do tha-"

And abruptly flinched as she chanced to stumble shoulder-first onto the ground after losing her balance on a pebble, sending a jolt of pain shooting through her body from an obscured wound under her pelt. The Nidoran lurched her body back up, wincing, and flattened out her ears, shaking her head.

"Um… How about after we patch ourselves up first?"

* * *

Recovery went less than smoothly. Much to Nida's dismay, it turned out that the berry crate that she and Elty hid in on Lyn's ship contained primarily cash crops, meaning that most of Elty's loot from the box were useless for treating wounds. Between the three of them, all they had to work with were two lonely Oran Berries- ones that hadn't been touched by the effects of a Mystery Dungeon's Distortion, at that. The Nidoran and Growlithe took turns applying the fruits and dividing up the pulp, if a bit more sparingly than either would have liked, and attempted to make up the difference with some inert berries in the bag and rest on the clearing's ground.

The aches and pains all over the three Pokémon's bodies dulled a little, but failed to completely fade away. As time went by, the rescue request was written and sealed in the envelope, while Pleo's lavender Company scarf was charred and rubbed through the dirt to get rid of that troublesome purple square that would need to be explained to rescuers. The team's energies then shifted to keeping a dutiful watch for any potential emerging figures from the surrounding fog, as their lingering aches and the tedium of a long wait without much to do but look at the haze around them set in.

It became harder and harder to tell how long the three were in there. The mist-shrouded sky above didn't even allow the sight of the Travellers crossing overhead to give some clue as to how long the three were in the clearing. The little Protector in the group began to fidget nervously and pace about, asking over and over again...

"How much longer are we going to stay here?"

Pleo's eyes darted here and there at the surrounding curtain of fog as his inquiry went unanswered again and again. Elty scowled, of all the times to be pestered with repeated questions, this wasn't one of them. The Growlithe sprang up and thrust his muzzle into Pleo's face.

"Um, _hello?_ " he snapped. "We almost got blown away with the floor! Don't be in such a rush to get moving!"

Pleo squawked and hastily beat his wings to hop up onto a tree branch away from Elty, stumbling a bit from still-weaken balance when he reached it. As Nida watched her teammates butt heads with each other, she lowered her ears in dismay, grumbling under her breath about the Growlithe's attitude. Things weren't exactly going smoothly among the group, even with their already… er… shaky relationships with each other.

Nida bit her tongue to try and avoid blurting out her frustrations with the two. Why couldn't Pleo realize that they didn't have any better idea than he did of what was going on out there? And why did Elty need to be such an obnoxious snot at a time like this? That's when it struck her- maybe the team needed something to do other than just sit here. Being stuck in one place not knowing what would happen to them surely neither helped tempers nor anxieties. They needed something... something like...

"Why _don't_ we try checking outside? It has been a while, Elty," the Nidoran suggested. "And we should be able to tell if the outside's still in flux by the time we hit the deeper parts of the fog anyways."

The bird and dog looked at each other a moment; after thinking it over, a cautious "Okay" from Pleo, and an irritated "Fine" from Elty, the group decided to set out through the curtain of fog. After coming to the conclusion that trusting someone to latch onto a poisonous spike lump was less-than-ideal given the circumstances, Elty was again selected to lead the group back through the barrier and into the Mystery Dungeon. Much as had happened when coming into the clearing, as the group ventured deeper into the fog, the world around them faded little by little and their senses became distorted in the mist. The group's pace was much slower and methodical that time, with the only company aside from each other during the trek being the sounds of footsteps and Nida occasionally murmuring soft words of encouragement to Pleo to keep him moving in the unsettling haze.

When the fog started to clear up again, the first thing that struck the group was the _lack_ of sound. A sign the winds had subsided, hopefully. As the team trudged on, they felt a barky substance under their feet and saw a dim light up ahead. Why if the ceiling were lower and Nida didn't know any better, she'd think the team had found a passage back into her _Mami_ and _Papi's_ burrow!

The fog finally faded away as the group followed the light out into a rough corridor formed by tall trees and thickets in between their trunks. They looked back and saw that they had come from a great, hollowed log that had been toppled over to form a rough tunnel, the fog still faintly visible in it. Above them was a milky-white layer, much as sea fog appears at night when suspended over the ground- just thin enough for the light of the stars and moon to muddle in, but just thick enough to muddle and obscure their shapes.

It was a place to start, at least. Nida sighed and turned back to the log as Elty and Pleo still looked about their surroundings, where she drug her feet through the dirt to form a cross-shape in front of it. No sense in losing track of a perfectly good hiding spot, at least.

"Pleo, let's have you try and give the letter a head start with a gust and see if there's any supplies we can gather on this floor," Nida said. "We don't know how long we'll be down here, so it would be best to try and prepare for the worst."

"Oi, don't forget _skarby!_ " the Growlithe insisted. "Since we're stuck and out here anyways, we might as well see if something good turns up!"

Nida rolled her eyes and decided not to dignify Elty's words with a response, instead turning to the young Lugia with the sealed distress message in her mouth. She saw that his strength had returned enough to get himself airborne as he flapped up and circled a few times above the team before coming back down in a clumsy landing. The Nidoran set the letter down on the cross in the dirt and smiled slightly, clearly he just needed to get his blood flowing.

"Got all that, Pleo?"

"I… I think so," he replied.

"Alright, holler out if you find something!"

After leaving Pleo to blow the letter off deep into the floor with an awkward but serviceable Whirlwind, the team set off. Nida lead the way as Elty followed closely on her heels and Pleo took to the air behind them, coming back down to earth every now and then. His flight was still erratic and labored from a mix of inexperience and fatigue, but he tracked the team well enough to maintain a constant-ish course.

This dungeon seemed to be somewhat like the rainforest back home. There was the leaf litter on the ground, the occasional root and upended log to cross... Except there was also the fact that everything felt damp, much as the forest at home did during wet season. The undergrowth also was denser than anything Nida remembered seeing near the town or paths, and the trees made the ones on Tromba look like dwarfs. The branches above were filled with plants growing on them whose roots dangled, their shape and pigmentation making them seem like colorful, leafy stars above their heads.

So not _that_ similar to home once you really thought about it...

"Ow!"

All of a sudden, Nida felt a sharp jab shoot through her foot. She recoiled as Pleo and Elty cried out and ran up to her.

"What's wrong?!" Pleo cried out.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," the Nidoran replied, shaking her foot. "I just stepped on something…"

The blue rabbit lowered her head to the ground and sniffed at some leaves, where she noticed a point sticking out from underneath them. She nosed the leaves away and underneath them was a sharp, wooden spike.

"Wait!" she exclaimed. "I think I found something!"

"Eh?" Pleo asked, as he fluttered over to eye the strange spike. "What is it?"

"It's a Stick," Elty answered, sniffing at the long and sharp wooden barb. "You throw it at other Pokémon."

"So… Like a Gravelerock?" Pleo asked.

"A _worse_ Gravelerock, maybe," Nida murmured, frowning as she scooped up the stick and slipped it into Elty's bag. Sticks and barbs of their ilk were always much more cumbersome objects to throw than Gravelerocks, especially for Pokémon that usually went about on all fours like Nidoran. You couldn't arc them thanks to their oblong shape, which made throwing them from behind cover or teammates awkward and difficult. Still, she supposed that it was better than nothing; it could help them in a pinch at the least-

"A-Aah!"

All of a sudden, Pleo pitched forward and tumbled onto the ground. As the little Lugia staggered to get back up, Nida and Elty's fur stood on end. There was a barb embedded in between Pleo's feathers along his right wing's carpal joint, dribbling noxious purple fluid from its end.

" _You!_ Get out of our territory!"

The culprit of the Poison Sting quickly became apparent as a Weedle dropped down chittering angrily from an overhead branch, accompanied by a leering Hoppip.

"Yeah! You can't just disturb a Pokémon's sleep like that!" the Hoppip fumed, bouncing up and down angrily in the air before she expelled some greenish powder at the group.

The three hastily scattered as the powder spread and settled on the ground where they once were, coating it with a fine dust. Oh great, a battle with ferals, just what the team did not need right now.

"Hang in there!" Nida hollered. The Nidoran took the barb back from Elty's bag and whigged it at the Hoppip. "We're gonna have to fight them off!"

The barb struck the Grass-Type's side, making her yelp and tumble down to the floor. As the pink Pokémon slowly picked herself off the ground, Elty dashed towards the Weedle

"Sorry about waking you up!" he growled. "Lemme make it up with a warm welcome!"

The Growlithe inhaled, and before the Bug-Type could scuttle away, spat a clump of cinders at his face, sending the creature screeching on the ground rubbing at his burns.

"Hah! Bet you haven't gotten one _that_ warm before, have y-?"

Before Elty could finish taunting, he suddenly breathed in and abruptly started hacking and spluttering. When he looked up, he saw that the Hoppip had scattered another batch of powder directly onto him, this one leaving sickly purple dust-like particles all over his fur.

" _Stop it!_ " a voice suddenly cried out. As Elty continued to try and catch his breath, he saw the Hoppip get caught by a sudden piercing gust. The creature shrieked as she was blown into a tree trunk alongside the thicket-lined path, and dropped down to the ground, twitching.

"A-Aaah! L-Leave me alone!"

The Weedle at this point had flown into a panic at the realization that he was all alone against the three remaining Pokémon. He promptly grabbed his pink Grass-Type ally and desperately drug her off into some bushes. Afterwards, some quiet, frightened whimpering came from the direction the Weedle fled to, eventually giving way to the sounds of a groaning creature stirring, a pair of bodies hastily tearing away through the brush, and finally... silence.

"And _that'll_ teach you two to not attack other Pokémon for no reason!" Nida huffed after the pair of ferals. The Nidoran flared her ears, kicked a pebble into the bushes after them, and went over to recover the wooden barb she flung at the Hoppip. After becoming satisfied that the two Pokémon were gone, she turned back to her teammates. "They didn't hurt you guys too much, did they?"

Only to let the Stick slip out of her paws when she saw that both of them looked ill and their bodies' movements were labored and clumsy.

"Oh no."

"Urgh… _K-Kurczę_ ," Elty gagged. "I think they left a mark."

She saw that Elty's pelt around his snout and face was covered in purple dust. Poison Powder, and he had obviously breathed the particles in. As for the barb stuck in Pleo, that must have been...

"Is this 'poison' too, Nida?" Pleo asked, groaning as he rested on the ground to try and soothe his increasingly woozy head and stomach. "Do we have one of those 'Pechy' Berries to make it go away?"

"J-Just a second!" Nida stuttered as she went over and threw Elty's satchel open. "I'll get those Pecha Berries and then all of this will be-"

The Nidoran looked through the satchel. A Cleanse Orb, the piece of charcoal she used to write the distress letter with, Pleo's King's Rock… Eh?! She started dumping out the contents of the bag. There were definitely still berries in there alright… A Durin Berry (why had Elty bothered stealing one of those anyways?), a Pinkan Berry (they _grew_ those back home?), but...

"Huh?!" she cried, staring wide-eyed at the Growlithe. "I could have sworn there were Pecha Berries in the crate with us!"

"What's _that_ look for?" Elty growled back, the creature's legs wobbling under the strain of the venom in his body. "I just grabbed whatever was closest, alright?"

Nida blanched. The only things that she had seen in Elty's bag that _weren't_ from Lyn's ship were the half-bitten lump of charcoal, a twine 'writing band' that Pokémon like Elty slipped over their forepaws to hold said charcoal in place for writing, Pleo's torn scarf, and his lucky charm! All of the other Oran Berries, all of the other Pecha Berries… all of them were either still at home with Crom, or presently in the team's stomachs. The Nidoran's mind raced, there had to be something they could do now! Maybe… Maybe…

"There- There should be a Pecha Berry on this floor, right?" she stammered. "We could try finding it!"

"All by yourself?" the Growlithe muttered.

Nida lowered her ears and leered back at the Growlithe. What kind of stupid question was that?

"Of course not!" she hissed. "What kind of _tonto_ goes off alone in a Mystery Dungeon?!"

"The one who doesn't want to make poison seep in faster," Elty retorted with a gagging groan.

Nida's heart sank. The Growlithe brought up a good point. Turning around and going back to the stable zone would just be prolonging the inevitable of the poison overtaking Elty and Pleo. She couldn't go off all alone to look for a Pecha Berry. If she had run into those two ferals on her own earlier, they would have surely brought her to her knees. And if Elty and Pleo had to fight ferals like them in their current condition, they would likely not fare any better. They couldn't all go together to look for a Pecha Berry since they were all already weakened, and the poison would only get worse as they moved.

"N-Nida?" Pleo asked nervously. "What are we going to do?"

Nida looked down at the ground. _Was_ there anything they could do? She tried over and over to think of something, but everything just boiled down to the same awful choices. She felt drops well up in her eyes as she began to see that no matter what the team did here, there wasn't any way that someone wasn't going to get hurt. All because of something stupid they could have avoided if they have had the chance to prepare like they did at home...

"Oi!"

Wait a minute, was that-? A voice?

"This is Team Chasseur of the Boisocéan Island Guild! Is anyone out there?!" it called out again, its tenor coming out as a bug-like chitter.

"We heard a struggle!" a mewling, feline voice added.

That- That was _help!_ Travelers Above, there _was_ a way out of this! Granted, there were any number of ways this could still go wrong, but what did the team have to lose at this point? Without thinking or bothering to blink away the mist in her eyes, Nida cried out to the voices with all her strength.

"W-We're right here! We need medical attention!"

Some startled murmures went up in the direction of the earlier voices, followed by the sounds of dashing footfalls against the leaf litter of a floor paths.

" _Tiens bon_ , we're getting you out!" another voice interjected, intermixed with… snorts? Clearly the voice of some sort of earthier creature.

Nida looked down the bend of the path ahead and saw three Pokémon round the corner. There was a Venipede scuttling along in a faded black scarf with a white snowflake design, and two Pokémon in matching scarfs dashing along after him. They were a Tepig and a Purrloin, the former wearing his scarf in the same loose style that the Venipede and Team Traveller did, the latter curiously having tied his scarf up into a tight, skin-hugging band securing a tail that formed a carefully-splayed cravat. Almost as quickly as Team Traveller spotted them, the three strangers had run up to the beleaguered rescue team and began to size them up.

"Yeesh, you guys look terrible," the Tepig muttered. "Did you step on an Explosion Trap or something? I'm not sure there's even Pokémon _down_ here that can singe you like that."

"It's a long- gargh… story," Elty began as he struggled to fight back retching, the Fire-Type lowering his head to the ground as his stomach grew more and more uncooperative.

"Ack!" the Purrloin hissed, hopping back away from the ill-looking dog. "If you're gonna vomit, do it in the bushes! I don't need _that_ anywhere near my pelt!"

"They're poisoned… Actor, fish out the Pecha Berry from Francouer's bag and split it between the two," the Venipede chirped. "It won't be enough to dispel the poison entirely, but it should tide them over until we can get them to Maranda and the rest of the medics."

The Purrloin dug through the Tepig's bag and fished out a pink, heart-shaped berry from it. With one swift motion, he slipped a claw along it and sliced it into two pieces around a pit inside before pulling them apart. The purple cat then set about applying the halves' juices to the two's wounds. Plucking out the barb from Pleo's carpal joint to crush one half against it, and the other against Elty's muzzle to allow the juice to dribble down his sinuses. Much as in the case of Oran Berries, the pulpy remains were also not wasted, and set before the two pink-stained patients. Elty and Pleo greedily devouring their halves of the fruit as soon as they were laid out before them as Nida set to work putting all of the team's belongings back into their bag.

"Normally this would be about when we'd make pleasantries and all, but we'll keep this short since you're looking… well, awful," the Venipede sighed. "I'm Venner, the _Chacripan's_ Actor-"

"I have a _proper_ name, you know!" the Purrloin hissed as he licked up some Pecha juice from his paw. "And I'm the _refined_ one of the lot. Not that you can really expect much from an outfit that literally has 'Hunter' in its name."

"Whatever," the Bug-Type harrumphed. "And the _Gruikui's_ Francouer."

"Sorry our first meeting had to be this rough," the Tepig replied. "But since we're all here, mind telling us your names for the rescue log?"

"Er…" Nida began. _Chacripan? Gruikui?_ But the two were a Purrloin and a Tepig! Lucky save or not, this was certainly an… interesting Rescue Team, the blue spike ball shaking her head before she cleared her throat and replied. "Well, I'm not really sure what you meant by half of that, but… I'm Nida."

"And I'm Eltenios," the Growlithe answered.

"'Elty' is fine for the Growlithe," she replied, lowering her ears and scowling at the orange dog.

"'Growlithe'?" the Tepig murmured to himself, tilting an ear back quizzically.

"It's the thing that you and the other swamp bugs on this island call a ' _Caninos_ '," Actor whispered back. "Something you'd know if you two actually got around more often."

"'Elty' _does_ click off the mandibles better," Venner said to himself. "Just saying."

Elty rolled his eyes and frowned after hearing the bug's response, 'Eltenios' wasn't that complicated a name, was it? Especially compared to a mouthful like ' _Caninos_ '! All of a sudden, the conversation shifted once again as the Purrloin in the other group gestured at Pleo.

"And what about that gull thing with you?" the Dark-Type asked.

"I'm Pleo!" he chirped back, his voice sounding healthier already now that the Pecha fragment had reined in some of the effects of the Weedle's venom. "My friends say I'm called a 'Lugia', and I'm the Protector!"

The three Pokémon traded looks with each other and then looked back at the white bird.

"'Lugia'?" Francoeur wondered. "Venner, have you ever heard of a Pokémon by that name?"

"Nope," the Venipede replied, shaking his head.

"No, really," the Purrloin insisted. "What _are_ you?"

Elty grumbled under his breath and shook his head, before the orange dog began to offer an explanation of his own back to their rescuers.

"Would you believe that he's an oversized pain in the-?"

"Elty!" Nida snapped, glaring daggers at the Growlithe. The Nidoran turned back to the other Pokémon, waving her paws insistently. "He really _is_ the Protector! He's how we got here in the first place!"

"Nice try," Venner buzzed. "But the Protector here has powers over forming passages through time. Every Pokémon on Boisocéan Island knows _that._ "

"Yeah, and _le Prince des Temps_ is a little plant-fairy," the Tepig added. "Not some overgrown seabird!"

"Bw- Bwas- Whaa…?" Pleo stammered. But- But he was the Protector! And the island wasn't called Bwas... Whatever the little bug just said! "But I'm the Protector of Tromba!"

"Um… Pleo?" Elty whispered, putting a paw over his muzzle. "I think we're somewhere different."

That time, Pleo's comments drew head shakes from their three rescuers. That must have been quite the fall these three strangers went through.

" _Xe tuti mati_ ," the Purrloin muttered under his breath.

"The wounds and poison must be getting to them. Come on, let's get you all to Maranda," the Venipede sighed, before he sidled up against a tree trunk and pressed a glinting badge pinned to his scarf against it. "Oi, Meyrink!"

" _Eh?_ " a voice suddenly replied. Its tenor sounded vaguely like that of the sound of air blown over a clay jug's neck, the humming presence filling the minds of the gathered Pokémon. " _What are you doing out in the dungeon at this hour, Venner?_ "

" _Ne t'en fais pas!_ " the Bug-Type snapped back. "We found some Pokémon in here!"

" _How many?_ "

"Party of three! And don't keep them waiting, they need patching up!"

" _Kids these days,_ " the voice sighed. " _Un instant. I'll go wake Acamar._ "

Suddenly, two bursts of light lit up the end of the corridor. As Team Traveller's eyes adjusted to the unexpected flash, they saw that a Claydol and Staryu had abruptly appeared, and drew closer to the group.

"You all need to learn how to go exploring at _sane_ hours," the Claydol grumbled.

"Yeah! Some of us need our rest in the water!" the Staryu burbled tiredly.

"That's something we'll keep in mind the next time we have a choice," Elty groaned, rolling his eyes.

"Here, go with Meyrink here," Venner instructed, gesturing at the Claydol with his antennae. "When we get back, we'll help you find your way over to the medics."

The items from the team's ransacked bag were returned to their places inside the team's bag and one by one, the Pokémon of Team Traveller made their way tiredly over to the black and red Psychic-Type, locking their wings and paws to form a chain with the creature. At last, they were finally going to be heading to someplace safe… Someplace where even if their ordeal wasn't over, it would be pushed aside, at least for a while.

"Yeah, and we'll hash out the details of that reward on the way over!" Actor called out.

Or maybe it wouldn't...

"Eh?! _Rew-?!_ "

Before Nida could regain her composure, the surrounding forest melted away in a flash of light, as Meyrink whisked the three out of the dungeon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _(¡)No te rindas!_ \- Spanish: "Don't (you) give up!"  
>  \- _skarby_ \- Polish: "treasures"  
>  \- _Tiens bon_ \- French: "Hold on"  
>  \- _Caninos_ \- French: "Growlithe"  
>  \- _le Prince des Temps_ \- French: "the Prince of Time"  
>  \- _Xe tuti mati_ \- Venetian: "They're all crazy"  
>  \- _Ne t'en fais pas!_ \- French: "Don't worry about it!"  
>  \- _Un instant._ \- French: "One moment." lit. "A moment."


	22. Unfamiliar Territory

" _-ard?!_ "

The flash of light that had swallowed up the group dissipated as quickly as it came, leaving behind a Nidoran, a Growlithe, and a Lugia interlocking their limbs with a Claydol. The group had come fresh from the depths of a Mystery Dungeon, the world around them slowly filling itself back in as color, sound, and smell returned to the three.

Along with those returning senses came the sense of touch. Nida suddenly realized that the ground beneath her had changed- now there were wooden planks underneath. The Nidoran panicked for a second, thinking that the Claydol had brought her back to Lyn's ship. The spike lump wrenched herself free of the chain and darted off, drawing some startled cries from Elty and Pleo. A few paces ahead she realized, while the same moon and stars were overhead… there was no railing. The water was further below than on the ship's deck, and was quieter than the sea's waves. On top of all of that, all around there were tree trunks popping out of the brackish, swampy water, and the sight of lights that looked like the lanterns hung out in front of abodes and structures at night back at Tromba.

"Huh?" she cried out. Nida stood blankly, trying to make sense of what any of these things would be doing out at sea, only for Pleo's voice to jar her train of thought.

"Nida! Look! Look!" he exclaimed, gesturing wildly above with his wings. "There're houses in the trees!"

Everyone looked up, and immediately noticed that the trees all around them had huts built about their boughs and branches. Scattered here and there in their entrances and windows were the lanterns that Nida noticed earlier. Timbered bridges and walkways criss-crossed the gaps between them, not wholly unlike like strands in a Ariados' web. On the end closest to them was a tall lookout hut that towered over the platform. A little ways behind it sat another open-aired platform with wooden stools and tables and an overhead lattice with canvas bunched up at one end, full of Pokémon eating together and raucously talking with one another. Why… that seemed just like-

Just like the mess hall back home! And there were some larger, circular huts further back… Was that lodging? On the other end, there was a slowly-meandering river winding back and forth to a mangrove-lined seashore and some huts further in the distance. Some had wharves at the bases of the trunks that sometimes went below the water's surface, with ladders and rude staircases leading to the walkways above- clearly for Pokémon to clamber up from the river. Others had large windows and storage tanks fashioned from wood and canvas alongside them… Eateries? No, since when did an eatery need a tank like that for anything? There was a place that looked like a Juice Bar further down, and a hut in the shape of a Kecleon's head…

Why, this was-!

"A town in the trees?" she murmured to herself. She shook her head and saw that Meyrink had shepherded her and the rest of the group off to the side. Suddenly, a flash of light appeared before the team, the forms of a Staryu and Team Chasseur coming into view. As the three black-scarved Pokémon stretched and regained their bearings, Team Traveller darted back over, the Nidoran among them eagerly leading the way.

"Venner, I didn't even _know_ that there were towns like this," Nida uttered in awe. "This is incredible!"

"Heh, it's like that the first time for everyone," the Venipede cheered. "Welcome to Seahive Square!"

"Meh, I've seen more impressive places before," Elty grumbled. "And can this wait until _after_ we get healed?"

As soon as the words left the Growlithe's mouth, the dull, throbbing aches began to settle back over the group. Yes, this was a wonderful and exciting place, and it had done its part in keeping the group distracted from their pains for a moment… but that while was rapidly drawing to a wincing close, much to the annoyance of Actor.

"Well aren't _you_ a killjoy?" the Purrloin hissed, only for his Tepig partner to suddenly clear his throat and interrupt.

"He _does_ have a point, Actor," the Fire-Type sighed. "Come on, Maranda's is just this way."

* * *

After hastily filling and receiving the customary signatures for some simplified paperwork the teleporters kept up in the lookout hut for unannounced rescues such as this one, Team Chasseur guided Team Traveller along some steps up to a bridge that crossed the river. After cheerily broaching the subject of 'that reward' with the newcomers, it was quickly decided that since the team was absent of any Poke and still in need of a good night's rest, that they could cover their fee with the berries in their bag ('Actor' taking a particular shine to the Pinkan Berry). The difference could be made up with some good press back on Tromba, and when they crossed paths again, perhaps with a tour of the island if Venner and his companions ever got the chance to visit.

The medic's hut wasn't too far from what Nida presumed to be the Guild complex, even if she still found its position- adjacent to and not in the midst of the complex- to be somewhat strange. One short walk along the walkways following the river (and a few double takes and murmurs of "What a curious _Goélise!_ " and "Have we seen a Pokémon like that before?" from passerbyers) later, the group found themselves at the front of a round two-level wooden hut with passionflowers gracing its sides.

The humble structure had been built around branches that were twisted and molded into supports that held up a mass of timbers. Its roof was covered in leafy green leaves that, if it were not for thatch peeking through bare spots here and there, would've been indistinguishable from a normal bough of the tree. At its base, there was a broad entrance with double doors mounted on opposing hinges, clearly designed to allow wounded Pokémon rapid entry, which Team Traveller was grateful to see as they drew near to what would be their abode for the night.

"Whelp, _nous voilà_ ," Francoeur said, staring up at the hut's archway. "When you're feeling better, you should take the chance to walk around. There's not another town this side of the Cradle that's quite like what we have here on Boisocéan!"

"And even though the populace leaves a lot to be desired, the gummis here are top-notch!" the Purrloin of the group added in between licks at one of his forepaws.

"Nice priorities there, Actor," Venner grumbled, his antennae stiffening in disagreement. "But yeah, let's focus on getting you three in the door and-"

"Hold it right there!" a voice suddenly roared from behind.

A sudden _woosh_ came, followed by the sound of wings flapping and a large, growling presence quickly reverberating. The presence then shot ahead of the team, prompting Pleo to squawk out of startled fright.

"H-Huh?!"

As the two teams regained their bearings and looked ahead, their blood ran cold. In front of them, flapping in place in the doorway of the hut, was a massive six-winged creature with blue and magenta scales and jet-black feathers. The beast had three heads, each with jaws full of sharp teeth, dull black eyes on the outer heads, and blood-red eyes on the central head that seemed to bore into Pleo with a harsh glare. To top it all off, on her forehead, in front of a crest of magenta spikes…

Was a darkened blotch in the shape of a rough five-tailed comet, much like the one that Ander and his family bore.

"You're _not_ just my mind playing tricks on me," the dragon snarled. "I _saw_ the others react to you!"

" **A-AAH!** " As the little Protector's shrieks filled the air, Pleo scurried to the back of the group in a panic. Nida, Elty, and their rescuers were similarly taken aback by the huge creature's sudden appearance, which drew startled yelps, arched backs, and bristling fur. Pleo guessed that, like Ander, this Pokémon in front of them didn't like him at all, and also thought that he was here to cause her trouble. Except, this Dragon-Type was much bigger than Ander, and looked _much_ scarier…

"Wh-Who are-?!" Nida squeaked, only to notice from the corner of her eye that Team Chasseur's members were starting to catch their breaths and calm down. Wait, they _knew_ this Pokémon?!

"M-Margi?!" the Venipede gasped, his antennae flailing wildly out of surprise. "What's going on?!"

"Stopping you from letting this _demon_ into the town! That's what!" she declared.

"We're _hurt!_ " Elty yipped back at the leering dragon. "We were about to get healed!"

"And we don't even know if we can go home right now!" Nida added.

After taking a moment to calm his nerves and mat down his fur standing on end, Actor shook his head and spoke back to the Hydreigon.

"Margi, for crying out loud, he's _un cocal!_ " he scoffed. "A bigger one than normal, but still! What's he going to do? _Molt_ on you?"

"Get _out_ of my way, cat," the hydra growled. "You have _no_ idea what you and your team are doing. The dog and rabbit can stay if they must, but the bird _must_ leave. _Toni-!_ "

All of a sudden, a voice called out from inside the hut.

"What's going on here?!"

"Eh?!" the dragon cried out of startled surprise, as she flapped up and saw that behind her was a bewildered-looking Leavanny.

"Margi?!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing to those poor children?!"

"Huh?! I-!"

The sound of falling footsteps along the wooden walkways rang out. As Pleo, Nida, and Elty turned to look, they saw that a pair of Pokémon in sea-green scarves with a white and violet design resembling a passionflower had run up, followed closely by a crowd of anxious onlookers.

"For shame, Margi!" an Aromatisse admonished. " _This_ is how you treat others when you and your child are given a place to stay in peace?"

"B-But!" the Hydreigon protested, her eyes growing wider and wider. "That's not-!"

"Fly away from the kids, _Trioxhydre_ ," a Seismitoad with a sea-green scarf growled, glaring daggers along with an accompanying Galvantula at the Dragon-Type. "It's _our_ job to uphold the law in this town and we _will_ use force to separate you if you don't cooperate!"

"As you oughta!" a Snorunt scoffed. "Bullying a bunch of children! Looks like she needs to be reminded of how things work around here!"

The Hydreigon craned her heads around and saw that all around, Pokémon were staring, if not glaring, at her. The creature's expression devolved into one of stunned panic, not unlike the ones Team Traveller and Team Chasseur had made as they watched her swoop in at them. As she continued to fumble in her thoughts on what to do next, the sound of a chittering voice below clearing its throat cut through the air.

"Margi, look. _Soyons raisonnable_ ," Venner offered. "You have a kid of your own, right? If he was really in any danger, wouldn't he be safer with you nearby him right now?"

"And it's late, even for the work that you do at the Gummi Fab," Francouer added. "Don't you think he's getting worried without you right now?" The Hydreigon then paused for a long moment, slipping looks here and there at the surrounding crowd, as she lowered her heads and growling reluctantly.

"It _would_ be a better use of your time than needlessly scaring some strangers," Actor chided.

Like it or not, Team Chasseur had raised some valid points, and if she tried to drive off the bird before her… And the topic of her child's well-being drew pause, as well as distrustful glances at the Pokémon around her. The Hydreigon hesitantly flew away from the door towards the river and shook her central head, hardening her gaze back into a harsh leer.

"Grr... Don't think that I won't be watching you," she snarled at Pleo. "No matter what happens, I _won't_ let you drag us into the doom you'll bring on this town!"

The Hydreigon then flew off, leaving the crowd behind her murmuring uneasily before the Leavanny said something that got lost in the chatter to Team Traveller's ears. The guards left, and the other bystanders began thinning out and heading their own ways as the hydra disappeared from view. Eventually only Team Chasseur, Team Traveller, and Maranda, who was still standing at the doorway, remained. Even after the gathering had broken up and the racket died down to the soft back-and-forth of the waves below and of the few Pokémon still up at this hour going about their business, Pleo was still shivering out of fright from the abrupt encounter.

"Pleo? It's alright," Nida reassured, nuzzling the Lugia's wing. "She's gone now."

Little by little, the creature settled down, his trembling giving way to distrustful and wary glances behind him every now and then.

"Well, _that_ was a pleasant introduction to the town," Actor sighed.

"What on earth was Margi going on about, though?" Venner wondered as he glanced at Pleo. " _You?_ A 'demon'? Or if I'm understanding her right… she's saying you were a-"

"Oi!" Elty interrupted. "Healing! _Now!_ "

Nida and Pleo winced as the adrenaline and panic ebbed away. If there _were_ more pressing matters than stepping into the medic's hut right then, they sure weren't obvious- something the leafy bug nurse seemed to pick up upon.

"I think they've been through enough for one night," the Leavanny muttered, shaking her head. "Those three should really come in and rest."

There was an awkward farewell and thanks between the teams as they tried to lift the mood from the earlier scare. After a few brief words, the two groups parted and Maranda lead Team Traveller off deeper into the hut for some much-deserved healing.

* * *

For everything else that was different from Tromba, the Seahive guild's medical ward more or less worked the same as the one back home. The trappings were not exactly a large hut with canvas partitions, but the process of getting wounds inspected, berry juice applied to them, subsequently consuming the fruits' pulp, and getting bandages wrapped over more stubborn wounds was exactly the same. After Maranda and a few of her assistants in the hut had done their work, the three Pokémon were taken to a simple room with wooden walls, beds made of fresh straw, and a window overlooking the guild hall for bedrest.

The center of the complex was a large wooden building that was round and pointed much like the central tent back home, with stray treetops jutting up here and there evidencing that the hall had been built around them. The structure had a series of walkways raised just above an island in the swampy ground, two sides hemmed by the river with channels spreading out from narrow bottlenecks cut underneath to allow more aquatic Pokémon access, if admittedly not _too_ freely. Each of the passages in the air were composed of wooden planks, along with one section over the water or marshy ground below that was composed of timber grating. Nida presumed they were there because they would be easy to pull up in times of trouble, or else that checking footprints was more important in this town than it was back in Bluewhorl.

All around the conical center, there were huts and platforms nestled on trees that were connected to the main hall by elevated passages, not unlike petals on the flowery scarf design that the town's apparent guards wore. There was the teleportation platform from earlier, with the dining area next to it. Further afield, Nida could see a platform that looked like a battlefield, and huts of various shapes and sizes. A splendid (if presently sleepy) collection of buildings graced by the sight of clumps of passionflower vines growing here and there on the occasional structure, and the sight of a great tree in the background with a small hut that dangled from its branches. It was all a marvelous sight that surely would have enraptured the team...

"Mmrph."

If it weren't the dead of night and they weren't still tossing about in their straw bedding unable to sleep. Nida tried everything: looking up at the ceiling, telling bedtime stories to Pleo, trying to count Nidoran... _Uno... dos... tres... cuatro… cuatro... cuatro… mil..._ Wait. _What?_

… maybe it was time to go back to staring at the stars. It was always much harder to make yourself look stupid when tired while looking up at them, watching the stars blink and the Travellers duck behind and out from the Moon.

But tired or not, nothing seemed to make any of them shuffle off to _sleep_ , and the aching wounds didn't help any. Nida couldn't speak for her teammates, but she knew that her own inability to slip off into dreamy slumber was because of constant, nagging anxieties of what was going on back home. Was Crom okay? Was he worried about her? What about Kiran? What about her parents and siblings? Her neighbors? When were they ever going to see each other again?

Such questions pricked her mind over and over again, until she suddenly noticed that the sound of shuffling came particularly loud from Elty's direction. She turned, and saw that Pleo had already noticed that the Growlithe had slung his satchel over his shoulder and settled back down.

"Eh?" Pleo asked. "Was there something you needed from the bag?"

"Elty?" Nida yawned. "Are you still awake?"

"Yeah?" the Growlithe grumbled back. "What of it?"

"What are you doing?" Nida wondered.

"Taking my bag back for tomorrow," he harrumphed. "It's mine anyways, and I already took out your scarf and rock from it."

Sure enough, sitting in a rough pile next to Pleo's bedding was his cut scarf, a split length of cord, and the stone ring that the Zigzagoon had given him back on Tromba. But… why had Elty taken them out? It wasn't as if they'd be able to do anything to fix them tonight, would they?

"Why, what's tomorrow?" Pleo pressed. He didn't know that they had planned anything for tomorrow… Why, they still barely knew anything about this 'Seahive Square' where they were now!

"I'm _leaving_ , that's what," the Growlithe snapped. "You're not in danger right now, and _I_ didn't sign up for this with your sheep leader or his lackeys!"

"Elty!" Pleo cried out of shock. "You're just going to leave?!"

"Yeah, you wouldn't even _be_ here right now if it wasn't for us!" Nida growled, leering at the Growlithe.

"That's exactly the point! I wouldn't have gotten Hyper Beamed onto a _completely different island_ if it wasn't for you!" the Growlithe huffed back, getting up from his straw bedding. "And _for the record_ , my Community Service is helping you train on _Tromba_. We're not exactly on Tromba right now, and there's no headband-wearing _cepy_ to force me to play along with your stupid ideas! So let me go on with _my_ life and figure out your _own_ way back!"

Nida's blood boiled after hearing the Growlithe's words and she threw herself to her feet, her barbs spread and her aches subsumed under burning lividity. Was Elty _really_ ready to abandon them after they had quite literally needed each other just to survive the last few hours?

"Why I oughta-"

All of a sudden, a voice called from the hallway.

"Eh? You're not from Tromba?"

The three Pokémon turned and saw that it belonged to a Diggersby, who was bringing along a bundle of bandages. Probably for another patient in the hut. The Nidoran and Growlithe looked at each other, their hostility fading as they quickly attempted to put on a more congenial atmosphere in front of the stranger.

"Er… why do you ask?" Elty replied.

"Well, when _I_ first saw you come in, I thought you looked an awful lot like a kinda chubby pirate I remembered from that Harvest Festival raid where the fireworks hulk blew up in front of town," the Diggersby said. Elty opened his mouth to protest the 'chubby' comment before quickly biting his tongue and gulping quietly as the creature tilted her head and continued on her train of thought. "And if you're _not_ from Tromba, then-"

"Oh, he's from Tromba, of course!" Nida swiftly interjected. "He was just saying how he's _dying_ to give the _team's_ bag back to its _leader._ And how he's eager to help us get back like any homesick Pokémon from there would, so other Pokémon can stop confusing him for some old pirate and getting him into _trouble_ …"

The Nidoran then turned to the Growlithe and gave the little dog a smug leer and prodded with a forepaw.

" _Aren't you_ , Elty?"

The Growlithe's face fell and he grunted, muttering under his breath about the turn of events being "Low even for you!" before he slid the bag off his shoulder and nudged it forward to the Nidoran.

"Ugh… Yes… Of course..." he grumbled, the Growlithe's ears folding down in disgust.

Nida looked down at the bag. It was a little big, but she _thought_ that she'd probably be able to fit it on her. As she slung it over, she allowed a few of her barbs settle between the straps. It took a certain level of dexterity to remove an item from between a Nidoran's barbs without pricking oneself or alerting their owner, a dexterity that Elty didn't seem to have. If he wanted the bag, he wouldn't be able to get it without tearing out a barb or two, which would wake Nida right up no matter how soundly she was asleep.

Now that the matter of keeping the bag with the team was settled... perhaps it was a little quick to be letting Elty off the hook for 'plotted abandonment'.

"Actually, he was just about to tell Pleo one of the stories about the Prince of a Thousand Enemies," she suddenly added.

"Wait, what?!" Elty cried.

"There's more than one of those stories?!" Pleo exclaimed, his head bobbing up and down excitedly. "Come on Elty! Tell me it! Tell me it!"

"Oh for crying out loud!" the Growlithe spluttered. "The only thing that I even _know_ about your stupid stories is that this 'prince' is supposed to be a Nidorino!"

"See, that's a great start already!" Nida teased. "Guess you listen better at night than you let on, huh?"

Elty flattened out his ears in annoyance, while at the other end of the room, the Diggersby nurse stood blinking before she cleared her throat.

" _Nidorino?_ " the nurse asked, tilting an ear down puzzledly. "Since when was the Prince of a Thousand Enemies a Nidorino?"

Wait… This Pokémon also heard of the tales of the Prince of a Thousand Enemies?

"Eh?" Pleo murmured, tilting his head at the Diggersby. "But the Prince has always been a Nidorino when _Nida_ tells it."

"Well, that might be how it is on Tromba… but it's wrong," she corrected. "Here, he's an _Excavarenne_ , like me. Just like one of his nemeses, _le lapin de la nuit_ staring down from the skies above."

There was an uneasy silence across the room, which was suddenly broken after Pleo suddenly asked...

"The 'lap-een day'... Wha?"

"You mean the Nidoran in the moon?" Nida asked. "The one that guides other Nidoran along their paths at night?"

"No, I mean the _Excavarenne_ that guides both _Excavarenne_ and little _Sapereaeu_ through their paths in life on behalf of the Lord of Nightmares, waiting in the shadows of the Lunar Healer's side of the moon, always eluding her attempts to be rid of him. Waiting for each and every one of them to stumble along onto _death_ ," the Diggersby began to explain. "Your parents probably told you a cutesier version of story without the whole 'throne of despair and sadness on the moon' part of-"

"Ahem, not that this isn't a _lovely_ story," Elty fumed at the Diggersby. "But could we _not_ talk about things related to death and dying in a _medics' ward?_ "

The Diggersby blinked, saw that the other two members of her audience seemed unnerved, and then looked at their bandages before turning back to them.

"Aherm, _pardon_ ," the Diggersby sheepishly offered, shaking her head. "You all probably need some rest."

The creature then carried on down the hallway, her footsteps growing fainter and fainter until they vanished completely. Elty shook his head and growled as he flopped back down onto his straw matting.

"Grr… _Rabbits._ "

That… wasn't exactly helpful for getting to sleep any faster. How on earth had that Pokémon managed to turn the stories of the Prince of a Thousand Enemies into _that?_ Nida shook her head, trying to dislodge from her mind the mental image of death spirits watching from the moon. She eventually managed to settle back down into the straw beneath her in a tired insomnia, until she felt a faint pecking sensation at her head.

"Nida…?" Pleo's voice asked uneasily. "What's a Lunar Healer? And the Lord of Nightmares?

"It's just a story, Pleo… and don't worry about Elty, either." She yawned, not opening her eyes. "I don't know if I'd rush to call him a good Pokémon, but I don't think he'd just abandon us like that… Not while he's in danger of getting recognized for the stuff he got into in the past, anyways."

"I'm _right here!_ " a growling voice called out from the side.

"Mrph, _filo_. We should all be sleeping anyways," Nida grumbled back. But that reassurance didn't seem to satisfy Pleo, as the sound of the young Protector's voice once again reached her ears.

"That's fine, I guess... but… when are we going to be able to go home?"

Nida's eyelids shot open. The little spike-ball found herself staring right into Pleo's eyes. They looked tired, and worried, much as hers must have looked like for most of the day. She wanted to give an answer back… Tomorrow, the day after, at the start of the next week… But what _could_ she say that wouldn't give him false hope?

She thought, and thought, until she finally shook her head and spoke back.

"I don't know, Pleo. Hopefully soon. Boisocéan is supposed to be one of the closer islands to home... Or at least I _thought_ I heard someone say that once," she sighed. "But… until then, I guess we have a little bit of Tromba with us that we can hold onto."

"We… do?" Pleo asked, tilting his head at the Nidoran.

"Well, I can't quite put your scarf back together right now, but," the Nidoran carried on as she dug Pleo's King's Rock from beside Pleo's bedding. "I'm pretty sure that your rock's more literally a part of Tromba anyways."

"Oh!"

"I don't know if it'll work or not, but if we all work together and don't give up… maybe we'll be able to get back home," Nida said as she fished out the cut string and began to thread it through the stone hoop. "And you'll be able to tell the other Pokémon in town about how you got to go off and visit a town full of huts in trees."

"I… I guess that would be nice," Pleo chirped. The Nidoran tied the cut ends of the string together; a temporary fix to be sure, but it would do until the team could get a fresh cord to replace it. As she drew the knot together, she sighed, and folded her ears back.

"Pleo… I need to tell you something."

"Huh? What's wrong?" Pleo asked, nuzzling the Nidoran along the top of her head.

"Earlier tonight, I… I was on the verge of just giving up," she answered.

"Give up?" Pleo murmured. "What do you mean?"

"Everyone was in trouble and I didn't know any way to make anything better without hurting any of us," Nida explained. "It felt like it wouldn't have made a difference- or even that trying would have just been a disaster."

Not knowing what to do… Being tempted to do nothing since it seemed like it wouldn't make things worse… Wait a moment, that sounded just like when he was facing down Lyn earlier! But Nida and Elty still stood their ground, then… and if they hadn't…

Would he have ever worked up his courage to stand up to the mean Samurott, even with the voices he heard? Would his power have come to him if he never tried to use it? Why, they'd all be stuck aboard that awful ship still!

"E-Eh?! But you _can't_ give up!" Pleo cried, beating his wings out in a start. "If you gave up back on the ship, I would have given up back there too!"

Nida blinked and looked at Pleo. That wasn't the situation she was referring to… so then. That desperate last-ditch stand on the ship… That really helped him?

Then, as daft as it sounded… Maybe the thing to do was to try and stand firm, whatever the odds…

For each other.

"Heh. Sounds like maybe we need to encourage each other then," the Nidoran chuckled quietly as she slipped the repaired necklace over Pleo's neck. "We'll make a promise out of it! A promise to not give up on going back home. Whatever happens, no matter how hard our backs are against the wall... We'll stick it out until we're back in the guild with Crom and Kiran, alright? _No te rindas!_ "

"Hmm? You mean like how Elty says he never gives up?" Pleo asked.

Nida blinked and tried to say something back, her words being arrested by an irked recollection of Elty's first night with the team. She then screwed her eyes shut and folded her ears back. She supposed that that was right, but even then, she didn't particularly like acknowledging it.

"Yes… like Elty said," she sighed.

"I won't give up then!" the Lugia chirped determinedly. "I promise!"

"I know you won't, Pleo," the Nidoran yawned. "But I think this is enough for one night, let's get some rest."

The Nidoran watched as the Lugia curled up on his straw matting and closed his eyes. Slowly but surely, his fidgeting died down, as his mumbling gave way to fatigued snoring. Nida blinked, and with the last of her energy, she left her matted straw, and curled up against the white bird's side as thoughts of home and being back on a complete team with Crom drifted across her mind.

"And I'll keep my promise, too..."

* * *

In Tromba, a brand new day had dawned. During the witching hours of the night before, the storm the Xatu in Lyn's crew predicted had come and gone, grazing the island. Mercifully, the damage was limited to some tears in canvas, buffeted walls, and detached tiles, a small silver lining in an otherwise black night. The skies were still somewhat overcast from the residual of the storm, and occasionally a few small drops drizzled onto the island below. Under that gloomy backdrop, Pokémon milled to and fro from various docks and structures along Bluewhorl's harbor through the now muddied and dampened streets. There was a similar damp and dreary heaviness to the air that day, the town's customary bustle devoid of its usual cheer and vitality, as if a sudden death had happened recently and weighed on all the Pokémon present.

If word trickling in from beyond the fringes was to be trusted, the ferals who had neither ignorance nor mistrust to shield them from knowledge of the Protector's recent awakening were similarly sobered by the turn of events. But that was there, and as with most events in the periphery to the townsfolk, they failed to dislodge attention from focuses closer to home.

For the bandaged Druddigon perched at the end of one of the still-soggy docks, that focus was on the sea and the horizon beyond. Like everyone else that day, he too had reason for heavy spirits, even as the sun was strong and warmed his wings. After all this time staring out at the horizon, there had been nothing but the churning of the waves and normal scenery. Nothing had passed from it other than the rising sun since he started watching at daybreak.

"He still hasn't come back," he growled glumly, the Druddigon's wings and head drooping as he looked down into the churning water of the harbor.

Yes, praying out his heart and soul had helped a little with Kiran's reassurances that it really did make a difference… And Nida and Elty were there on the ship, surely they could have helped each other… right? But Pleo still hadn't come back. Had something gone wrong? Did Nida and Elty get caught? Or had worse happened to them? Had Pleo and the others even managed to get _off_ Lyn's ship?

Did his prayer and the ones the townsfolk offered yesterday get missed? Were they ignored? Was he expecting too much from the little Protector? Were the rumbling spirits of the old gods less in tune with the world than Kiran thought? Or would Pleo come over the horizon if he just waited a little longer and had a little more faith?

"Oi!"

Crom whirled around at the sound of a gruff growl behind him, and saw a Gabite and a Trapinch staring at him. The Gabite was panting and catching his breath, from having darted about willy-nilly, perhaps Elty _was_ onto something about him being a touch on the tubby side.

"What do you think you're doing sneaking out?" Pyry grumbled, shaking his head. " _I'm_ the one that has to put up with your _äiti_ being upset, you know!"

"Yeah, you're supposed to be in bed!" Pekka chittered, clicking his jaws open and shut chidingly. Crom faltered a moment, the two had a point… He really _should_ still be in bed- Hey, _wait a minute._

"Aren't you two supposed to be at _work?_ " Crom sighed, lowering his eyelids in annoyance.

" _I_ pulled them off work, Crom," a voice chirped back. A blur of red and blue suddenly swooped in between Crom and the two ex-pirates, as a Swellow came to a rest on the docks with Cenn scampering in after him. The bird shook out his feathers and then turned to the two Pokémon further up the dock as Crom's younger brother joined the group.

"Thanks for the help, by the way," Kiran said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Pekka hissed. "This _wasn't_ how I wanted to spend my break."

"Hrmph, you're more than welcome to head back to work with Mildrew!" Cenn growled, sticking a tongue out at the Trapinch. Pyry shook his head and muttered something under his breath about "Did he _really_ have to come along?" before turning his attention back to the larger of the two Druddigon.

"What on earth are you doing here anyways?" he grunted.

"Pleo's out there!" Crom cried. "Everyone was praying for him to come back!"

The antlion and the landshark screwed their eyes shut, the latter bringing a claw over his face with an annoyed groan.

"Gods, is he _still_ going on about this? _We_ lost a friend too, you know! And you don't see _us_ blabbing about it to the whole world!"

"Erm… Crom," Kiran began, only for his little charge to interrupt him.

"We did it too, Kiran! He _has_ to come back!" he insisted, waving his claws and beating his wings as much as their current state allowed. After a while, the Druddigon's movements slowed down and his head and wings began to droop along with his enthusiasm, the creature pitifully turning to his team captain…

"Doesn't he? Everyone went through all that trouble and everything…"

"Crom… I know that Pleo's out there, it's just… I'm not sure if it's healthy getting our hopes up he'll be able to come back so soon- Eh?!"

The Swellow suddenly hopped back and beat out his wings in surprise, which made Crom stumble back and almost fall off the edge of the dock. After wobbling and regaining his balance, the Dragon-Type turned around and saw that on the horizon was...

"A ship?"

" _Veikka_ , I think I see a design from one of the other crews on it! Maybe that's our way _off_ of this lousy-!" the Trapinch began to excitedly chitter, hopping up and down until he became acutely aware of the piercing glares he was receiving from the two Druddigon present and Kiran.

"Oh come on, _you're_ allowed to have your wild hopes!" Pekka grumbled. "Why aren't I?"

There were no Pokémon coming in advance from it, so unfortunately for the antlion's hopes, that ruled out pirates, who would need to scout and signal in advance on unfamiliar territory… and for that matter, any ship that hadn't come to Tromba on a regular basis before. Crom's stomach began to turn and knot. Could it be that that ship was _Lyn's?_ If it was, that would surely be bad news for the town. But then that meant he'd also have Pleo with him! But then again, he wasn't prepared at all to face Lyn and his crew again!

As the ship drew closer, he began to notice that it was too small to be Lyn's craft. There were too few masts, the sails were white with a inverted blue triangle and pair of progressively larger trapezoids above them instead of the lavender sails Lyn flew.

Wait a minute...

The Druddigon blinked as he watched the craft come nearer and nearer. There could be no doubt.

"That _dad's_ ship!" Cenn cried, beating his wings excitedly. "He's home! He's home!"

The ship that pulled in was a modest one, a two-masted schooner with triangular and trapezoidal sails that had patching in places and a hull that had visibly undergone similar haphazard repairs over its lifespan. In spite of that, the craft still seemed to brim with activity. The ship reached the docks, and its crew tied the craft down and lowered the gangplanks in full view of Crom and Kiran. As Pokémon began to clamber onto the docks, Pyry and Pekka looked around. Crom had mentioned that his _father_ was on this ship, but between the motley crew of seafarers in the water and the Pokémon of different shapes and kinds on the dock and deck, there didn't seem to be a single Dragon-Type that looked like a likely candidate to be Crom's father...

"Wait," Pekka began. "Who on _this_ hunk of junk is supposed to be his-?"

All of a sudden, the answer came, with an abrupt cry.

"Hey!"

And the sight of a Fraxure with a scarf of matching color and design to the sails clambering down the gangplanks, followed by Cenn running up to give a pouncling hug to his father. The Fraxure gave stumbled back a bit with a yelp, but quickly recollected himself to give a loving squeeze back to Cenn in return. The hatchet-headed dragon then turned and pulled Crom into a similarly tight embrace, the Druddigon's head resting atop the head of this sudden arrival.

"Wasn't expecting you to surprise me on the docks like this!" the Dragon-Type cheered.

" _Father?!_ " Pekka continued, his maw falling agape.

"Hey, _wait a minute!_ " Pyry suddenly cried out to Crom. The Gabite pointed a claw incredulously, tilting it down at the hatchet-faced lizard's head. "I thought the nag always went on about you becoming big and strong like your father! You're taller than _he_ is!"

"Er, you misunderstood her," Cenn answered back. "She meant that Crom would grow big, _and_ also strong like dad."

"It's good to see you back, Pladur," Kiran chirped to the Fraxure.

"And it's good to be back! So how's my favorite little Hunter been-" Pladur began, only for his words to abruptly die. He suddenly realized that in his haste to greet his elder son, he had overlooked that his child had bandages all over his body. The sailor's eyes widened and he recoiled out of shock. "E-Eh?! What happened to you?! There wasn't an accident in the Mystery Dungeon, was there?!"

Crom's mind went into a tumult. Here was his father in front of him, something that he'd been looking forward to for weeks, and yet here he was disappointed that he still hadn't had closure on Pleo's fate like he'd hoped. But his father was right here! It wasn't his fault he came back after something so awful happened! But- And-

"Crom?" Pladur asked, interrupting with a nuzzle. "What's wrong? You look down..."

"Hrmph," Pyry grumbled, drawing nearer to the pair "He's still in a crummy mood because your town's feather duster got-"

All of a sudden, Cenn suddenly batted his tail against the Gabite's leg, the rough scales scraping the teal Dragon-Type's hide enough to draw out a pained yelp.

" _Ow! Perk-!_ ..y little guy, isn't he?" Pyry groaned, nursing his scraped leg and trading leers with the younger Druddigon.

"Don't say it like that!" Cenn huffed back to the Gabite angrily. "That wasn't just some 'feather duster'-!"

The brewing argument was suddenly derailed by one of the Pokémon on the gangplank calling out.

"Oi! Pladur! Let some other Pokémon through already!"

The group looked over to the gangplank and saw a Raichu and Servine lugging a crate down. The Fraxure hastily apologized and scooted off with the others enough to allow the pair through with their cargo, as he turned back to his child.

"Er… Did something happen while we were out?" he asked, before turning to Pyry and Pekka. "And who are these two anyways?"

"Uhm… Well, Pladur…" Kiran began. "While you were out, the Protector woke up and wound up joining my team alongside your elder son."

_Whump_

" **ARGH!** "

All eyes turned over to see that the Raichu and Servine had dropped the crate out of startled surprise onto Pekka's abdomen. The hapless Trapinch squealed out of pain before pulling his injured rump free and scuttling backwards along the dock, grumbling irately under his breath.

"Erm… Kiran?" Pladur began, as his crewmates from his ship similarly interrupted their hubbub to come and listen to the exchange unfolding between the Fraxure and the Swellow.

"Wait, _come again?_ " the Raichu asked.

"No _really_ , what happened?" the Servine insisted.

"It really happened!" Cenn cried. "I saw everything! They called him Pleo!"

"A-And he fought off a pirate ship and got Pokémon like Pyry, Pekka, and Elty stuck here doing Community Service!" Crom added, gesturing at the Trapinch and Gabite behind.

"Yeah, _thanks_ for that, by the way," Pekka harrumphed.

"Oh, so _that's_ who those two are," the grass snake murmured to himself, folding his nubby arms over each other with an audible harrumph. "But where's the third one?"

"You're telling us we missed all of _that?!_ " the Raichu cried.

"Wait- Wait- Wait," Pladur stammered. "'Elty'?"

"A new teammate of ours, you could say," Kiran answered, deciding that it probably would be for the best not to delve into details for the time being.

"And he even helped Nida and me get into Normal Rank!" the Druddigon added.

"Eh?! Then what are we waiting for?!" the Fraxure cried out. "This is great news! Let's go see the Protector now!"

Crom's head and wings drooped after hearing his father's words. The gathered crowd traded whispers with one another as their excitement began to fade away. It was then that Crom's father asked the question that had begun to circulate about their minds.

"Did... something happen to him?"

"Lyn came and took him away," Crom answered reluctantly. "And we tried to rescue him, and..."

Pladur blanched. _That_ was how his son had gotten so scuffed up? Getting into fights with Lyn's thugs? The Fraxure had half a mind to take his son straight back to the safety of his mate's bakery with a close call like that. But… right now, it seemed as if maybe what he needed more than safety…

Was reassurance.

"B-But he's the Protector!" Pladur insisted, placing a claw on his son's shoulder. "Surely he'd be able to just blow his way out of Lyn's clutches!"

"It's not like that, dad," Crom glumly answered. "He's not nearly as strong as we thought he would be, or at least not often as we needed him to be."

The Druddigon shook his head and lowered it more and more, as dark fantasies began to enter his mind.

"What if Lyn still has him? What if Nida and Elty got hurt? What if they're all alone and scared…" he murmured. "Because I wasn't strong enough to be there for them?"

* * *

Unfortunately, Pleo's sleep would turn out to be as short as it was unsound. He heard a voice waking him for the third time of the long, long night.

"Pleo?"

Wait, Nida's voice?

"Ngh… Wha…?" he murmured.

"Pleo, come on, get up," the voice spoke again. This time, he felt something prodding his body, probably her paws or muzzle. There was more prodding, and then the voice of a Growlithe joined in.

"You kinda need to be awake for this."

Pleo yawned and cracked his eyes open, and began to stretch his wings out.

"Wha- What's going o-?"

His teammates were there beside his bedding, and further ahead, there was a Leavanny standing in front of him, staring at the group. Wait a minute, that was…

"Eh?" Pleo squawked. "Aren't you that 'Maranda' Pokémon who was treating us last night?"

"Sorry to intrude on you while you're still weak," the leafy bug buzzed. "But you are from Tromba with these two, aren't you?"

"I am," the Lugia murmured quietly. "Why?"

"On top of my duties here, I'm also the _Mairesse_ of Seahive Square," Maranda answered, moving an arm towards the door behind her. "Please get up and come along. We need to have a talk."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _Goélise_ \- French: "Wingull"  
>  \- _nous voilà_ \- French: "we're here"  
>  \- _un cocal_ \- Venetian: "a seagull"  
>  \- _Trioxhydre_ \- French: "Hydreigon"  
>  \- _Soyons raisonnable_ \- French: "Let's be reasonable"  
>  \- _Uno... dos... tres... cuatro… cuatro... cuatro… mil..._ \- Spanish: "One... two... three... four... four... four... a thousand..."  
>  \- _cepy_ \- Polish: "blockheads", lit. "flails"  
>  \- _Excavarenne_ \- French: "Diggersby"  
>  \- _le lapin de la nuit_ \- French: "the rabbit of the night"  
>  \- _Sapereaeu_ \- French: "Bunnelby"  
>  \- _pardon_ \- French: "sorry"  
>  \- _filo_ \- Spanish (Chilean): "whatever" (interjection), lit. "edge"  
>  \- _äiti_ \- Finnish: "mother"  
>  \- _Mairesse_ \- French: "Mayor" (feminine), masculine analogue is " _maire_ "


	23. Clouds on the Horizon

After their impromptu rousing, Pleo, Nida, and Elty were escorted ahead of Seahive's _Mairesse_ by a trio of Pokémon in the the local guards' sea-green scarves. Team Traveller's gruff-looking company consisted of the Galvantula and Seismitoad from the night before, along with a Crustle whose movements evidenced that it had gotten a bit more sleep than its counterparts. The three lead the team along the marshy ground level of the mangroves, under the maze of passages between the huts in the treetops above.

Eventually, the three came to a winding set of covered stairs that coiled around a great tree trunk. There, the guards broke off to rest on the dock below, and the team was left to begin the climb up, Maranda following closely behind them. All the while, Pleo couldn't help but wonder uneasily…

"Are we in trouble?" he chirped, turning back to the Leavanny further down the steps.

"Hardly," Maranda buzzed back brusquely. "I just wanted a word with you, and felt we needed a better space to talk."

"Yeah, we're totally in trouble," Elty groaned. Not that there really seemed to be anywhere to go but up. The windows on the stairway were far too small for Pleo to slip through, let alone with him or the spike ball riding. Any escape would have to happen at the top of the stairs; however, if there was any trap waiting for them up there…

Well, the best they could do was hope that there would be some way to slip away from it.

When the three reached the top, however, they saw that their surroundings were much more innocuous than they had feared. They had entered a single large room with branches occasionally poking through here and there that smelled much like a clump of seaweed.

The place seemed to be some manner of workshop, with a collection of wooden and canvas contraptions, clay vessels, crates, and barrels strewn about. There was even a cast-iron cauldron filled with bubbling greenish-brown glop flecked with waxy-looking fragments floating on its surface, apparently the source of the seaweed smell.

Over by the tree trunk cutting through the center, some Pokémon were lighting fires to boil the contents of some clay jars. A little ways away, a pair of Electric-Types ran crackling currents through a trough filled with fluid, causing matter to settle along the bottom. Closer to the far walls of the hut, a few creatures in running wheels hitched to canvas conveyer belts helped move lumps of material along, a steady stream of paws shuffling objects from one part of the room to the next.

"Huh?" Pleo murmured curiously, tilting his head at the various strange objects strewn about. "What is this place?"

"This is a Gummi Fab," Nida answered, the Nidoran twitching her whiskers and sniffing at the air as she gawked around at the room and its curious implements. "Except I didn't know there were even fabs that were this _big_ out there."

"It's actually not all that big," Maranda corrected as she flitted in past the entrance. "Even if it's a bit larger than normal for a settlement Seahive's size."

"Hrm?" Pleo asked. "How come?"

"Well, Seahive traditionally has helped the Pokémon that live in the seas of the Cradle make gummis," she explained, bidding the group to follow. "It's a practice that needs dry, calm land, and Boisocéan's mangroves provides a place those Pokémon can reach easier than most other islands."

The three looked back at the steps, and then at the workers and the machinery all about them. It didn't _look_ like they were in any danger… Surely there would be no harm in following this Leavanny for a bit. The creature gave a content chitter as she saw the group continue following her, and pointed out a window. A small, wooden, red-tiled hut with arched, shuttered entrances hung from the branch of a towering tree in the distance, the forms of Pokémon flitting and scampering about its fringes visible.

"The watchful gaze of our Protector's shrine also helps," Maranda added. "It is said that time passes more fruitfully for Pokémon who work with it in sight; that's why we hung it from the tallest tree in Seahive."

"So that's where ferals are given food then?" Pleo guessed, tilting his head quizzically.

"Oh no, we just leave offerings in the name of our Protector at the base of the shrine's tree," Maranda responded, flitting about a wooden barrel. "No sense making them go all the way up _there_ to get food."

A strange custom, but it made sense, Pleo thought. There was just one other thing that bothered him here… If this was a Gummi Fab, then…

"Where are all the gummis?" he chirped, as he waddled on with his teammates past the barrels.

"Well," the bug answered, grabbing a small clay cup on one of the barrels and popping a lid off to dip the cup in the contents. "They generally start out looking something like this…"

Pleo flew onto the barrels to examine the cup. Inside of it was a white, crumbly substance with the texture of wet sand.

"Eh?" he asked, poking his beak into the cup. "It doesn't look like a gummi…"

But if this _was_ a gummi, it couldn't hurt to try it out, could it? The young Lugia took a nip at the white substance inside the cup- but as it passed over his tongue, he gagged and spat the white substance onto the floor.

"Ptoo! Ptoo! _Ack!_ It doesn't taste like one either!" he cried. "Cave rocks taste better than this!"

"That's because it's gummi _mix._ There's no flavoring added to it yet!" Elty admonished as he walked around the spit-covered glob, shaking his head with a disgusted frown. "The gummis are over _there!_ "

Pleo and Nida turned their heads to follow a gesture from Elty's paw at a stiff, canvas belt on rollers being propelled by a Dedenne scampering along a running wheel. The belt deposited little green-colored beans into an empty crate at its end.

"Wait, it only makes one color of gummi?" Nida murmured. The fabs at home weren't anywhere near this size, but she was sure that they at least could produce more than a single color!

"And I thought that you made gummis for sea Pokémon. Don't they usually prefer _blue_ gummis?" she continued. "The ones in Bluewhorl's harbor do…"

"Well _that_ line does, yes. You might have noticed there's quite a few Bug-Types in this town; they have their preferences to cater to as well," the Leavanny replied. Nida spent a moment looking around; she saw another canvas belt further off that, sure enough, ferried blue gummis into a waiting crate. Beside it was another line that was littered with pink gummis. A confused Nida's attention was drawn back to Maranda after the leafy bug cleared her throat. "It's a matter of efficiency, really. Once you get to large enough scales, it becomes easier to make more of one thing than a little of everything."

"Do these gummis do anything special?" Elty wondered aloud, as the Growlithe kept a keen eye on the crate at the end of the line, watching gummi after gummi tumble into it. Nida flattened her ears and scowled, was Elty seriously thinking of trying to steal _now?_

"Just food, alas. It's said that if you allow the Distortion in a Mystery Dungeon to alter them, they'll allow Bug-Types in particular to develop skills faster, though."

So they were just normal gummis, Nida thought to herself. So what was with Elty and- was Pleo staring at the line too?

_Grumble_

Oh… right… They hadn't had breakfast. And the food looked so good…

"Can- Can we have some?" Pleo asked.

"I don't see the harm in it," Maranda replied, plucking three gummis off the line and depositing them in front of the group. As the team tore into them, they discovered that the little green candy-like lumps carried a somewhat dry taste with hints of Occa and Coba Berries coming through. A little blander than the ones the guild served at home, but not bad at all on a hungry stomach.

"As I was saying, I didn't bring you out here to only talk about food. I noticed that your friend-"

"Pleo!" the young Protector chirped in between a beakful of his gummi. "My name is Pleo!"

"Aherm, Pleo here seemed awfully young to be travelling," the leafy bug corrected herself. "Yet here you all are, a travelling team, accompanying a fledgling in the ranks of the Company. Surely it's a story worth asking about, isn't it?"

The team abruptly dropped their gummis onto the floor and stared back up at Maranda wide-eyed.

"E-Eh?!" Nida huffed back defensively. "Why on earth would Pleo be a part of the Company?!"

"Yeah!" Pleo squawked. "They're a bunch of mean Pokémon!"

"And it _can't_ be a Company scarf!" Elty insisted. "Where's the purple square?"

But the Leavanny's expression didn't change at all. The creature drew closer and ran Pleo's scarf in between her leafy hands, inspecting it as she buzzed on.

"Well, your attempt at hiding it was certainly admirable," she explained. "But it takes a little more than some minor fire damage to disguise the weave of a Company scarf from me."

"Y-You can _tell_ that?" Elty gulped, his ears starting to fold back.

"Seamstressing as a hobby since I was a grub, and having seen enough Company scarves in various states of disrepair to last a lifetime helps, yes," Maranda admonished, letting Pleo's scarf fall back to his breast as the little Protector grimaced and scooted back uneasily.

"Really, it begs the question…" the Leavanny murmured to herself, keeping a keen eye on the group as sinking expressions crept up over their faces. The Growlithe seemed particularly cagey, as if he was ready to turn and flee at the drop of a pin.

"If Pleo here isn't a part of the Company, _why_ does he have a Company scarf?" she asked.

"Because they _made_ me wear it!" Pleo squawked, beating his wings out adamantly. "They took me away from home and broke my old scarf!"

Before Nida or Elty could react, he dug into the bag that Nida had appropriated the night before and, after shuffling through its contents with his beak, dug out two pieces of a blue bandana with a white star in the center and set them on the ground.

"See!" he cried. "I'm supposed to be wearing scarves like Nida's and Elty's!"

There was a long, tense silence as the Bug-Type continued to stare at the group, unmoving. Pleo's teammates began to fidget nervously. This _was_ the truth, so why was this Leavanny not saying anything back?

"Er… was he supposed to show that off?" Elty whispered to Nida nervously. Maranda suddenly scooted forward and stooped down to look at Pleo, still standing behind the pieces of his old scarf.

"I see… it seems the Company's willing to go quite a ways to make the Protector of Tromba one of their own."

"That's right!" he chirped. "They're-!"

Pleo then paused as he realized… Did… she just call him a 'Protector'?

"Eh…? How did you know I was a Protector?" he wondered, tilting his head puzzledly. "I didn't tell you yet!"

"Well, no one in town has _seen_ a Pokémon like you. I got just a little suspicious after your incident with Margi the other day," the Leavanny replied, as she picked up the pieces of Pleo's scarf. "With everything else you've mentioned and the fact that you lot are allegedly from Tromba… everything seemed to point to that conclusion."

The three grew tense and their breaths shallow… So the _Mairesse_ knew about Pleo, but what was she going to do to him?

"Anyways, as much of an honor as this is, I must confess that divining your identity was only a part of why I called you all here," she sighed. "It was to inform you that considering our island's current situation… it's probably best if you return home as soon as possible."

Some startled cries immediately went up from Pleo and his companions.

"H-Huh?!"

"What are you going on about?!" Nida interjected.

"Yeah, we've still got bandages from yesterday!" Elty barked.

"Perhaps it was a shock to put it that way," Maranda said, shaking her head. "But what I meant to say is… Protectors are best understood and known how to be cared for on their respective islands."

"How so?" Nida pressed.

"Well, think about it. No one _here_ really knows any more about you than what you tell us. At your home, there's surely been records and lore about you and what you can do… All of our legends only focus on _le Prince des Temps._ Why, before today, all that the average resident knew about Tromba's Protector was that it was a silver-colored sea guardian," the Leavanny answered, as she began to trail off.

"And it is probably for the best that things stay that way… Things are not as placid as they seem in this town."

"What do you mean?" Pleo replied. The town was a little strange, yes… But it's not like there was anything wrong with it! … Was there?

"Boisocéan is a neutral space," Maranda replied. "Wedged in between the reach of the Company and the Imperials…"

"Imperials?" Nida wondered, tilting her head at the Leavanny.

"You have heard of Conntow and their late King, yes? The Imperials are his heirs… of a sort, which puts them at odds with the Company," the _Mairesse_ explained. "Both sides would love to own Boisocéan, but neither can afford the other controlling it. Annexation would lead to certain war, and the bands of ocean Pokémon that depend on our gummis would have reason to attack both sides for disturbing such an important island to them."

"Er… what does any of that mean?" Pleo asked.

"It means that neither side can take this island for themselves," Nida explained. "But why is that _bad?_ You won't have anyone like Lyn coming to bully you!"

A long, uncomfortable silence followed… Eh? This _was_ a good thing, wasn't it?

"It _also_ means that they don't have anyone else to hide behind when trouble comes," Elty spoke up, shaking his head. "Not that Company or Imperial help really makes that much of a difference."

"It makes a bigger difference than you assume, _Caninos_ ," she sighed, pointing at some charred patches of bark on a branch cutting through the fab and some patched pockmarks in the wall and shutters where small objects had punched through them in the past.

"The charred portions were from a pirate raid last year," the Bug-Type explained. Elty stiffened up for a moment at Maranda's words, but drifted back at ease as she moved a hand over to the dents and began to speak again. "The rest is from stray cannon fire during a dispute between a Company and an Imperial ship a few months afterwards. I can't speak for what your home is like, but surely the enemy that you know is easier to prepare for than the one that you don't."

Nida blinked and put a paw to her mouth. She hadn't even considered that there'd be islands where the Company wasn't around to bully them… Or that those islands would have headaches of their own to deal with. Maybe Maranda had a point. Hatteras and the others at least had _some_ idea of how to take care of Pleo and of how to try and keep him safe there…

"I guess that makes sense," she murmured.

"Until you know it is safe to return, you're welcome to stay here. Tromba isn't _that_ far from our island, and it shouldn't be that difficult to get word back from them," Maranda replied. "But… while you _are_ here, being mum about Pleo's nature is to your advantage, and I expect you to act the part."

"Eh?" Nida asked. "What do we need to do?"

"Well, let me answer your question with a question, Nidoran," the Leavanny buzzed back as she continued on through the fab. "What would a visiting team in Bluewhorl be expected to do for food and shelter while they were there?"

"Um… Well, the town maintains some places with mats spread for them to stay if they don't have any money to buy lodging," Nida mulled as she followed after the Bug-Type, her teammates in tow. "And the guild gives visiting Rescue Teams access to their dorms and dining hall after doing at least one mission for the guild…"

"That is essentially how it works here as well," Maranda said. The bug came to rest in front of some doors that opened out to the walkways in the treetops' maze, letting stray rays of sunlight in.

"I think that I've shown you enough of this Gummi Fab, and I have other duties to return to. You are presently slated to leave medical observation after tonight, and I'll see to it that Pleo's scarf gets repaired so he can go around in something a touch more presentable tomorrow," the _Mairesse_ responded, gesturing at the door. "Our town's Post Office is along the river not too far from the docks, you might want to make a point of sending off a letter from there. In the interim, you should also take some time to get to know the town and decide what you want to do here until you get word back about the current situation on Tromba."

"Right!" Nida cried, as she pushed the door open to the busy walkways outside, before she turned back. "And… er… thank you."

"It was a pleasure," the Bug-Type replied, as the team filed through the door. It would take time for word to get home and back, they'd need some way to handle food and shelter until then.

* * *

As in Mystery Dungeons, finding one's way around a new town also involved an exploratory bent and a good sense of direction. With the absence of the Distortion's effects and moody, territorial ferals, one would have assumed that finding one's way about a town would be fairly straightforward. And here the group was, having more trouble finding a Post Office than stairs in the Mystery Dungeon back home!

Seahive in many ways was a town that favored Pokémon that relied on water and air to move about. Sea Pokémon had the brackish waterways among the mangrove forest's roots to use to swim from one end to the other, whereas flying Pokémon like Pleo could just flit from treetop to treetop as they pleased (even if he decided to spend a good chunk of his time that day bobbing along in the water). As for Nida and Elty, they were left to grapple with the narrow walkways that crisscrossed Seahive. They were fine when there weren't too many Pokémon on them, but passing Pokémon became much more arduous without the wider patches of solid ground Bluewhorl's paths had, and time and again, the pair would fall behind Pleo to a chirping "Huh? What's taking so long?"

The initial thought had been to check the area around the docks and work their way back up along the river. After all, Maranda said herself that the Post Office was along it, and not too far from the docks. They had passed a box buster's shop with wood from splintered exposure chests heaped up behind the counter. The outlet's duo of Murkrow owners chattered among themselves about hiring an additional helper, _la Mairesse_ was getting tired of them dropping the crates into passages for passerbys to bust by trodding underfoot. Further down was a small hut with a Delibird at the counter cheerily advertising places to store extra items, taking special care to point out the extra free spaces for higher-ranked members of the local guild. There was even a Day Care full of raucous children run by a Drapion who shuttled around her charges (a few of them seemingly little Skorupi of her own) on her back!

"Is it _really_ this hard to find where the mail goes out?" Nida growled, the Nidoran giving her barbs a frustrated ruffle.

And yet, they still hadn't found the Post Office they were looking for.

"To be fair, this place _is_ a maze," Elty grumbled, shaking his head as Pleo fluttered up from the river below onto a nearby awning to stop and preen his feathers. "It's not like you can just get up high and _spot_ the post office around here with all the tree branches in the way."

"Hrm… maybe we need to ask-" Pleo murmured to himself, only to suddenly whirl about, the corner of his eye having caught sight of something strange. "Look! Look!"

The young Lugia gestured wildly at a wooden hut nestled among the branches of a tree across a walkway. It was painted vivid green and styled after a Kecleon's head. At the counter, there was a dozing Spinarak dangling from a silk thread from the awning, and a bored-looking green chameleon picking at its claws.

Pleo's heart leapt. A Kecleon in a shop? That had to be…

"Calino! Calino!" he shouted, as he suddenly took wing and flew over towards the nearby hut. Elty furrowed his brow and muttered something under his breath as Nida waved after Pleo.

"Pleo, wait!" she cried. But it was no use, the little Protector had already flown off and swooped down in front of the shop. The two darted off down the walkway after Pleo as he giddily blabbered on and on about "Yay! You can help us send our letter out!" before he stopped and realized.

"Er… wait. What are you doing here?" he asked, tilting his head. "And who's the other Pokémon?"

"'Calino'?" the spider yawned. The Bug-Type stretched its legs and shook itself awake before turning its head to the Kecleon with drowsy eyes. "What's he going on about, Bader?"

"Here I thought I _wouldn't_ have to hear about that big-mouth again after he got demoted to Tromba," the chameleon sighed. The creature's scales flushed an ochre color and put a claw to its face before pulling it away, shifting his scales back to their business-like green, and turning to address this most peculiar customer. "Er, I think that you have me mistaken for a colleague of mine. I'm 'Bader', not 'Calino'. The _Mimigal_ is my associate, Alphonse."

Pleo's head and wings drooped a little. He had been so happy that he'd found someone from home who could help them out with their current troubles finding their way about town… but this Kecleon was just a stranger!

"Huh…? But-"

The sounds of Nida and Elty's footfalls against the wooden walkways interrupted Pleo. He looked back to see the two panting to catch their breath, curiously Nida seemed to also look surprised. She shook her head, twitched her whiskers, and then tilted her head at the strange shop.

"Wait a minute, Seahive _also_ has a shop run by a Kecleon?" she murmured. The discovery was strange, yet comforting to the young Nidoran. The shops' design was even kinda like Calino's old tent had before it got burned down when she was younger!

"You didn't know?" Elty scoffed, shaking his head. "There's an entire trading outfit here in the Cradle run by a family of Kecleon. They've got a shop on just about every island with a town on it!"

"Well, we do aim to please where we can," Alphonse cheered. "Can we help you out with something?"

The spider's amity helped to dispel some of Pleo's disappointment, and after peering towards the back of the shop, he noticed that all along the back wall were gaily-colored displays of seeds, orbs, scarves, and all manner of bric-a-brac.

"Nida! Nida!" he chirped insistently, turning to the Nidoran beside him. "Let's buy something here!"

"Eh?!" she cried, flattening out her ears. "But we don't have any money!"

… Right. Kiran always handled the team's money at home, and the satchel slung over Nida's back only had stationery and charcoal in it before they snuck aboard Lyn's ship. Meaning the three of them didn't have a single Poké to their names right now-

"Well, if you do have something to sell, I could always give you Poké for that and you could buy something with it," the Kecleon interrupted, clearing its throat. "The Merchantry's always been a fan of _commerce sans frontières_ , so no harm in circulating our own money to help travelling Pokémon like you dodge exchange rates, eh?"

The three looked at each other uneasily. Elty had an unimpressed look washed over his face, clearly he didn't think this was a good idea. It wasn't hard to understand why. Orbs _were_ harder to find than most other items in Mystery Dungeons, but they were out of everything else in the bag…

It wouldn't hurt to sell _one_ of the orbs, would it? And they could use the money they made to buy berries and seeds for any jobs they did in the local Mystery Dungeon while here in Boisocéan.

"I guess an appraisal wouldn't hurt at least," Nida said, as she slung the satchel off her back and pushed it up onto the shop counter. The Kecleon straightened the satchel and opened its mouth, taking a cautious peek inside.

"Aha. An orb haul!" he cried, as the reptile's scales started to turn a rosy pink at his spikes. "Give me a sec to look them over."

One by one the chameleon took the orbs from the satchel and pored them over. He inspected their appearance, the way they reflected light, and gave little taps with his claw to their surface. It was all a most amusing routine to Pleo, when he chanced to notice that at the end of the counter was a glinting, metal object.

"Eh? What's that coin there?" he asked, gesturing at the little bauble further down the counter. "It doesn't look like any Poké I've seen before."

"Oh, that?" Elty replied. "That's not Poké. It's a Copper Bezant. You can tell just from the color."

"Copper… Bezant?"

"It's a coin that was used back when the Imperials called the shots all around our patch of the Cradle," Bader answered as he inspected a Sunny Orb, holding the dark sphere with its light inside that smoldered much like a faint fire in the oven at Gwenith's bakery, against the glint of the sun. "Shopkeepers sometimes still use them out on their bigger islands like Giotto, but what with things getting divided up between them, the Company and Pokémon needing to move around… When you don't have to worry about switching over from Bezants to the Company's Tin Thalers, it makes Poké much more useful for travellers like you in small towns like this one, eh?"

"But if you don't take these Bezants here, why keep it around?" Nida wondered, tilting her head.

"Counterfeit checking!" Alphonse interjected.

"Wait, _counterfeit checking?_ " Elty said, rearing up on his hind legs to sniff at the copper coin. Was this all just a bluff? Bader just told them he didn't even accept the coins in the first place, so why would he even need it? "How does _that_ help things?"

"Like so!" the Spinarak insisted. The Pokémon ducked under the counter and fished out a thin silvery disc and two misshapen, golden coins with grooves cut into them to form runes. It slid the two golden coins in between the copper piece and the silver one, then turned towards the three Pokémon.

"Take a guess," it challenged. "Which of the two coins in between the Bezant and the aluminum disc is the real one?"

Nida and Elty stared blankly at the two coins. They didn't look _exactly_ the same, but no two ever did! Coins always had some slightly misshapen features here and there, unique defects formed during pressing while they were still molten lumps. But there wasn't anything that seemed _that_ different between the two! They both had the same runes on them, they both had the same color…

"Er… is this a trick question?" Elty muttered, lowering his ears. "I mean, as far as I know, _odor_ isn't a part of what makes Poké real or not, so-"

Before Elty could continue on, he was cut off by the sound of an excited squawk.

"The one on the left is real!" Pleo cried out.

"Heh heh, good eye!" Alphonse cheered. "That's indeed the real coin."

Nida and Elty's jaws dropped. Pleo picked out the real coin without even thinking about it! Did he _guess?_ He seemed far too confident in his answer. The Growlithe in particular seemed genuinely interested, as he nudged Pleo repeatedly on his wing.

"Wait, _what?_ " he whispered. "Pleo, how on earth can you _tell?_ "

There was a long, awkward silence. Pleo looked over at the coins and pointed at them, as if the answer was right there staring them all in the face. He tilted his head at the two quizzically, confused why this seemed to be so puzzling to them.

"Huh? You can't see it?" he asked. "The one on the left looks just like the Poké we've seen before! It shines with the same shade the Bezant and the silver coin Bader has."

"Heh heh. That's because Poké's _made_ from copper and aluminum here," the chameleon chortled. "Not every Pokémon can see it like you or I can, but it shows in the way the sun shines purplish off of it!"

Elty and Nida continued to stare. Yes, they had heard that some Pokémon saw the world around them differently. And they knew some Pokémon could pick out red apples from the green leaves around them even when when illnesses like colds had weakened their sense of smell, but this was the first either had heard of this "purplish" color they couldn't see.

Something about the explanation seemed not to satisfy Pleo though, the little bird rubbed a wing under his beak before he pecked at the Poké.

"But can't anyone with aluminum and some copper just make their _own_ Poké then?" he asked.

"Are you kidding?" Elty grumbled, shaking his head. "Copper's only mined on one island this side of the Cradle, and it's controlled by the Imperials. And aluminum's even more of a pain in the butt to get!"

Wait, it… was?

"Indeed. The only real way for anyone to get workable aluminum is to get it from things left behind from the age of humans, like shipwrecks and skeletons of their flying machines on the seafloor," Bader answered as he set down the bag's bubbly Cleanse Orb onto the counter alongside the crackling Petrify Orb. "It's said that in their time, humans knew great magic that allowed them to work aluminum so well that it was as common to them as paper… Makes you wonder just _how_ they managed to pull it off back in the day, but no one's been able to crack that nut since the Cradle was created."

The lizard put a claw into the bag and found it empty. He looked down at the counter and counted up the orbs… That was it, it looked like. The Pokémon cleared its throat and looked back at Team Traveller.

"Anyhow, I've gone off on a bit of a tangent, but… I can give you 60 Poké for the lot," he offered. Pleo beat out his wings giddily. They were going to get 60 entire Poké! That was a lot!

"Yay! That's great-!" he cheered, until he noticed exasperated leers forming in Nida and Elty's eyes at the Kecleon.

" _60_ Poké?! _To totalne zdzierstwo!_ " Elty growled. "I've seen Sunny Orbs alone sell for more than that before!"

Or maybe it wasn't…

"We'll keep the orbs, thanks," the Nidoran frowned, her whiskers twitching with annoyance.

"Eh? Well, suit yourself," the Spinarak chittered. As the spider pushed the orbs back into the satchel and lowered it down to Nida, it continued on. "I mean, we'd like to give you a better deal, but I'm afraid that my partner and I can't stray from the guidelines the Merchantry gives us without a good reason."

"Yeah, especially for customers that don't stick around too long," Bader said, shaking his head. "Wandering travelers are _treize à la douzaine_ in our age."

Nida opened her mouth in order to rebut the lizard but caught herself. Maranda _did_ say they had to keep Pleo's identity quiet, and with the way that everyone other than Margi had taken his claimed identity earlier, it wasn't likely it would help them get a better price for their orbs. The Nidoran shook her head and turned away with the group, just as a squeaky voice suddenly called out, dripping with sarcasm.

"Kinda like Kecleon and shops like these, huh?"

Nida growled after hearing the voice. Even out here, she had to put up with unsolicited snarking! Why, if she hadn't known any better, she would've thought the Sentret watching unimpressed from further up the walkway was Scout.

"And you three! Did you seriously come all the way out here just to fail at haggling?" the brown and white Pokémon added. "You could've done that just fine back at Calino's shack, you know!"

Wait a minute! That Sentret _was_ Scout!

"Eh?!" Nida squeaked.

"Scout?!" Pleo squawked. "What are you doing here?!"

"Wait, who is this guy again?" Elty whispered.

"Playing 'mailmon' and not getting as much of a break from Bluewhorl as I'd like, it seems," he sighed. "And what are you three doing here? Don't you think you're going to be worrying the town by running off with the local sea-?"

"Ack!" Elty shushed. "Don't say that out loud!"

Wait a minute. This could work! Scout was here in Boisocéan with everyone else, so naturally, he _had_ to head back to Tromba sometime soon!

"Oh… Scout?" Pleo said, sidling up to the Sentret, his voice starting to grow excited. "Are you heading back to Tromba anytime soon?"

"Is water _wet?_ " he replied. "Where do you think I'd be going after running these letters off to Hariti's kids?"

Team Traveller traded excited looks with each other. This was it! They finally had a chance to go home! To see Crom, Kiran and everyone else again!

… Right?

Assuming Lyn didn't head back to lie in wait for them.

Or that the Company hadn't sent someone else after Pleo.

Or that something hadn't happened to the town.

Nida shook her head. As much as it pained her to do this, they really _couldn't_ take a blind leap here. Like taking a blind leap in a Mystery Dungeon, the consequences weren't guaranteed, no… But if they _did_ happen…

Would they be able to get past them again?

"Er, actually… we _can't_ head back right just now, but," she murmured. "Could- Could you send a message for us?"

"Hrmph, not looking forward to that earful from your mother, but fine," he sighed, fishing out an envelope and a piece of charcoal from a satchel slung across his shoulder. "Just make this snappy!"

Nida grabbed the charcoal and moved it close to the surface of the paper, only to stop and twiddle the black lump anxiously.

"Er… how do we let them know that it's us?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" the Growlithe huffed. "Just put your footprint on as a signature like a normal Pokémon!"

"Huh?" Pleo chirped. "Pokémon can tell who you are from your footprints?"

"Well between that and your writing, how can't you tell who a Pokémon is?" he scoffed. "Granted, I guess you could just draw one on- But- Oh."

The Growlithe's ears flattened out. So _that_ was why the spike ball hesitated! The Company clearly was willing to go far enough to get Pleo that they'd shackle him down in metal chains… Was it really that out of the question that they'd try writing a fake letter to throw Tromba off?

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Scout exclaimed. "Just put a feather in there!"

The team blinked and looked over at Pleo as he turned from preening himself.

"Huh? Oh! Like this?"

The young Lugia nudged a loose feather off his body, which flitted to the ground. Nida grabbed it at its shaft and saw that it had split along the top. More importantly, the feather was a silvery-white color that she simply couldn't think of any other Pokémon having. Why hadn't they thought of this earlier?

"Ah! Right!" she cried. The Nidoran hastily scrawled a message onto the paper with the charcoal explaining that thanks to luck and perhaps divine providence, Pleo had broken free with her and Elty and was now with them on Boisocéan…

"'Please let us know when it's safe to come home'," she murmured, finishing the letter. She folded up the paper and deposited it and the feather into the envelope before giving it over to Scout.

"So wait, since you're here…" Pleo muttered. "We can stay with you after we get out of the Medic's Hut tonight, right?"

The Sentret's eyes narrowed and grew unamused as the three younger Pokémon before him shot overwide smiles and sickeningly cheery looks at him. He shook his head and put his foot down.

"The lodges here in Boisocéan charge per head, and I only have enough Poké with me to cover _one_ ," he grumbled. "You want to sleep on something better than a mat under the stars, _you_ figure something out!"

Some disappointed looks crept up over Team Traveller's faces. Yeah, Scout had a point… but did he have to put it _that_ way? Elty sighed and shook his head.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to check the guild's listings here," he said. "It shouldn't be _that_ hard to earn our keep here that way, right?"

* * *

It took a while to find the guild again in the maze of walkways in Seahive, but before too long, Team Traveller found themselves standing under the conical roof of the guild's bustling main hall. There were Pokémon making small talk with each other like a colorful group of Vivillon sketching out the details for a meetup at a juice bar later that evening. There was a haughty-sounding Emolga recounting a past time of "coming out on top on some feral _Rhinolove_ " in the Mystery Dungeon, which was met by stifled snickering and an overeager " _Da, da, konechno!_ " of a bemused blue Gastrodon. Off in a corner, an Igglybuff puzzled over a mission listing in its hands for retrieving Perfect Apples, wondering where to even start looking for one of those rare fruits. The Mission Board was further ahead, in a convenient place just up front at one of the approaches.

There was just one problem…

"Er… guilds need to keep track of badges in order to get Pokémon out of Mystery Dungeons, right?" Elty asked as he looked here and there about the crowd of Pokémon. " _How_ exactly are we supposed to make that happen, again?"

They would need _someone_ to get them out of the Mystery Dungeon after they completed any work in it.

"Uhm… well, if we were back home, I'd say we should find one of the Psychics," Nida replied from a crate she had hopped atop to try and get a better view. "Except, I'm not sure how we find them here."

"Maybe we should try asking someone?" Pleo suggested. As it so happened, the sound of a pair of Water-Types with mud-covered scarves passing in a channel of water nearby could be heard.

"Lighten up a little!" a Poliwhirl said. "I'm telling you, these gummis here were totally worth the swim!"

"I still don't know why I let you talk me into this. We're supposed to be _working!_ " his Remoraid partner hissed back. "You know as well as I do that we need to keep a low profile in a place like-"

Maybe the fish and the cute marshblob would know! They seemed to be familiar with the town at least, so asking them about where a Psychic might be couldn't be that bad of an idea, right?

"Oh, hi!" he chirped, waving. "My name's Pleo! Do you happen to know-?"

Much to his surprise, after the pair turned to see him, they seemed startled by his presence.

"Gih!"

"Ack! Cover blown! Cover blown!"

And swiftly swam off, leaving Pleo to stare blankly as Nida shook her head disapprovingly.

"Hrmph, I see even this town has its slackers," she grumbled.

"Aww," Pleo mumbled, his head and wings drooping from disappointment. "But then who's going to tell us where to find a Psy-?"

"You rang?" a voice answered from behind. Team Traveller whirled around and saw Meyrink behind them bobbing lazily in the air just above the planks of the walkway.

"Ah!" Pleo squawked, hopping back with a start "How did you-?!"

"I sensed your troubled thoughts… Well, that and I've been watching you three wander around in circles around the guild all this time. It's kinda hard to miss," the Claydol chuckled. "Headed back into the dungeon so soon after what happened?"

"Er… well, it _would_ be nice to have a more comfortable place to stay than some mats on the outskirts," Nida admitted sheepishly.

"And a roof over my head to keep the rain away would be nice," Elty added. Pleo blinked at the Psychic-Type and tilted his head at the creature as he wondered aloud.

"What is it that you need to do with our badges before we go in?"

"This," it replied. The creature closed its eyes briefly and opened them with a glow. Just then, the three felt tugs against their scarves, and saw that Meyrink had made an unseen force pull at their badges and cause them to glow. As suddenly as it came, the force subsided and the glow, both on the badges and in the Pokémon's eyes faded.

"Can't find you in there if I don't know what to look for, after all!" it cheered. "We Psychics use badges like yours in order to sense around the parts of the Mystery Dungeon you go to!"

"Eh? But what about the other Psychics?" Pleo asked. "Don't they need to also do your glowy thingy so they can see where we are?"

"They usually learn as they go along, Pleo," Nida explained. "Teams wind up passing by teleporters like Meyrink on a regular basis coming out, and they'll often take the opportunity to sense badges they haven't seen before."

"That's right!" the Psychic-Type bubbled. "So don't get too shocked if you feel a little tug or two when passing by out on the pad! It means the others are just doing their jobs!"

"Thank you," Nida said, giving a grateful dip of her head to the Claydol. "I guess now it's time for-"

"A mission!" Pleo cried. "Let's go pick out a mission!"

The young Protector hopped up into the air and beat his wings, flying haphazardly on his way over to the Mission Board at the front of an entrance to the complex. As cries of "Hey, watch it!" and other surprised exclamations rang out, Nida and Elty ran after the little bird.

"Pleo! Wait!" the Nidoran called out. "Don't fly off like that!"

The two weaved and ducked their way past passing Pokémon on the walkway and finally caught up with Pleo, who was staring excitedly at the listings. The two turned, and saw that the board's listings were rather sparse

"Why are you in such a rush anyways?!" Elty yipped. "Aren't all of the good missions _claimed_ by the evening?"

"But there's a bunch of pretty pictures on it right now!" Pleo chirped. "Nicer than the ones back in Bluewhorl!"

Sure enough, most of the remaining listings did have pictures and doodles on them.

"Of course they are," he groaned. It was convention to leave doodles or pawprints on mission listings in order to help Pokémon with weaker reading abilities, such as young Pokémon or recently-recruited ferals, figure out what they needed to do. But even so, the feather duster shouldn't be that much more preoccupied with appearances!

"Well, we don't need anything too fancy right?" Nida asked as she started to look at the board. "Just something to help us get by a little."

"Like one of those fetching missions! Here's one with an apple on it!," Pleo cheered, pointing at a listing towards the center. "Does it want us to find apples?"

Nida frowned and her ears drooped after she saw the listing. Sure enough, it was a mission for gathering apples. But wait a minute, they were on their own! If she didn't want to do the apple mission, she could always do another!

"Er… let's see what _other_ missions are on the board first," she said, shaking her head. Thankfully there were other missions. Not very many, but still a few to choose from.

"Well, there's this one asking for a delivery Pokémon to pick up an exposure chest from some tailor here in town and drop it off in the dungeon by noon tomorrow," Elty offered. "I'm a _natural_ at delivering things, so we'd just need to find wherever this 'Stitch in Time' tailor is and then go to drop the chest off afterwards!"

Nida flattened out her ears. They hadn't found the Post Office after all this time today, and they hadn't seen any tailor's shop with that name in their search for it earlier today. How were they supposed to _find_ it while time was working against them?

"Let's pick something that won't get us lost at the first step, Elty," Nida sighed.

Elty frowned and furrowed his brow, but he had to admit, the spike ball had a point. He glanced back at the listings, and looked around before Pleo squawked aloud at the sight of a listing halfway up the board.

"Oh! Nida! Nida!" he cried. "Let's do this one with the footprints!"

"Hrm?"

Nida reared up on her hind legs and sniffed at the listing, reading the short, hurried lines on the paper aloud to the group.

"'Stranded thanks to earlier run-in, low on supplies. Need rescue'," she murmured. Now _that_ was a worthwhile mission. Sure, rescues didn't always reward the best for missions, but they were what _Rescue_ Teams were made for!

"Hmm… Eight floors… not that long… all we need to do is find- Wait…"

The Nidoran set the paper down on the planks of the walkway and frowned. Elty and Pleo crowded around, and the Growlithe's expression quickly fell into an exasperated leer.

"Oi! This is the distress message that you wrote last night!"

"Hrm?" Pleo asked. "But didn't we already get rescued, Nida?"

The Nidoran sheepishly laughed and crumpled up the notice, slipping it into the bag on her back. Elty rolled his eyes at the spike ball and looked back up at the remaining few listings. It was then when he noticed a dog-eared sheet with a pair of stick-figure Pokémon sending beams against each other.

"What about that one? It's a request to meet someone called 'Daraen' in front of the town shrine to help him out practicing 'Substitute Battling' on the outskirts," he offered, pointing at the scrap of paper. "The footprint's a little sloppy, so I can't really get a bead on the species, but the place seems like it would be easy enough to find! We saw the shrine a bunch of times today!"

"'Substitute Battling'?" Pleo wondered.

"It's a team sport that's played at home sometimes, nothing we couldn't handle…" Nida mulled, tilting her head at the listing. "But I thought Guilds preferred those to be listed at Juice Bars instead of cluttering up mission boards like these."

"Well, it kinda has signs of being taken down more than once," Elty said. "So my guess is that it's probably considered clutter here too.

"It's still helping, isn't it?" Pleo piped up. "And we'd be getting a reward for _playing!_ "

"Healing berries, even!" Elty added after glancing at some runes at the bottom of the post. "Even if it _is_ clutter, if the Pokémon keeps their end of the deal, it would still be worth our while. It would keep us from getting into a jam like last night."

Nida paused, and pondered as she looked at the humble slip.

"I suppose that it couldn't hurt to pick an easier job. And getting paid to help someone practice at sports sounds fun enough," she mumbled to herself. "Oh, why not? _Me parece bien!_ It would also give us a chance to get to know the town better before we take on tougher requests, too."

"Heh… let's give that 'Daraen' a practice session he'll remember!" she cheered. The Nidoran hopped up against the board and took the listing down. With a request like that, it'd be the most fun they'd had in a good while.

* * *

Meanwhile, further out at sea, Lyn's battered ship was still in much the same place as it had been the entire day. Its captain clambered up a rope ladder along the ship's side and shook himself dry from a long day of fruitless searching. He turned to a perched Crobat and asked.

"Anything?"

"Nothing, I'm afraid," the bat replied, shaking its head. "And we've even double-checked the search sectors just in case the Lugia's been moving around!"

"Urgh… this can't be happening," Lyn growled. "Birds may fly, but even _they_ don't just suddenly dissa-!"

All of a sudden, a voice interrupted from the other side of the ship.

"Captain! Good news! We sighted the Lugia!"

Lyn took off and darted in the direction of the voice, where he saw a Poliwhirl and a Remoraid bobbing in the water, with staring eyes coming at them from every direction around them.

"What?!" Lyn cried out. "Where is he?!"

"He's currently in Seahive Square!" the Poliwhirl exclaimed.

"Yeah, we both saw him!" the Remoraid added.

The words hit Lyn like a stiff smack in the face, and made the Water-Type grit his teeth and growl.

"Grr… of course," he seethed. "The one place he chose to hide in and it _has_ to be somewhere that would cause a diplo-"

The Samurott then blinked, and shifted a piercing leer over to the pair of Water-Types. Something wasn't adding up here…

"Wait a minute, how on earth did you two find out he was on the island to begin with?" he demanded. "You were supposed to be doing searches of sea sectors!"

The two blanched and looked at each other, the Poliwhirl taking the opportunity to shove a satchel with some gummis visible at its mouth under the sea's water.

"I… er… uh… found a lead?" it offered, giving a forced cheery expression and hoping desperately that it would be enough to ward off Lyn's wrath.

"Very fortunate for you, it seems," he harrumphed. "I'll overlook the admission of insubordination. _This_ time."

The two sighed, and quickly swam off out of Lyn's line of sight as a Weavile approached the Samurott from behind.

"So what now?" he asked. "With the Imps keeping tabs on what happens here, launching a raid on _Seahive_ can't possibly turn out well for the mission. And even if that wasn't an issue, the ship isn't exactly in good shape for any sort of mission."

Lyn exhaled through gritted teeth. As much as he hated to admit it, he couldn't just run off and potentially embroil his superiors in a major dispute… Or at least, not based off a pair of slackers' words.

"Send word to the search teams to monitor the skies and seas around the island. If the Guardian gets off of that rock, pin him down and _grab_ him," he ordered. The Samurott sidled up against a railing and put a paw to his brow, scowling at the horizon. "I… need to think a few things through before I make any decision about what to do in that accursed swamp town."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _Mimigal_ \- French: "Spinarak"  
>  \- _commerce sans frontières_ \- French: "trade without borders"  
>  \- _To totalne zdzierstwo!_ \- Polish: "This is a total ripoff!"  
>  \- _treize à la douzaine_ \- French: "a dime a dozen", lit. "thirteen to the dozen"  
>  \- _Rhinolove_ \- French: "Swoobat"  
>  \- _Da, da, konechno! (Да, да, конечно!)_ \- Russian: "Yes, yes, of course!" (BGN/PCGN Romanization.)  
>  \- _(¡)Me parece bien!_ \- Spanish: "Sounds good to me!"


	24. Bête Noire

Team Traveller turned back to the medic's hut shortly after their visit to the mission board. Nida presumed that if the team had any guardians to stay with, Maranda and the others likely would've been content enough with their condition to discharge them. Thankfully for the team, the Leavanny didn't, and it meant one more night of being able to coast off the hut's humble meals, accommodations, and Maranda's abilities as a seamstress.

But before they knew it, the sun rose again over the horizon…

That morning, Team Traveller made their way out of the medic's hut. Along with the new dawn, they left behind most of their bandages, and the charred lavender scarf that covered Pleo's lucky charm the day before went back into the bag in favor of a Traveller scarf that had been stitched back together overnight. Small, but deeply appreciated comforts as the three made their way off yawning towards their mission with 'Daraen'.

Finding Seahive's shrine tree was remarkably easy. Whether crossing over spindly walkways or over the marshy ground among the trunks, simply following the sight of the shrine dangling from the branches proved to be a surprisingly reliable guide. One that lead them past the expected periphery of nests and mats (if with few burrows), past curious fields atop rectangular patches of darkened earth nestled amongst the surrounding swamp, all the way to the base of the towering, broadleaved tree that held the shrine up, which enraptured Pleo just by its sight from up close.

"Wow! It's so pretty!"

The shrine's roofing and construction was not too dissimilar from the _ánima_ at home, and the walkway was covered with roofing much like the one leading up to the gummi fab the other day. There, the similarities ended. Along all the apertures were fitted with florid green latticework decorations shaped like twining passionflower vines. When Pleo got close to one of the lattices at the bottom of the steps, he stopped and gave it a peck.

_Tonk tonk tonk_

They were made of metal! Nida explained before that metal was hard to come by in the Cradle and needed to be worked with strong fire, so it was rare to see it on anything that didn't need to provide durability regardless of price. In between the sheer amount of it, the intricate details that had been worked into the decorations, and the fact that residents of Seahive typically weren't Pokémon that naturally lent themselves to metalworking, it was clear that this town had lavished a great expense on their Protector.

"Well, I can see why Daraen picked this place," Elty said. The Fire-Type looked up at the shrine and the passageway to it that coiled around the tree with murals of this _Prince des Temps_ along the trunk. "Looming over the town like this certainly made it a cinch to find."

"I wonder why their Protector is so small, though," Nida asked herself, inspecting a mural showing the Protector's counterpart in the old world flitting about some freshly-sprouted saplings. She looked at the red tiles on the dangling shrine and the painted shutters that were opened to let light in through arched apertures, before turning back to Elty. "This 'fairy' thing looks like it's supposed to barely be any bigger than me from those paintings! How would it be able to protect anything?"

"Mrph. If there's room for overgrown seabirds to be Protectors, I'm sure there's room for grass fairies, too."

That was a fair point. With how different Pleo had turned out from the legends that had grown around him… was it really unreasonable that a town might also muddle details about what their Protector might be like?

Sure, it was a strange thought, but there were more pressing matters at hand. One which Pleo wound up voicing after preening himself and looking around the still-quiet trunk.

"Wait, where's Daraen?"

Only for a voice to suddenly call out from around it.

"I'm right here!"

Nida's ears pricked up and she began hopping off towards the voice, her teammates following along behind her. At last, they were finally going to meet their client!

"Oh! Hang on, we'll be right-!"

Nida's legs froze as she carried along the trunk. Ahead of her was a small dragon with blue and magenta scales lugging a satchel on his back, his head and back covered in black feathers. On the creature's brow stretching along his head, as clear as day, was a light gray blotch…

One in the tell-tale shape of the Marked's five-tailed comet.

"There…" Nida murmured. Elty and Pleo had caught up and were trading nervous looks. The job had seemed simple enough yes, but how on earth were they supposed to do that with a Pokémon that would think Pleo to be some sort of evil monster?

"You're the Pokémon that accepted my listing?" the Deino asked. The Dragon-Type bounced on his feet and wagged his tail, he had clearly been looking forward to someone accepting his listing for a while. Something that made Nida and Elty hesitate as they struggled with what to do next.

"Uh…"

"Er…"

Pleo was similarly confounded. Here was a Pokémon that if he was anything like Ander and his family, or Margi from the day before, ought to be deathly afraid of him!

"Eh?! But you're-!"

"Daraen!" the Deino cheered, rearing onto his hind legs and showing his teeth proudly. "You know, the Pokémon that made the posting for the Substitute Battles? I had to get some help with it, but I think everything was put together right!"

"Uh, well… we are," Pleo responded as he tried to think of how to answer the Pokémon. "But are you alright? You're kinda-"

"Blind, obviously," Elty hastily interrupted. "And you've got a little bit of dirt on your scarf."

Nida and Pleo blinked and looked back at the Dragon-Type, his scarf did have a small clump of it near its tip. The Deino pawed at his scarf, a simple tawny cloth with five colored circles- red, green, blue, white, and violet- arranged on it. After a few fumbling attempts, he finally wiped the dirt off and shook his head.

"I'm not _blind!_ Everything's just a little blurry for a _Solochi_ like me!" he huffed back defensively. The creature began to grow nervous and started to stammer as he went on trying to reassure Team Traveller. "B-But it's no problem! My smell and hearing are both really good! That's how I can tell you're a Nidoran, a _Caninos_ , and a bigger-than-normal _Goélise!_ "

Travellers above, he really _was_ blind! And that would explain why he wasn't afraid of Pleo even if Margi had been able to piece together his identity! Despite the fact that they seemed to recognize Protectors from beyond their islands, like most Pokémon the Marked probably only knew the gods' appearances based off of what they looked like.

"Uh, _right_ ," Elty answered. The little dog rolled his eyes and then batted a paw around in front of Daraen's face. Just how blind _was_ this-?

_Thwack_

"Ow!"

Only to be biffed by a tackle from a leering Nidoran.

"Elty, cut it out!" Nida hissed quietly. Thankfully Daraen didn't seem to notice Elty's behavior, or at least misinterpreted it as something a bit less offensive.

"Eh? Was he scratching himself or something?" he asked, tilting his head. "But don't worry! I know _all_ the rules about Substitute Battling and even practiced by myself, so you don't have to worry about the practice being too easy or anything!"

The three traded uneasy glances with each other. There wouldn't be any harm with going along, would there? The team _did_ need that reward he offered, and what Daraen didn't know about Pleo couldn't _hurt_ him… On top of all that, the Deino seemed genuinely eager just to have someone to help him.

Nida decided and shook her head. They were going to do this. Maranda had instructed them to keep a low profile anyways, so they might as well start here with their first mission away from home.

"So, where are we practicing anyway?" she questioned.

"There's a secluded clearing in the woods not too far from here!" the dragon replied, hopping up and down. "Come on! I'll lead you there!"

Daraen stopped to sniff the air, and then bounded off down a path that lead deeper into the woods, which transitioned from the mangroves in town to taller and more terrestrial trees that formed a canopy that shut all but little rays of light from the sun. The creature was a most peculiar guide, while Team Traveller was used to running or flying off ahead and waiting for the others to catch up, the Deino would move about in swift darts on straight sections, only to stop and sniff and listen to his surroundings at curves.

Evidently he had trouble distinguishing bends as well as straightaways. Whenever Daraen reached a bend, he would go on about sniffing at the ground below or stopping and tilting his head to listen to his surroundings. Despite those weaknesses, he _seemed_ to cover decent ground in spite of it all. Before too long, Seahive was but a collection of mostly indistinct buildings visible from gaps in between the trees. All the while, a question couldn't help but gnaw at Pleo.

"Wait, Daraen… Why did you need to hire a team to help you practice?" he wondered.

It _did_ seem strange that the Deino would go through all this trouble for a simple game, after all…

"Don't you have friends that are into Substitute Battling?" Nida asked, tilting her head at the Dragon-Type. "You said you played before."

"Um, well… I wanted a place where I could practice without holding back," he answered. "Since the neighbors got really mad when we broke their wall when we tried to practice at home. And with _maman_ saying a demon showed up in town, a lot of them have been avoiding going out."

The Deino shook his head, apparently to reassure himself before he continued on.

"Not that we'd need to be worried! I'm not scared of going near that old tree and _maman's really_ strong! I heard that she scared the demon off the moment it saw her!" he said. "So I thought maybe it would be best to try practicing in the forest… But even before the rumors going around lately, none of my friends were willing to come with me out there to practice…"

Pleo ruffled his feathers uneasily at the mention of Daraen's mother scaring off 'the demon', but much to Nida's relief it seemed he decided that it would be best to not say anything about the matter- Wait a minute, Daraen's friends _weren't_ willing to practice with him here? But why not? They were his _friends_ , weren't they?

"Eh?" Nida replied. "Why's tha-?"

Before Nida could finish her question, a sudden racket broke out as a Rufflet vaulted in over a bush with a fluttering hop and nearly nicked Daraen with a cutting strike with one of his wings. As the Deino shrieked and fell back crying out of startled surprise, the Rufflet was joined by a Vullaby tearing out from a bush squawking angrily at the Dragon-Type.

"Where do you think _you're_ going?!" she screeched. "You little _abomination!_ "

The two Pokémon didn't seem to be wearing scarves, though Daraen's tawny strip of fabric didn't seem to do much to dissuade the little vulture from delivering a sharp, jabbing peck at the Deino's shoulder. The dragon yelped, and bolted away in a blind panic from another strike from the little scavenger.

"A-Aah!"

As he turned to run, the Rufflet followed on the dragon's heels in hot pursuit.

"Yeah, that's right, you'd _better_ ru- Augh!"

And straight into a cone of fiery embers. The young eagle cried out, tumbled beak-first to the ground, and rubbed his face against the dirt. The bird spluttered and brought his head back up, noticing a Growlithe neither he nor the Vullaby had seen earlier leering at him.

"He's with us," Elty snarled. "You should know how the Pact works if you live this close to a town. If you've got something _against_ Pokémon going a little ways out of town in peace, we can settle this the _hard_ way."

The pair quickly grew aware that beyond the orange dog, there was also a little blue spike ball, and worst of all a big, white bird. All three leered at them, waiting for their next moves.

"Erk!" the Vullaby gulped. "You _would_ hide behind a bunch of village runts, wouldn't you- Yipe!"

The creature leapt back as a spike sailed past her head and quickly took off into the bushes. The Rufflet followed suit after another gout of fire from Elty. Nida glared after the birds as she scrunched her whiskers and drew her barbs back under her pelt.

"Hrmph. They're gone," she spat. Daraen had grown quiet and tucked his head in closer to his body facing the ground. There was an uncomfortable silence as the team waited for the Deino to return to leading them forward to the clearing, only for him to stay shivering in place.

Suddenly it made much more sense why his friends weren't willing to come along.

"Daraen? Are… are you alright?" Pleo asked.

"Maybe- Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," the Deino stuttered, backpedaling and turning his head about uneasily. "Maybe we should just go home…"

"Don't listen to those mean Pokémon!" Pleo squawked. "You _wanted_ to train out here! And we're ready to help you!"

"It does take a little more than some surly feral to get me to turn tail," Elty added. "And you won't be alone if they pull a stunt like that again!"

"The choice is yours, Daraen," Nida chimed in. "But if you give in, will it really make you feel any better?"

The Deino stopped and paused, deep in thought. After a while, the team noticed that Daraen had stopped shivering, the Deino shook his head, and with a grunt walked back to the head of the group.

"No… it won't. And I don't need to give in, not now!" he said, his earlier confidence returning to his voice as he turned back to Team Traveller. "Alright, we're _doing_ this! And you'd better be ready! My team's gonna win!"

"Team?" Pleo wondered, bobbing his head out of puzzlement.

"Yeah! Substitute Battles need to be played with separate teams! Two on two for us!" the Deino replied, which made Nida stop and ask…

"Oh? You had a team in mind?"

"Yeah! I'll take the birdie as my partner!" he cried. "It'll be feathers versus fur!"

Immediately, Nida and Elty's ears flattened out and their faces fell. Daraen picking Pleo as his teammate was already enough of a potential headache, but he wanted _them_ to partner with each other on top of that?

"Uh… Daraen," Elty grumbled, his eyelids lowering with an exasperated look.

"Erm…" Nida began. "Are you sure you-?"

"Hey! _My_ team has one member with bad eyesight, you know!"

"That's… fair enough," the Nidoran sighed. Daraen did seem to be at a disadvantage, and it _was_ his posting, so it hardly seemed fair to tell him who couldn't be on his team even if she didn't relish the idea of working with Elty.

"Then come on!" he called. "The clearing should be just ahead!"

Sure enough, after a couple more bends, the team found themselves following the path into a clearing in the thick forest. The sun beamed down on the clearing, and barring the occasional rock or root, the field was certainly flat enough to serve as a training ground for battling. It looked like someone had even dug a few lines into the turf to form the contours of a proper battlefield!

The four headed out onto the field, and after taking a moment to soak up the sun's rays and sniff at the surroundings, their guide turned back to them.

"Alright, so you all know the rules?" asked Daraen. Elty rolled his eyes and opened his muzzle to say something sardonic back, only to see Pleo put a wing to his mouth and stare blankly at the Deino.

Of course he wouldn't know…

"Actually, let's hear them again," the Growlithe said, sighing. "It's been awhile since we've last played this."

"Eh?!" Daraen cried out. The creature must have thought it was strange that the team that took his request would not know the rules to Substitute Battling, but… they had accepted it, and it couldn't hurt for a primer… "Well… basically, each team starts off at a different end of the field. During it, you battle until one side loses their Substitute!"

The Dragon-Type shifted a sack off of his back and dumped out its contents, revealing four straw figures that resembled Deino.

"That's what these are!" he explained.

"Uh… _no_ , they're _not_ ," Elty scoffed, rolling his eyes at these most… 'unique' Substitutes. "Those are just some straw dolls you put together!"

"They're close enough! Real Substitutes cost too much for me and I spent all evening working on these!" the Deino protested. "And we can get around them not breaking down like actual Substitutes by playing until they lose their heads! Simple enough, right?"

"Uh huh!" Pleo chirped. The little Lugia beat out his wings happily, it did seem simple and straightforward when Daraen described it.

"Great!" the Deino exclaimed. "I've got enough Substitutes for us to play three rounds. We'll set them up and start at the count of three when we're ready!"

The Deino pushed three of the dolls back into his bag and took one of the remaining two up with his mouth before setting off for one end of the field. As Pleo fluttered off after him, Elty did likewise with Nida and the other straw dummy.

The little dragon set the 'Substitute' down, pushed it upright into a resting position, and after bidding Pleo to turn his attention to the other side of the field, cried out to him.

"Ready?"

"Bring it!" came the reply. Daraen tensed himself in anticipation, Pleo quickly following suit as his partner began counting down.

" _Trois… deux… un…_ Go!"

And the two were off! Pleo hopped up and took to the air. If this was going to be a battle, then he'd need to focus on Elty! That was the Pokémon he had most experience sparring with! The white bird dove for the orange dog and clipped him with his wings.

"Gack!"

"I got him! I got him!" Pleo cheered, only for Daraen's voice to cry out.

"Pleo! _Quick!_ Get back!"

"Huh?" Pleo craned his head around, and he saw Nida darting for the straw figure. With one swift motion, the Nidoran flicked a barb at the dummy, which got stuck right under its neck. The dummy flopped forward as the Deino ran desperately for the doll, leaving Pleo wondering…

"Eh?! Nida! I thought we were battli-!"

_Whump whump_

Only for the Nidoran to deliver two stiff kicks to the 'Substitute', the first slackening a cord holding the straw Deino's body in place. The second disintegrated the doll in a small cloud of dried grasses and reed cords, sending its head and hindquarters flying into a bush.

"Eh?! Nida!" he squawked. "You broke Daraen's doll!"

"Um… Pleo?" she replied. "That's the _point._ Remember the battle goes on until one side loses their Substitute?"

"Yeah," Elty added, shaking some sense back into his flank before turning to Pleo. "The _mecz_ is over. Your team just lost.

"B-But the battle just started!" Pleo protested. "And none of the heads fell off yet!"

"Er… let's go over the rules one more time," Daraen sighed as he sniffed at the scattered straw where his team's dummy once was. "I only have so many of these things…"

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Hatteras' hut in Bluewhorl, a Raichu and Servine with the same white and blue scarves as Pladur's sidled up against the window, their ears focused on murmuring coming from within.

"What are they saying? What are they saying?" the orange rodent pressed.

"Pipe down!" the grass snake admonished. "You'll give us away-! Gah!"

The two quickly tumbled to the ground in a start as a freezing beam sailed out the window just above the Servine's head, followed by crabby-sounding words coming from inside.

"Do you _mind?_ " an annoyed Nidorina's voice spat. "This is a _private_ conversation!"

Inside the hut, Kiran, Crom, Hatteras, and the other parents of Team Traveller had gathered to help get Pladur debriefed on the status of his son's team. As was their custom since Lyn left port, Marley and Teja were also present, hoping desperately for any word back of what had become of their missing child.

After a horrid past few days, Hatteras finally had time to call together Team Traveller's parents to explain everything that was known at the moment about the missing youngsters. The elderly sheep looked out the window, where he caught sight of the Fraxure's crewmates slipping away to hide in some bushes, before he turned back to Crom's father, shaking his head.

"Anyways, that's everything that's happened since then, Pladur."

Perhaps it was the nature of the Fraxure's work and his separation from his family for long stretches at a time, but Pladur had a tendency to be on pins and needles in the presence of trouble. And few things were as bad as the prospect that…

"The C-Company has our Protector?!" he cried, the dragon's voice coming out as an unnerved squeak.

"That's where things stand right now," Kiran confirmed, lowering his head glumly. The Fraxure continued stammering, still in a nervous panic.

"W-We're gonna get him back, right?!" he asked Hatteras. "Who knows what the Company would do to him?!"

"Dear, I think that you should calm down a little…" Gwenith's voice interrupted with a gentle but stern tone. As bad as things were, his father panicking like this was surely not what Crom needed to see at such a sensitive time.

"Pladur. I understand that," Hatteras said, rubbing a paw over his brow. Perhaps there was a better way he should have broken this news to such a high-strung Pokémon. "But I'm still trying to figure out _what_ we can do here."

"B-But what about us?!" Pladur pressed on. "Crom already had a close shave just wi-!"

At that point, Marley stormed over and jabbed her horn forcefully into the Fraxure's gut.

" _Por qué no te callas?!_ " she bellowed, her red eyes glaring lividly at the Dragon-Type. "At least you still _have_ all your children with you!"

The poor Fraxure, keenly aware of how _la Cazadragones de Tromba_ was upon him and in a less-than-stellar mood, did what many Dragon-Types had done in Marley's presence before-

"E- _Eek!_ "

-fall back and run for cover, specifically behind Gwenith. Crom, unnerved by Marley's flaring temper, joined his father shrinking behind the mother Druddigon, who grew upset with the spike ball's treatment of her mate.

"Oi!" she roared. "You leave him alone!"

Teja for his part also came to his mate's side, if with different intentions. Marley had both a strong reputation and a short temper, and the latter needed to be reined in right now.

" _Cosita!_ He didn't mean any harm-!" he assured, as the room devolved into heated bickering- only for a voice to suddenly pierce the brewing storm.

"Calm down! Calm down!" Hatteras bleated. All eyes turned over to the elderly Ampharos standing on a stump and waving his hands. "I understand that this is a… well, dire situation to say the least. But please! Don't panic and come to blows over this!"

The room grew quiet as the Pokémon traded uncomfortable looks with each other. Pladur slinked out from his hiding place, consciously giving Marley a wider berth. The Ampharos sighed and turned his head to the ground.

"If we can't stick together as a community in dark times like these, what hope do we have of a better tomorrow?" he pleaded. Marley's glare slowly softened, then melted away into a tired, defeated look. She shook her pelt and let her ears droop.

"I'm sorry, Pladur…. That- That was wrong of me. But what are we supposed to _do?_ "

The Nidorina whirled to face the Ampharos, making him bleat aloud in surprise.

"You _said_ you would have a way to bring Nida back!" she cried. "But no matter how we look at it, there's no way out! It's not like you can just count on a solution landing on your doorstep-!"

Just then, a series of pecking taps came from the front door. A voice called from outside.

"Mail call!"

Did this really have to happen _now?_ Kiran shook out his feathers and hopped over to the door, pushing it open a crack. On the stoop was a Pelipper, who tilted his head and tried to peek in.

"Erm… can this wait?" Kiran asked in a hushed tone. "We're kinda in the middle of something."

"Eh? But I've got a letter here from one 'Scout, Freelancer of Bluewhorl Town' for a 'Hatteras, Master of the Tromba Island Guild'!" the pelican squawked, shuffling a letter up to the surface from his lower beak. "And it's marked 'urgent'!"

Sighs went about the room. Even in writing, Scout had to run off that big mouth of his.

Hatteras shook his head and took the letter from the Pelipper. The seabird waddled away awkwardly from the tense group in the hut, hopping off the stoop and taking wing as the elderly Ampharos eyed the envelope.

"It's fine, Kiran," Hatteras said, rubbing a paw over his face. "I suppose it wouldn't take too long to skim one of Scout's inane complaints."

_Rrrrip_

The Ampharos pried out a letter written in charcoal from inside the envelope, as a silvery-white feather with a split end fell out onto the ground. The feather itself landed without a sound, only to draw a sudden cry from the Pokémon present.

"A-Aah!"

"That's-!"

Crom darted over and scooped up the feather. There was no doubt about it, the silver color, the split-ended shape, the smell…

"That's one of _Pleo's_ feathers!" he cried.

"And this letter's Nida's paw-writing!" Hatteras suddenly bleated out, the electric sheep almost tumbling off his stump in surprise. "She says she's just an island over with Pleo and Elty!"

The room burst into excited shouts as the Pokémon inside turned to one another with ecstatic hugs and tears of joy. They were alright, everything was going to be fine. They would get Pleo, Nida, and even Elty back!

"T-Travellers Above!" Crom sniffled, rubbing away a few tears from his eyes. "Sh-She's really okay!"

"And the Protector!" Teja added. "But- How did he escape?! We saw Lyn take him!"

"That's not important!" Marley interjected, hopping up and down like her excitable children would. "What are we waiting for, Hatteras? Send a Surfer for them and let's bring them all home by morning!"

The Ampharos opened his mouth to speak, only for his overjoyed expression to grow sober as the words he was going to say died in his throat.

"Hatteras?" Gwenith asked. "What's wrong?"

"I think given what's happened so far," he replied, his voice slow and reluctant. "Maybe we should take some time to think this one through."

"E-Eh?!" Pladur exclaimed. "What are you talking about?!"

"Yeah, the kids are alright!" Marley huffed, shaking her barbs up. "And we _know_ where they are! What's left?!"

"Well for one, there's at least one over-ambitious bully of a Samurott and a ship full of cronies still out there."

That… was right. It was already a miracle that Pleo had even escaped from Lyn, let alone with his teammates alive and well. If Lyn found them, or worse, if the town _led_ him to them…

Would another miracle come to save them again?

"And something could always go wrong at sea even without Lyn getting involved," Teja reluctantly said. "Just like with the Mis-"

The Ampharos fidgeted at Teja's words and quickly cleared his throat, evidently not wanting to delve into the subject much further.

"I think we're getting a little off track, Teja," Hatteras responded, shaking his head. "Lyn was able to get away with Pleo because he was strong and caught us off-guard. If we want to get Pleo back home safely, we should presume that he's up to something and make sure that we can get the drop on _him_ if he does try to do something with the kids."

The whole room had grown as sober and somber as the Ampharos. They were all so close! And yet, there were still so many ways bringing the children back home could go wrong… The Ampharos sighed and muttered something about things never being as easy as they needed to be before he spoke up again.

"I know that isn't what you all wanted to hear but… please understand."

"Well," Kiran murmured, tilting his head at the Ampharos. "If we _do_ need to think this through… Where do we _start?_ "

* * *

After a remedial strategy session, Daraen and Nida's teams took their places on the field again, with a fresh 'Substitute' set back behind Pleo and Daraen. The countdown sounded and then…

" _Go!_ "

They were off. Nida and Elty took off bounding from their places, the Growlithe leading as Nida hung closer to the back to defend her team's straw dummy. Pleo certainly _seemed_ to have a better grasp on the rules of the game as he hung towards the back of his end of the field, and Daraen charged off ahead much as he had the round before.

"Remember! Keep an eye on the Substitute!" the Deino cried.

"Right!" Pleo chirped back.

So winning this round was going to be less trivial this time, but no matter. They simply needed to be swift-footed and swift-minded. And what with Daraen's clumsy running, that was hardly an issue at all to Elty as he approached the Deino.

"Not so fast there!" he barked, spitting up a column of embers at the young dragon, only to feel an abrupt gust and see his fire blown harmlessly onto some nearby grass.

"E-Eh?!"

The culprit, Pleo, brought his wings back from midair and fluttered forward.

"Nice work, Pleo!" Daraen cheered. "Now like we planned, let's switch!"

The Deino fell back, dug his feet in, and leapt at the Growlithe, teeth bared, as Pleo sailed on above. Elty weaved around Daraen as the Pokémon's jaws snapped shut on empty air where his tail had been just a few moments ago. The dog sprinted off out of the Dragon-Type's reach, only for his eyes to widen as a sudden realization hit him. The Deino's charge had been a feint to let Pleo slingshot ahead, and he'd fallen for it hook, line, and sinker!

"Oi! Don't just stand there!" he yelped at Nida. "Take one of the two and I'll take the other!"

The Nidoran shook her head and muttered to herself as she watched Pleo fly low along the ground in between her and Elty.

"Sorry about this, Pleo. But a match's a match!" she yelled, flicking a barb at the white bird, only for Pleo to suddenly fly up as the missile came down on him. The spike carried on into a Growlithe whose eyes widened just as the barb struck him in the head.

"Yeow!"

The Fire-Type batted his head against the ground and glared back at the Nidoran

"You're not supposed to sting _me!_ " he growled.

"Why are you even there?!" Nida shot back. "You're supposed to be taking Daraen! He's closer to you!"

"He doesn't burn as easy! _You_ were supposed to take him!"

"My attacks go faster! Suck it up and-!"

As the bickering between the two continued, they were interrupted by the sound of Daraen's voice suddenly crying out.

"Got it!"

Nida and Elty looked around in a panic. Pleo was back on the opposite side of the field, but Daraen was nowhere to be found. The two suddenly realized that Daraen's voice was coming from behind and turned around to see the Deino running down their dummy with a stiff headbutt.

"A-Ack! Get away from that!" Nida cried. The Nidoran bounded up to the Deino and delivered two stiff kicks with her hindlegs, catching Daraen in his flank, and then his head.

"Ow!"

The blows flung Daraen tumbling off the battered straw doll, its head dislocated but still attached by a few straw sinews. The young dragon was forced to fall back after Elty breathed out another gout of fire at the Deino, leaving Nida to growl and whirl around fuming to her teammate.

"Pay attention, jerk! We almost lost the-!"

Only to be interrupted by a glowing ball sailing along and slamming into the doll's head, sending a singed-smelling body and now-severed head tumbling along behind them.

"Substitute…"

As Nida and Elty stared blankly at the charred doll- or more accurately the charred lump of straw that _used_ to be their doll- the sound of Pleo chirping in triumph rang out.

"Woo hoo! We did it, Daraen!"

The young Lugia swooped down and cheered with the Deino, the two darting in excited circles around each other. Nida and Elty flattened out their ears, as the sting of defeat began to register.

"Okay, let's agree to figure out who does what fast," Elty growled. "I am _not_ losing to a team with a first-timer!"

"Right," Nida sighed, shaking her head. "So… about your moves' effectiveness again?"

* * *

Back on Tromba, Hatteras thought, and thought, and thought some more, leaving the Pokemon from the earlier meeting wondering just when the wizened Ampharos was going to have that plan of his. Finally, as the afternoon gave way to the evening, the Guildmaster's mental logjam suddenly cleared with a loud "I've got it!" and some excited sparking.

In the flurry of activity that followed, word spread, and Pokémon of every conceivable stripe from around town began to turn up at the main square, as was the custom for whenever Hatteras had an important announcement to make. Hatteras brought along his mayoral scarf for the occasion, along with an empty crate from the docks to perch on, as the crowd gathered around and anxious questions floated about the gathering.

"What's going on here?"

"Has word come back at all about the Protector?"

"Is he hurt?"

The murmuring continued until Hatteras cleared his throat and motioned for quiet. The Ampharos shook his tail and then pierced the uneasy silence.

"I am happy to announce that as of noon today, I received word from Boisocéan that all the missing members of Team Traveller are alive and well," he said. "And that I _finally_ know how we're going to get them back."

Jubilant cries went about the crowd, though after the initial happy shock that the Protector and Kiran's missing charges had been found, some questions began to float around in the air. Hatteras actually had a way to get them back to Bluewhorl? _How?_

"We're going to pull an inside job," he cheered. "To have our own villagers take Pleo back from the Company… as _members_ of the Company."

The happy and joyful atmosphere bled away and was replaced with blanching and skeptical voices, as one after the other, doubtful comments came to the fore.

" _What?_ "

"He's gone completely off his rocker this time."

"Hatteras, how is that a solution to _anything?_ "

"It's simple," the Ampharos explained. "We've been playing a double game with the Company for some time now. Holding their ranks in return for being left to live our lives with less intrusion, Lyn's overpriced 'protection and services' notwithstanding. We are going to use that same double game to put out a bounty of our own to get our Protector back!"

"But there's no way the Board will stand for that!" a Pinsir with a lavender headband cried from further back in the crowd. "And it's not like a bunch of First and Second-Ranks like us have any way to push them around!"

"Maybe so, but _they're_ also the ones who stand to lose greatly if a bounty for a _god_ started circling around on every side of what's left of Anyilla!" the electric sheep bleated back. "And we can use the bounty _not_ turning up on every Mission Board and seedy dive in the old empire as leverage!"

More chattering went about the crowd. Yes, it was audacious, and like many of Hatteras' other plans, it seemed just a little daft, but… it just all seemed to add up somehow. It was a way to strike back at the Company when simple brute force wasn't an option. It was still a long shot, to be sure, but with the stakes what they were, could a better option really present itself?

"Alright, it _could_ work," a Persian from the guild said. "But… what do we need?"

"Well, for starters, a ship," Hatteras mulled, before he turned to a Fraxure at the front of the crowd. "Pladur, how are those sea legs doing?"

"Ah!" the Dragon-Type exclaimed in surprise. It was a big request, and also a big honor at that, but… "Er, w-well, I'm flattered, but it's not really my-"

"We accept!" a Raichu in a matching scarf hastily interjected. "What are you _doing_ , Pladur, this is the chance of a lifetime!"

"I'm the captain, and in my book, 'bringing a god back home' is a mission that's hard to say 'no' to," an Illumise buzzed. "And it's not as if any of us are strangers to 'undeclared cargo'."

Other affirmations hastily went up from other Pokémon on Pladur's crew, which wore down the Fraxure's initial reservations as he turned back to the Ampharos and stammered sheepishly.

"Ehehe, well, I guess you have a ship, Hatteras."

"And I'll provision it!" Calino shouted from the sidelines. "The Merchantry wouldn't want to sit on its claws for something as big as rescuing a god!"

Some murmurs went about the crowd about Calino's newfound generosity, or whether it was _really_ generosity as opposed to the advertising coup of a lifetime.

"That settles it, then!" the Ampharos cheered back as he brought a paw under his chin to continue mulling. They had a ship, provisions for it, and a crew, but there still seemed to be a few loose ends. "Unfortunately, _I_ can't go on account of serving several branches of government and keeping the ships in harbor safe at night. Marley is needed to come out of retirement to fill Osmund's position until he recovers from his 'square-neck greeting'."

"Mmph. It'll be a pleasure," the Nidorina grunted, a proud smirk spreading over her muzzle. "I was already thinking of returning to a more active role in recent weeks anyways."

"And I believe that it would be in poor form to ask Teja to abandon a field and nine children for a crew call," the Electric-Type said to himself. "So we will need some additional help-"

"We'll do it!" a voice suddenly interrupted. All eyes in the crowd turned to see a Quilava, a Jigglypuff and a Zebstrika, waving and trying to draw attention to themselves as they carried on in unusually cheery tones.

"If you're looking for help, can't go wrong with ours!" the Zebstrika eagerly cried.

"Yeah!" the Jigglypuff added. "We're _naturals_ at this 'crewing a ship' thing!"

"Much better use of us than keeping Pokémon around to get chased by kids, huh?" the Quilava asked.

Unamused leers went about the crowd. Just how naive did this lot think the town was? Hatteras sighed and put a paw to his brow as he replied back, shaking his head.

"Help that _doesn't_ have outstanding legal sentences against it, thank you."

After a few disappointed groans from the three, Hatteras entered back into thought as he mulled over just what was still missing from this crew. After he caught the sight of a Swellow's red, white, and blue plumage, it suddenly dawned on him.

"Kiran! He's your charge!" he bleated, whirling around to the Flying-Type. "Surely getting lost lambs _back_ to the fold is not too out of the norm to ask a team leader such as yourself?"

"Not at all!" he chirped triumphantly. "It'll be a pleasure-!"

Suddenly, Kiran was caught off by the sound of a sudden buzz.

"Wait!"

A commotion rang out as a group of Pokémon forced their way to the front, Ander and his mate at the fore followed by a Marshtomp and a Chatot.

"What are you _doing?!_ "

"You can't just bring the demon _back_ here!"

Almost immediately, an outcry arose from voices in the crowd. This was the Protector, and Ander and the other Marked were telling them that they _couldn't_ take him back? The suggestion was enough to draw bilious and angry growls.

"Oh, _sod off!_ "

"Who ever said that _you_ got a voice in getting our god back?!"

"You should just keep your yaps shut and stay in your little holes like normal-!"

" _Quiet!_ " a sharp bleat interrupted. The crowd's attention focused back on Hatteras, who was wearing a sharp leer as indignant sparks danced on his hide. The angry voices quickly hushed up as the Ampharos shook his head, and the sparks, much like his temper, calmed down.

"We are a _town_. And when we do things as a town, we include _everyone_ in it," the Ampharos said sternly. "And if there's _any_ lingering doubt about something critical to its future, it's best to try and bring back evidence to inform decisions…

Isn't that right, Ander?"

Some gasps and cries went about the group. Did… did Hatteras just ask _Ander_ to be part of the crew that would search for the missing members of Team Traveller? Even the poor Scyther seemed to be taken aback, as he cried out with a buzzing stammer.

"Wh-What?! You want _me_ to-?!"

"Take a wager of sorts," Hatteras replied. "Whether or not I and the majority of this town are right or wrong about the nature of our Protector, there would be _evidence_ to back the truth up, yes? Will you be the one to bring it back?"

Ander blanched and tapped his scythes together nervously. Why did it have to be _him_ that Hatteras asked?

"A-Ah…"

"Ander, do it!" the Chatot squawked.

"Wh-What?!" the Bug-Type objected.

"This is our chance!" the Marshtomp interjected. "Our chance to show that for all these generations the truth we've been taught is real!"

"B-But Cassie! And Sandra!"

"It's fine, Ander," the other Scyther reassured. "With this kind of opportunity, I can afford a little more work back home… Especially if what you find out there means that we can make a better future for ourselves."

"And we'll help them out as we always do when you're not able to work!" the Marshtomp said.

"If you won't do it, one of us will," the Chatot murmured. "But… I mean, none of the rest of us are quite as built for what might be out there as you."

Ander paused for a moment, and then looked back up at the Ampharos and beat his wings.

"I'll- I'll do it!" he buzzed.

"Very well then," Hatteras replied. "And, I think that's-"

" _W-Wait!_ " Crom's voice called out. The young Druddigon ran up to the front of the crowd, nearby Pokémon staring uncomfortably at him as he continued on pleadingly.

"What about me?! I want to help get Pleo back!"

"Um… sweetie," Gwenith answered as she sidled up against her child. "I know that Pleo means a lot to you, but you're really not in any shape to go on a sea voyage."

"And this could be dangerous!" Pladur added. "What if something happens to you?!"

"B-But he's my friend!" the young Druddigon muttered, staring at the ground as Hatteras blinked and began to reply.

"I will say that I can't in good conscience send you as you are right _now_ Crom…"

The dragon shrank and his expression sank, his eyes screwing shut as tears began to well up. He- He really wasn't going to be able to go after his friends? Not even with Kiran?

"But this ship _isn't_ ready to leave port right now. There's reprovisioning that needs to be done, and Osmund will need to give a debrief as to what to expect as new Company First-Ranks," Hatteras continued, as he pat the Druddigon's crest. "As long as you take care of yourself tonight and on the voyage over, I would say those wounds of yours would probably heal enough by then for a stint at sea, no?"

Crom absentmindedly grunted back, when he stopped, and suddenly realized…

Did Hatteras just say he could go?

"H-Huh?!"

"H-Hatteras?!" the Fraxure cried out stammering. "What are you-?!"

"It _is_ proper to keep a Pokémon in company with those near and dear to him, isn't it, Pladur?" the Ampharos countered, which made both the Fraxure and his mate look at their son and pause.

"I- I guess when you say it _that_ way…"

"He would have you with him, dear… And Kiran, too."

"I-I can go?!" Crom exclaimed. Gwenith and Pladur looked at each other, before giving small nods to the elderly sheep.

"It looks like your parents are alright with the idea, Crom," Hatteras answered. "You can go- Ack!"

Hatteras winced as he felt something coarse and rough scraping his hide. He looked down, and saw that Crom had latched onto his body and was hugging it tightly.

"Thank you, Guildmaster!" the dragon said. "You have no idea how much this means to me!"

"Ow! _Mayor!_ But I do- We all do, Crom. Whatever happens, we're all in this together," Hatteras bleated back softly.

"And… if it's not too much trouble, would you mind letting me go?" the Ampharos added. "Your scales are kinda digging into me here."

* * *

Nida and Elty slowly put their argument behind them after the second round, as the two concluded that winning the match was a higher priority than airing their displeasure with each other. Nida would play defense, Elty offense, and the two would focus on engaging whoever was closer at hand. The new 'Substitute' was set, the teams took their places, and Daraen's countdown came to a close…

"Go!"

Nida and Elty bounded off ahead at the sound of Daraen's voice. This time, they _wouldn't_ get tripped up over some silly bickering, as Elty whispered back to Nida about their strategy.

"Remember, you take high, I take low. We trade depending on who's closer."

"Mrph. Right!" Nida grunted back. Pleo and Daraen were almost upon the two, following a strategy much the same as the last round. This time, the Deino seemed to be content to charge on ahead for Elty.

"Aha! There you are!" he cried, as he dashed at the Fire-Type, head slung low and braced for a ramming charge. The Growlithe bounded away from the Deino's path with a last-second dodge, leaving the young dragon to skid to a stop and look around disorientedly.

"Eh?! Where'd you- Oof!"

A column of embers caught Daraen from behind, which sent the dragon pitching forward as he tried to run from the burning cinders.

"Gotta pay more attention to those senses- OW!"

Before Elty could finish his taunt, he was cut off by a sudden cry and burning-hot blue flames that stung surprisingly hard. The Growlithe tumbled in the dirt before getting up and shaking some sense back into his head, just in time to hear a retort from the Deino as he too righted himself and shook out his black feathers.

"Ha, that goes double for you!" he called back, as Pleo sailed on overhead, the final Substitute to break and decide the match now clearly in view.

"I've got it! I've got-"

But before he could enter a dive, he was smacked out of the air by a passing black blur.

" _ **GET AWAY FROM HIM!**_ "

" **A-AAH!** "

As Pleo got back to his feet, he heard Elty give a frightened, whining yelp and saw him run back for his end of the field. Nida had her barbs spread and her eyes widened in shock, leaving the young bird to squawk disorientedly.

"Wh-What was-?!"

As a Hydreigon swooped down and positioned herself in between Daraen and everyone else, all three of her heads snarling at Team Traveller.

" _M-Maman?!_ " the Deino squeaked. "What are you _doing?!_ "

"You would go after my _son?!_ " she roared at Pleo, glaring venomously at the young bird. "Of all of the things for a demon to single out in this world, why him?!"

As soon as the words left his mother's mouths, the Deino flinched and shrank behind her, shivering.

"Y-You mean _you're_ the demon in town I've been hearing about?!"

"Daraen! Pleo's not-!" Nida began, only for the young Dragon-Type to interrupt her with a betrayed and hurt-sounding shout.

"Y-You _tricked_ me! I th-thought you were being nice!"

"Daraen, _please!_ " Pleo pleaded, beating his wings to try and draw attention. "We took this mission because you wanted someone to practice with!"

"I thought we took it because we were desperate for-" Elty muttered, only to be cut off with a kick from a nearby Nidoran.

"Ow!"

"Not _now_ , Elty!" Nida hissed. She shook her head and cried out to the still-hiding Deino, hoping to reach him. "We were all having fun together just a few moments ago! Was _that_ just a 'trick'?"

The little dragon paused, and began to waver. He had been having fun just until a few moments ago. But the thing he had thought was a _Goélise_ turned out to be dangerous! But on the other claw-!

"I- I mean, I guess it wasn't-" he stammered, only for his mother to growl after hearing the rabbit's words.

"Don't try and mislead my child anymore than you already have! As if the doom that _thing_ brings wherever he goes isn't enough!"

"But- But-" Pleo stuttered. Why did this have to happen? They had been having a fun game before Margi came along and blurted out Pleo's identity. And why was she so adamant that he was a demon? He hadn't been mean at all! Why…

"I'm a _Protector!_ " he piped back indignantly. "I've been _helping_ him!"

"Just like how you 'Protectors' 'helped' erase humans from the face of this scarred world, huh?" Margi asked. "For daring to challenge them!"

The clearing went quiet as Team Traveller's jaws dropped. What- _What_ did Margi just say?

"H-Huh?!" Pleo squawked.

"You heard me! Pokémon like you are the _reason_ why there's no more humans in this world!" the Hydreigon snarled back as she snatched up her child in between her neck-arms. "Why all that we have left to get by with are these sea rocks surrounded by the Wastes!"

The dragon then beat her six wings, and tore out of the clearing with her child in the direction of town. Back on the ground, the three were left staring, still speechless as they tried to process what just happened.

" _Psiakrew…_ We didn't get paid, did we?" Elty sighed, shaking his head. Pleo was left stammering as he tried to make sense of Margi's rant. His… his kind of Pokémon _made_ the world as it was today? A world where islands like Tromba and the seas around them were the _only_ places that Pokémon could live?

"That- That can't be true! Nida! Elty! It isn't!" he cried, beating his wings out. Eventually, no response came, and Pleo's wings grew tired, leaving him to drop them and weakly ask.

"It isn't… is it?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _Solochi_ \- French: "Deino"  
>  \- _maman_ \- French: "mother" (informal), "mum"  
>  \- _Trois… deux… un…_ \- French: "Three... two... one..."  
>  \- _mecz_ \- Polish: "(sporting) match"  
>  \- _(¡¿)Por qué no te callas?!_ \- Spanish: "Why don't you shut up?!"  
>  \- _(¡)Cosita!_ \- Spanish: "Dear!" (endearing), lit. "little thing"


	25. Cri de Coeur

"Is it?"

Nida and Elty fidgeted their claws and fumbled around for something to say back as Pleo's words lingered in the air. Margi said that Protectors like Pleo were responsible for getting rid of humans in their world? It was crazy-sounding, but even so…

Just what could they tellthe troubled little Lugia to try and make him feel better?

"I… I don't know, Pleo," Nida finally replied, going up to the white bird and nuzzling at one of his wings. "I really don't _think_ it is… And I don't _want_ it to be-"

" _Dosyć._ It's been a terrible day and I don't want to be out here if we're not getting paid for it," Elty interrupted, shaking his head. "Let's just go find something to do in town to scrape together enough to get something for dinner. No sense in beating ourselves up out here."

"Maybe that _is_ the best thing to do for now," Nida sighed, looking up at Pleo. "It couldn't hurt to calm down, at least."

"I… I guess…" the young Protector reluctantly answered. The three then set off on the path back for town, their spirits lowered by their work being snatched away from them at the last moment and an uncertainty that gnawed at Pleo's mind…

Could Margi be telling the truth? _Were_ Pokémon like him really responsible for the hardships the world had been put through? Did _they_ make the humans disappear? And if so… would he wind up hurting the Pokémon he had befriended?

* * *

"Eh?! Kiran?! I thought that Osmund's debriefing was at the Guild Hall! Isn't that where the medic's hut is?"

In Bluewhorl, the Guild Hall stood on the bluff overlooking the harbor, but instead of going there, Kiran had lead Crom along to the town's Guardhouse. Even though the young Druddigon had never been inside, he passed by the place now and then, and was pretty sure that the local guards saw the medics at the Guild just like everybody else.

Then why were they _here?_

"I honestly don't know what got into that gecko," the Swellow sighed, shaking his head as he alighted on the eave of a roof. "Stubborn pride, perhaps, but if you want to be technical, we _are_ meeting him at a Guild Hall. A _former_ one, anyways."

"We… are?" Crom asked, tilting his head.

"Yep, this Guardhouse used to be the Guild Hall back when I was a wee little Taillow," Kiran chirped. "After Hatteras wound up becoming mayor and the guards shifted around a bit, they traded places with the Guild."

Crom supposed that the surroundings looked the part. The pair passed the administrative shacks and the open-air stump-desks of the local school. The place where young Pokémon, after leaving the care of guardians like Hariti, came to learn simple math and how to read the town's record of its history and fairy tales. After being fed stories of legendary dungeon explorers such as Shiren the Wanderer or Poulet the Adventurer for a few seasons, there would inevitably be a stream of young recruits for apprenticing teams like Kiran's to pick up and show the ropes of traversing Mystery Dungeons.

Still, it was hard to guess how the two-story structure built into the side of a hill ahead of them with its flat, earthen roof could possibly have once been the Guild Hall. While the building ahead certainly wasn't _small_ , it certainly seemed too small to hold everything that the guild did today! And most puzzling of all…

"How did anything ever work when everything was under one- oof!"

As the Druddigon plodded along, he bumped into the large, chitinous carapace of some passing Bug-Type and stumbled backwards, the unfortunate Pokémon stumbling forward with a cry.

"Ack!"

Crom brushed himself off and opened his mouth to begin to apologize when he noticed that the Pokémon nursing the spot where Crom had scraped him, was a male Scyther with a five-tailed blotch on his head…

"Eh?! Ander?!" Crom stammered, the Druddigon unconsciously folding his wings back. "Wh-What are you doing here?!"

"I've been busy all night putting things in order back at the shop for my departure!" the Scyther blurted out. The mantis lowered his head and turned the cutting edges of his blades inwards towards his body, as Pokémon of his species did whenever the occasion called for making themselves seem smaller. Once the Druddigon seemed to be sufficiently calmed, he eased out of his stance and continued on. "I couldn't just leave Sandra and Cassie completely unprepared, and… Well…"

The mantis sighed and buzzed uneasily, looking down at the ground.

"Truth be told, I'm honestly not sure if I'm ready for this… Why do you insist on putting yourselves in all this danger? And for-"

"They're my _friends!_ "

The Bug-Type's words felt like a jab to the Druddigon's gut. He had already failed his teammates once trying to come to his aid. How could he just turn away from him?

"And Pleo too, Ander!" Crom huffed back, his words coming out with an exasperated growl. "He's our Protector! And-!"

"Easy, Crom!" Kiran's voice interjected, the Swellow swooping down beside the young Druddigon and training a stern gaze which made the young dragon bite his tongue. The bird shook his head during the uneasy calm and cleared his throat to speak up. "I understand that we have some, rather- er… opposing views about what we'll find once this mission is over. But we can agree that we still need to _find_ the kids, yes?"

"Of course!" Crom cried. Ander tapped his scythes together nervously, and begrudgingly chimed in.

"Well… they would need to be found eventually, but-"

"So then, shouldn't we find out what it is we'll need to do in order to reach that goal together?" the Swellow chirped, beating his wings out wide for attention in his usual, cheery, and somewhat oblivious way. "Why, knowing your objective inside-out is the first rule of being part of a Rescue Team!"

The Scyther stared and blinked at the blue and white bird. Wasn't this the sort of routine Kiran went through with the Pokémon he helped train? Why was he talking to _him_ in such a manner?

"Erm… Kiran, you _do_ realize that I know how a Rescue Team works, right?"

"Oh! That'll save some time, then!" the bird warbled back. "But… let's head in for now, shall we?"

Ander sighed and shook his head as the group pushed aside a curtain of dried reeds covering the entranceway into a room with earthen walls and floors. There was a collection of papers posted on a wooden board much like the mission listings back at the guild near the front. Further back on one end was a room with a simple stump-table. A pair of idling guards were chattering in between mouthfuls of some small donuts set out on it with a similarly furnished, but empty room on the opposite side, likely a waiting room.

There were a pair of rooms towards the back of the room, their entrances located behind sturdy-looking doors that chanced to be left ajar. One next to a sign labeled "Records" held a large number of chests filled with various scraps of paper, the other a trio of empty stone-lined cells that were blocked with metal bars (the oppressive atmosphere over the last few days must have kept the customary bar fight of the week at bay), and a hallway that continued on further ahead. Along the wall outside the waiting area, there were stairs that led up to the second level made of tile steps atop compacted earth. The floor above had some rooms that the three couldn't seem to get a handle on, but… which of them was Osmund in?

"So," Crom murmured to himself. "Where _is_ Osmund anyways?"

"Why, at his desk, of course," a voice answered from behind along with a soft prod at his back. Crom flinched, flattened out his wings, and whirled around, where much to his shock, he came face-to-face with a horned, blue-furred spike ball with piercing red eyes.

" **AAAAH! K-KIRAN!** "

The Druddigon yelped and quickly darted behind the elder Pokémon with him. After exhaling the Dragon-Type slowly calmed down, though stubbornly refused to get any closer to this most sneaky _Cazadragones_.

"Erm, Marley," the Swellow sighed, putting a wing over his face. "You really _do_ need to work on being a bit more disarming."

"Eh? But I can disarm Pokémon just fine!" the Nidorina protested. "Why, I've even done it literally once before! Remember that Starm-?"

As some wide eyed looks went about the three, Crom flinched at the idea of what 'literal disarming' might entail, prompting Ander to hastily buzz in interruption.

"Aherm. You mentioned that Osmund was at his desk?" he asked. "Shouldn't he… well… be at bedrest?"

"He chose to put his bed a bit closer to his normal work. Nothing wrong with that," the Nidorina responded, licking her paw. "He's in the room up the stairs and to the left. Follow me, we've been expecting you."

The Nidorina hopped on ahead, leading the group up the stairs, and into a room overlooking the main foyer with a glassless window. In the back, on some hastily matted bedding next to a wooden table, the form of a Sceptile with bandages about his abdomen sat up uneasily with Marley's help, struggling with the lingering aches from his wounds.

"About time," he grunted. "I was kinda hoping that I wouldn't need to give another rundown in the morning-"

"Eh?!" Crom cried, as he shrank back and began to look more and more sheepish. "Oh! Er… sorry."

"No, it's fine! It's fine!" Osmund insisted. "I understand that Pokémon have their own things going on, and I can't really begrudge a Pokémon also trying to sleep off wounds."

"So what is it that we need to know for this mission, Osmund?" Kiran asked.

"Well, first off, we're going to need to teach you a thing or two about blending in with the right crowd," the Sceptile answered. "Can you do the honors, Marley?"

The Nidorina fished about a satchel slung across her shoulder and brought out three lavender scarves, unfurling them on the table. On each of them was a solitary, purple square…

"Huh?!" Crom cried out. "But those are Company scarves!"

"They are, yes. And they're your lifeline for this mission," the Sceptile instructed. "It'll get you in the door to enough places to be useful as long as you don't make too many visible waves."

"So… then we should wear them like we see the guards around town wearing them?" Crom wondered. "As headbands?"

"Eh?" Marley replied, tilting an ear back in puzzlement. "Of course not!"

It wouldn't? That seemed strange to Crom and drew a puzzled head tilt. After all, the guards in town wore them as headbands… So why wouldn't they also want to do the same?

"Huh? But… wouldn't that make us fit in better?"

"Well, for _one_ , local styles are exactly that. Styles worn by locals," Marley responded. "Why, if you wear _un 'Cintillo Trombense'_ and say ' _Hola, buenos días_ ' bright and early in the morning there, you'll reveal yourself as an outsider right away!"

"To be fair, you might have some luck pulling it off in some bigger settlements," the Sceptile added. "But yeah, the safest route when you _need_ to wear those things is to wear them normally…"

Osmund undid the band around his head and unfurled it. After quickly draping the lavender cloth about his neck and tying a loose knot at the back, he revealed a distinct, if wrinkly square with four smaller ones anchoring its corners.

"Like so. Keep the edges of the squares parallel to your chin. It won't make you popular in many cases, but you'll be better off your lumps in most of those cases."

"Mind you, you'll need to act differently in different situations," Marley said. "If you act the same way to First-Ranks and Third-Ranks alike, you'll just be begging to get smacked around."

"Third-Ranks?" Crom asked.

"Company scarves show off their rank by the pattern on them," Kiran explained. "These scarves on the table are First-Rank scarves, and the one Osmund's wearing is a Second-Rank."

"That's right, and long story short, the more purple squares you see and the more complicated the design, the higher-ranked the Pokémon you're talking to is," the Sceptile grunted. "If you get stuck with a chore by a higher-ranked Pokémon, just take the job to get them off your case, and ditch it when they're not looking."

"Eh, why I'd never recommend _that_ level of passivity, Osmund," Marley scoffed, waving a paw. "Not in all cases anyways. If there's a higher-ranked Pokémon that has worse bark than bite, take it out of their hide if you have to!"

The three looked at each other warily. That was something that would probably work for Marley, but… for them…? In potentially unfriendly places?

"Erm, I think we'll stick with the stealthier approach, thanks," Ander buzzed. "But why would we need to deal with other Company Pokémon in port again, Osmund?"

"It's how you'll get information if you have to! If you've got a scarf, you can go into Guardhouses like these and pick up the news from the bulletin, like ours out in the foyer," he elaborated. "Not to mention, a little berry juice never hurt to get a Pokémon's guard down and their mouths moving."

"That said, you should be mindful that not _everyone's_ going to be quick to talk around a Pokémon in Company lavenders, and it'll bring you trouble in some places," Marley clarified. "In those cases, stick to your normal scarves, and turn tail if you suspect anyone's growing wise to you."

"Wait a minute, the kids are on _Boisocéan_. It's a neutral island outside of the Company's control, isn't it?" Kiran asked. "If we're headed out as a Company ship, wouldn't we attract suspicion just coming into port thanks to the sails we'd need to sell our disguise?"

"That's… something that you'll have to work around, unfortunately. There might be some times when it'll be better to use the normal white-and-blues instead of Company sails. But any spotters will notice the change and pass it along up the chain, and the only really safe excuse I have for all of you showing up on the books right now is that you're being tapped to crew a new ship," Osmund replied. "That said, you _might_ be able to still get what you want even with suspicion if you're smart about it. And I'm sure they've figured out that Company Pokémon from Tromba are just a _little_ more reasonable than average."

"Eh?! 'Swapping sails'?! Why are you telling us all of this?!" Crom cried. "If Pleo's not even on an island run by the Company, why do we have to go through all that trouble?!"

That was right. Pleo and the rest of the team was on Boisocéan, they were safe and well there. And Kiran had just said that it was a neutral place! So it's not as if they'd run into Company Pokémon there, would they? And why did Osmund and Marley look so hesitant all of a sudden?

"Well-"

Before Osmund could continue speaking, he was interrupted by the sound of Pladur, a Raichu, and a Servine boisterously entering the room from the back. The group was in high spirits, and all of them were decked out in lavender scarves, clearly they had already gone through their own debriefings.

"Hey! We're back!" the Raichu cheered.

"Debrief going well?" the Servine wondered.

"Well enough," Osmund grunted. "Ready to push off, I take it?"

"More or less! Those Company sails you set the _Siglo Swellow_ up with worked great on the test run around the island last night!" Pladur reported, the eager, cheerful words from his mouth making Osmund and Marley blanch.

"You… left harbor with Company sails?" Marley asked, her ears shifting uncomfortably and her words coming hesitantly. The Fraxure failed to detect Marley's unease, and prattled on happily to the rest of the room.

"Uh huh! They're even better at catching the wind for that old hull than-!"

Only to grow wide-eyed and drop to the floor with his Raichu and Servine crewmates to dodge some spikes flying overhead.

" _Tontos!_ What were you all thinking?!" Marley fumed. Before the Fraxure could began to explain himself, his eyes went wide as he felt himself being lifted by his scarf by a forepaw and being drug face to face with a seething Nidorina.

" **A-AAH!** "

"Of all the reckless, _stupid_ things you could have-!"

The others in the room leapt up and pried the two away from each other. As Marley struggled lividly against Ander and Kiran, Pladur hastily retreated and fell behind his similarly-rattled companions. In an attempt to prevent the situation from escalating any further, Osmund cried out for calm.

"Marley! Easy! Seeing a Company ship isn't out of the ordinary for the sea spotters!" he exclaimed. "Besides, that information still has to work its way up the chain! Don't get yourself so worked up!"

The Nidorina folded her ears back and muttered nervously to herself as she paced back and forth over and over again.

"Right… It's just a ship… The Company surely spots their own ships around here regularly enough…"

"Marley, it'll work out. I'm sure of it," Osmund answered as he tried his hardest to try and soothe Marley's rattled nerves. "To answer the earlier question, the reason why we're telling this all to you… is because you might need it. We're here, and the Protector's in Boisocéan…"

"And Lyn's still out there!" Marley cried. "That Samurott could chase him and my _niñita_ off!"

All of a sudden, her nervousness, her anger at Pladur and the others, all of it seemed to make sense. But was it all really that dire?

"But- But- Pleo and the others _told_ us they were alright!" Crom interjected. "And we haven't heard of any trouble from the island since then! They couldn't have gotten into that much trouble… could they?"

* * *

It was a beautiful day back in the hills over Bluewhorl, the skies were blue, the neighbor Pidove was singing a song with her mother to greet the morning as usual, and the town down the hill was lazily returning back to life. Her parents and siblings crowded around to cheer her on from the welcoming mat, and the little blue Nidoran was happy.

Yes, this was the way things were. The nightmare away from home had been dispelled and she was back where she meant to be. She heard a cry from further down the path and saw her teammates, with Crom at the head of the group, waving at her and beckoning her "Hurry up!"

The Nidoran whirled about, dug her feet against the ground, and just as she was about to hop off…

" _Aherm._ "

A harsh voice suddenly called out and the scene suddenly evaporated, leaving behind only darkness and a gnawing feeling in the Poison-Type's stomach. It was all a dream! The team was still stuck on Boisocéan, still waiting on word to come back for if it was safe to return to Bluewhorl.

"Hnn? Are we getting up already?" a sleepy and tired-sounding voice chirped, Pleo's she presumed.

Last night had been a fiasco. No one on the team had found any work to do to get food for the night, and by the time the team got to the mats that Maranda had talked about, the only ones left unclaimed were a handful on the very edge of the wooden platforms they were spread out over. On top of all of that, no one had dinner! No wonder why Pleo still sounded so tired and her stomach disagreed with her so, they'd both not eaten a bite since they left the Medic's Hut yesterday!

"Whuh?" Nida yawned, finally cracking her eyelids open and uncurling. "What's going on-?"

Only to come face to face with the Galvantula, Seismitoad, and Crustle from the day of the Gummi Fab tour… Except this time, the three sported piercing leers directed at the team, the Water-Type among them holding a hogtied Growlithe up by the scruff of his neck.

"Is this _yours?_ " the toad growled, leaving Nida to flatten her ears and bite her tongue.

"Er…"

"Uh huh! That's Elty, he's our teammate!" Pleo cheered, bobbing his head in affirmation. The Lugia then paused and tilted his head curiously as he recognized that something was amiss with this scene. The mats were empty of the Pokémon who were there the night before, the sun was higher in the sky than he expected. But…

"Where are all the other Pokémon? And why do you have him all tied up?"

"We asked for the other Pokémon to give us some privacy," the Water-Type croaked back. "And the mutt had a few things to answer for."

The Seismitoad abruptly tossed the Fire-Type onto the mat, who came to a rolling stop between Pleo and Nida, head under heels.

"Ow!" Elty yelped. "Seriously, it's all an overreaction!"

As the Growlithe fought with his bonds to try and right his body, Nida sighed, shook her head, and pressed the little dog…

"Elty, what did you _do?_ "

"Relax! It wasn't anything serious," the Growlithe answered, as the leers on the group of guards grew sharper and more pronounced. "Just a little forgery."

" **WHAT?!** " Nida cried, hopping back in a shock as Pleo tilted his head and wondered… Just what was…

"'Four'… 'jury'?"

"Your buddy tried to pass off a fake signature to get into the food line," the Galvantula hissed. "And to help himself to food that belongs to Pokémon that do actual _work_ for the town's guild."

"Oi! We _did_ the job, and we _still_ didn't get to eat anything last night!" Elty huffed back in protest. "What difference does it make if another Pokémon fills in the signature?!"

"A world of difference," a voice from behind the guards chittered, its owner stepping forward and revealing to be none other than…

"Maranda?!"

"At the very least, you could have been a bit less transparent about this whole affair," the Leavanny muttered, shaking her head.

"You can say that again," the Crustle chimed in. "Attempting to forge a completed Mission listing is grounds for a long _Community Service_ stint doing something like scraping gunk off the docks around town."

Elty flinched and folded his ears back at the idea of having to wade into the swampy water around town on a regular basis. He fudged a signature on a _clutter_ mission! Wasn't getting water involved as a punishment just a little much?

"Not to mention, it's also an offense subject to Command Responsibility!" the Seismitoad growled, glaring at the little spike ball before him.

Nida's ears drooped and the Nidoran audibly gulped as soon as the words 'Command Responsibility' left the guard's mouth. She had heard it come up in stern lectures with teams at the guild who had recruited a feral who was slow to take up the town's rules. She was also certain that back home she had overheard Kiran wondering aloud several times if it would come back to haunt his decision to take Elty under his wing…

Now she was about to live through it for herself.

"Eh? Nida?" Pleo asked. "Why do you look so nervous?"

"Command Responsibility means that the leader of a team will get in trouble for something her subordinates do," the Crustle lectured. " _Especially_ if it can be shown that she knew what they were up to and did nothing to stop it. One of the first rules of a Rescue Team, really."

"That said, this _does_ seem to be a rather peculiarly trivial reward to run your names through the mud over," Maranda interrupted, as she looked down at Team Traveller. "You didn't happen to just run off and forget to get your listing signed first, did you?"

Nida traded looks with her teammates as she debated just how much they should tell Maranda about what happened with Daraen and Margi yesterday. After an uneasy silence, she finally turned back to Seahive's medic leader and shook her ruff.

"Something like that, yes," she muttered.

"Understatement much?" Elty whispered. The Leavanny turned to the waiting guards and summarily dismissed them.

"I'll take over from here," she said, waving a leafy hand. "I don't think this will take too much longer, and I should make the most of my rounds about town before my shift at the hut starts up again."

The Galvantula, Seismitoad, and Crustle traded wary looks with each other, but in spite of their hesitation, one after another, they deferred judgement to the leafy bug.

"Understood, _Madame._ "

"I still think you're going too easy on them, but if you think this is a good idea…"

"Yeah, I was looking forward to sticking it to that tubby mutt!"

The three turned and headed down the path back towards town, leaving Elty to fume and bark after them.

"Oi! It's a _seasonal coat!_ "

"I think that _if_ you can go do your paperwork properly, I can talk the guild into leaving this little incident off the record," Maranda interrupted. "Just go back to Daraen, explain the mistake, and get the signature you need."

The team's expressions sank. They were going to have to try going back to Margi? Pleo in particular betrayed his unease as his head and wings drooped.

"Uhm…" he replied uneasily. "I mean, I guess we could try…"

"Was there a misunderstanding between you all?" the Leavanny questioned.

"More his mother, but yes," Elty answered. The team shrank back and bit their tongues as the Bug-Type paused and visibly pondered how to respond back.

"… Maybe it would be best to also try and work through that," Maranda suggested. "I can't promise you'll succeed, but it seems like something that would probably put you at ease, and Daraen and his mother too, for that matter."

"What are we supposed to _say?_ " Nida squeaked, hopping up and down in a start. "She thinks Pleo's _evil!_ "

"I don't really know anything I can tell her to change her mind," Pleo murmured.

"Just go as you are. You don't have anything to hide or have anything against either of them, do you?" the Leavanny asked. "So just show that when you talk with them."

"Okay," Nida answered, nodding her head back. "I think we can manage that. But… where would we find them?"

"Well, I overheard a few Pokémon while passing by the Gummi Fab Margi works at, that she abruptly called in sick from her custodial job a few days ago," the Leavanny mulled. "She obviously sounds more well than what she let on, but knowing the circumstances, I'd imagine she's been staying around her home at _la bastille._ "

"What is it?" Pleo wondered.

"It's a neighborhood past the fringes of town, nestled in some trees past a clearing around a creek," the Mairesse explained. "Just head opposite the direction of the shrine from here, and you'll find its approach soon enough."

"Oh, one last thing," she commented. "Be sure to _walk_ to _la bastille_. Even if you were able to find it from above, I'm not sure that surprising the Pokémon that live there would do you any favors for getting your signature."

"Right," Nida said. "Thanks for the tip."

The Leavanny turned and left the mats, and the Nidoran finally stretched out, and watched Pleo beat his wings a couple times to get his blood flowing. After the two seemed energetic enough, they turned for the path, and chanced to see a Fearow pass by overhead in a hurry, probably someone else who overslept like them. It wouldn't hurt to pick up their own paces a bit either, but even so… Nida and Pleo couldn't help but feel that something was amiss…

" _Hey!_ " Elty barked. "Are you two going to _untie_ me or what?"

Oh. _Right._ Still, in spite of all of the trouble the Growlithe had caused earlier… it couldn't hurt to have an extra set of paws to help, could it?

* * *

After following Maranda's lead, Team Traveller came to a portion of Seahive's sprawl of wooden pathways that came to an abrupt halt next to a broad, marshy field of leafy green plants that tracked a small creek. The plants were apparently of a kind called "nettles," with thin spikes full of irritants that had a tendency to lodge themselves into Pokémon that brushed up against them. "Just like you, spike ball," the Growlithe on the team noted, much to the Nidoran's annoyance.

The sole route across the field was a rickety-looking rope bridge that lead to another platform at the edge of a much denser patch of trees at the other end. As the group made their way over to the other side, they saw that along the bottom, the lower branches had been stripped, and the nettles grew up in between their trunks.

When the three reached the other end, they saw another rope bridge heading deeper into the cluster of trees. Pleo alighted on a peg holding one of the bridges in place, only to flutter off in a panic after he felt it wobble under his weight. The bridges here seemed much less sturdily built than the passages back in town… Why, a particularly mean-spirited Pokémon could just tear up the bridge by pulling out the pegs on this end end!

But then again… considering what had happened yesterday with Margi and Daraen, maybe that was the _point._ Perhaps they had been made that way specifically in case of the arrival of a "demon", which made Pleo pause and grow uneasy about pressing forward, prompting him to turn to his shorter blue-furred partner.

"Nida… is this really a good idea?" he asked. "What about when we went to Ander?"

"Of course it is!" Elty barked, leering determinedly back at the little Protector. "If you want to stay and eat at the guild today, we _need_ that signature!"

Nida lowered her ears and rolled her eyes at the Growlithe's words. While his motivations for going here were transparent as always, it was hard to argue with them… And after all…

"Pleo, I know that the last time didn't turn out so good," she sighed. "But Maranda _suggested_ this, that means there _has_ to be a way for it to work out… I hope."

The Nidoran looked ahead down the path warily, and thought about turning back for a moment, when some words came back to her from a few nights prior. She had promised Pleo that they wouldn't give up, no matter how bad things looked. Well, here was food and shelter being held from them thanks to an obstacle… Were they going to give up here?

No, they wouldn't. The Nidoran shook her head and hopped down the rope bridge, beckoning her teammates to follow after her. Elty trotted along hot on her heels, and Pleo followed after him. Before too long, the rope bridge had taken the group past trunk after trunk of the same, tightly-spaced trees, with little to show for Pokémon life around them.

All of a sudden, the quiet was broken by Pleo looking back and pausing.

"Eh? Didn't Maranda say that you could see the shrine from the entire town?" he called to his teammates. "I can't see it anymore!"

"What are you talking about?" Nida asked. "It was visible right-"

The Nidoran turned back, and saw nothing but the forms of her teammates, and the tops of the trees. She blinked a moment, and then hopped up Pleo's back for a better view…

"Behind us…"

Only to see that the shrine that stood over Seahive really wasn't visible, it was blocked by all of the trees around them! Nida hopped off her companion, and shook her head before pressing on with the team in tow. It was a little disorienting, sure, but they were on a bridge. One end lead back to the way they came from and the other-

"A-Aah!"

Towards their destination, a collection of thatch and shingle-roofed shacks and huts, along with platforms with mats spread out that were firmly nestled under a canopy that only let little rays of light in from above. With a panicky Croconaw and Forretress at the end starting to pale at the sight of the group on the path before them.

"It's here! The demon's here!" the Water-Type cried.

"Don't just _stand there!_ " his wide-eyed companion chastised. "Hurry up and pull up the bridge!"

Nida and Elty froze as they saw the crocodile reach for one of the pegs holding in the rope bridge at the destination platform, only for a squawk to ring out…

"A-Ack! Don't do that! You'll make my friends fall!"

And all eyes to see that Pleo had taken flight for the platform, much to the horror of the two guards.

"It can f-fly already?!" the Croconaw whimpered. The Water-Type and his companion froze in visible fear as the still squawking and shouting bird flew nearer, and nearer… Finally, the Forretress' nerves gave way, and he turned and fled hopping along with his counterpart shouting.

"E-Everybody run!"

Nida and Elty quickly dashed after the young Lugia as he alighted on the platform, lest someone more collected come by and pull up the bridge while they were still on it. From the platform, they could see the neighborhood ahead explode into a frenzy, as Pokémon rushed here and there in a panic for shelter, or to be anywhere where the white bird wasn't.

"Whelp, so much for us getting food and shelter today," Elty grumbled. Pleo's head and wings drooped, they had just got here and his efforts to keep his friends from getting hurt had just made all of these Pokémon upset with him again! Frightened cries of "I-It's the demon from the Abyss!" and "He's here to destroy us all!" sailed through the air, leaving a little Deino stumbling around confused and disoriented by the tumult around him…

Hold on a minute! That Deino was-

"Daraen!" Pleo squawked, and drew a stunned yelp from the little dragon.

"H-Huh?!"

Only for the creature to turn and try to run, which lead him to stumble over a sagging plank in the platform below his feet and pratfall. As the creature picked himself up, Pleo flew after him, crying out and begging with him all the while to stay.

"Please don't go! We need you to-!"

A loud roar and a blue and black blur suddenly swooped down between Pleo and the Deino. The little bird hopping back with a squawk as he came face to face with one of Margi's snarling heads.

"Stay _away_ from him!"

Only for her growling to suddenly be upstaged by another roar from behind Pleo.

" _Na litość boską!_ **GIVE US OUR REWARD!** "

Everyone flinched and turned around slowly to see a glowering Growlithe with his paws stubbornly dug in into the rough wooden planks underfoot, prompting Nida to clutch her ears and mutter an exasperated " _En serio?_ "…

That roar was… Elty's?

"You're _not_ stiffing us again!" he growled. "We went to bed hungry last night and slept on mats under the stars thanks to you!"

The Hydreigon blinked and craned a head down at the Fire-Type, was this really all about…?

"Did you _seriously_ come all this way for a few berries?" she grunted unimpressed.

Elty's determined leer wavered as he saw Margi's snout meeting his, the much bigger Hydreigon's much bigger teeth coming into clear view, her growling breaths reaching his nose and his ears. Nonetheless, he still attempted to muster the bravest face he could find. After all, food and shelter were at stake here.

"Th-That's right! We did!" he insisted. "I-Isn't that right, Nida?"

Nida shot a glare at Elty for getting her involved and hopped forward as Elty inched back away from the Dragon-Type's head; she then began to explain their predicament to the mother Hydreigon.

"We really didn't come to cause any trouble!" she assured "We just need a signature to show the guild that we did Daraen's request yesterday!"

"Um, but didn't Margi come while we were still-?" Pleo murmured, only to be met with a simultaneous pair of hisses from his teammates.

"Not now, Pleo!"

"Th-Then why did you lie to me?!" Darean cried from behind the Hydreigon's legs. "Why did you tell me you were a _Goélise_ when you were really a monster?!"

"Er, technically _you_ thought that Pleo was a… whatever a Goélise is," Nida replied. "We just never corrected you."

"And I'm not a monster, I'm a Protector!" Pleo protested. "Why you keep saying I'm supposed to do awful things?!"

"It's because of what you _are_ ," Margi growled back. Pleo froze, and unconsciously shifted back a couple paces from the big and belligerent-sounding dragon. "It's a part of your _nature_ , as it was for the old Fiends in the old world!"

"The _old_ world?" Nida asked. "What would be wrong with it? It was supposed to be a better place than ours all the way up until the old gods died!"

"It was that way because the humans and Pokémon of that world constantly clawed their way to having that better past!" the Hydreigon thundered before she trained a leering gaze on Pleo. "An era when humans and Pokémon lived together, combining their cleverness and strength to form a better age that existed long before things like _that_ came along from the Abyss."

Pleo began to shrink back uneasily from Margi's glare, but still, there was something that he needed to know. What was this…

"Abyss?"

"Pleo!" Elty complained. "Don't let her change the subject! We were going to get that signa-"

The Hydreigon growled at the little Fire-Type, who quickly bit his tongue and as Daraen continued on after his mother.

"It's a space between worlds where dreams sometimes come to life and enter worlds like ours," the Deino explained. "That's why in the ancient times, both Pokémon and human knew better than to get too close to any entrances to it, and to avoid anything that came from it."

"Wait a minute… This 'Abyss'… it's a world of dreams?" Nida wondered. "But I've never heard anything bad about such worlds before! Why would you want to shut it out?"

"Because along with good dreams, _nightmares_ would come to life from it! Without regard to how ready our world was! Why, this whole mess is due to such nightmares coming to life during an age of weakness like the one we live in!" she glowered. The dragon moved forward, Team Traveller uneasily backpedaling as the dragon's voice and demeanor began to shift to one of bitter consternment. "An age where hardship and despair lurked around many a corner and life struggled just to get by. It bred yearnings for stability and a defender. And in response, the Abyss created the archdemon that you call 'Arceus'."

Nida's jaw slackened and dropped at Margi's venomous gall. Arceus, the god whom the Cradle owed its very existence to, an _archdemon?_ Why-? How would she even-?

"Are we seriously putting off getting that signature for this?" Elty grumbled. The Growlithe looked back and saw that they had backpedaled a ways back to the bridge already, and from the look on the Hydreigon's faces, she seemed to be keenly aware of it.

"B-But that's not right at all!" Nida cried. "Arceus _created_ the world!"

Every so often, one of their number would dig in with some attempt to hold their ground, only to cede further ground after another growling push forward by the large, intimidating Pokémon

"You're _wrong!_ That's a history that's been _fed_ to you!" Margi growled. She shot a glance over at the rope bridge, which in between chunks of story and continued backpedaling, drew closer and closer to Team Traveller. "By the archdemon himself after he conquered our world and fashioned servants like that bird from the nightmares of the creatures that live here! After that, they spread lies such as that one to exalt themselves and keep simple-minded and easily cowed creatures from questioning them!"

Pleo curled in his head uncomfortably at the Hydreigon's cutting words, and Elty and Nida traded incredulous glances with each other. The Nidoran was sure that Margi couldn't be correct, and what she was saying seemed to be so obviously detached from reality.

But no matter how she tried, she found herself drawing blanks again and again for forming a counterargument, and Margi's tirade went on uncontested.

"It's a falsehood that blotted out the truth for many eons, consigning it to be forgotten entirely, until the humans chanced to discover great magic," the dragon continued. "A magic which enabled them to fashion great cities made of metal and glass, boxes that shared sounds and pictures across space and time, and allowed for an age of unparalleled prosperity."

"Hey, this is a wonderful story, but can we get our-" Elty began, only for his teammates to both swiftly meet him with a stern…

"Shush!"

"I-It was that same magic that would've let the world know the truth again, and the demons knew it!" Daraen added. "They became afraid of being exposed, and time and time again attempted to destroy everything that the humans and their allies had built!"

"Daraen, that's crazy!" Nida spluttered. "The gods are _Protectors!_ Why would they want to destroy anything?"

"Oh really now?" Margi asked. "Is that why they sent storms to wipe their towns away? Why they stirred up land and sea against them to try and burn and drown their nations? Why they lent their power to fiendish devices to try and annihilate entire swaths of the world in a fell swoop? Why they even attempted to unmake our world from the archfiend's throne? _That's_ what you call a 'Protector'?"

Nida winced and lowered her ears, "Uhm… well, no, that's not- but-"

"Nida," Daraen explained. "That's what really happened. The Pokémon you call the old gods really _did_ all of that… I mean, even you have to admit they'd have the power to do it, right?"

It wasn't like they _didn't_ have the power to do that… While they weren't favored by anyone for obvious reasons, Nida herself had heard of legends of calamities brought about by spurned Protectors in the old world. But, those calamities couldn't have happened maliciously as Margi was alleging, could they?

"When they made all those attempts, they led the generations of the past to _discover_ the truth and brought the humans to war with the parasites from the Abyss. With the great magic that had been discovered, they fended off the demons and their deluded cronies, before finally attempting to put an end to this madness with mighty blows from the heavens," Margi muttered. "It was our world's moment of victory, our emancipation from these tyrants! But before the archdemon could finally be cut down, his servants in their dying rage brought destruction on our world."

Pleo turned nervously to his teammates and saw that while Elty and Nida both were visibly uncomfortable, they seemed entranced with the story, to the point where it seemed they scarcely seemed to notice that Margi had all but herded them back to the platform at the entrance of _la bastille!_ Were… were they also worried that somehow, this awful story might be true?

"What happened next?" Nida asked reluctantly.

"That left Arceus free to reshape what was left of the world, forming what you now call the Cradle. He put an end to the presence of humans in our world, which is why their magic has been forgotten with time and why the feeble resistance our ancestors could muster afterwards came to naught," Margi explained. "There, he spread his spawn like that _thing_ , ensuring that one day the world would be theirs to subjugate once again-"

When suddenly, a stammering squawk cut off the Hydreigon's words mid-sentence.

"But- But- I don't _want_ to be mean like that!"

Everyone blinked and all eyes turned to Pleo. Daraen and Margi were at a loss of words… Here they were with a 'demon'… who didn't want to be one? A thought crept into the Deino's mind, as he realized a simple enough explanation for Pleo's outburst.

"But don't demons like destroying things?" he murmured. "It's what they do, so it wouldn't be mean to you!"

"But I don't _want_ to destroy anything! I _like_ this world!" the little Protector cried out, hoping to communicate his earnestness by beating his wings. "I like Seahive and Bluewhorl! I like being able to play with other Pokémon like we did yesterday! Even if there's bad Pokémon in it, there's nice ones, too! Like Hatteras! And Kiran! And Crom! And-! And-!"

The little bird shook his head and, with the loudest voice he could muster, blurted out his feelings.

" _I want to be their Protector!_ "

The two Dragon-Types stared blankly as voices began to murmur. One by one, their neighbors uneasily returned from their hiding places among the huts and the branches of the surrounding trees, carefully maintaining their distance. Whispers of confusion and incredulity floated around as Margi paused, and craned a neck down to her son.

"Yesterday, out in that clearing," she began. "Did- Did he try to hurt you, _ma petite?_ "

Daraen paused, and as his mind floated back to the day before, and the fun he had had… the Deino had to admit:

"He didn't, no…"

"Doesn't really sound like a 'monster', if you ask me," Nida said.

"So… can we finally get our reward now?" Elty asked hesitantly.

"Er… I mean, you technically still owe me one more match, but," Daraen murmured to himself. "I mean it went well enough… And if _maman_ is okay with it…"

Some uneasy whispers went about the watching neighbors as all eyes waited to see what the Hydreigon would do, until finally, she spoke up.

"Fine," Margi grumbled, training a focused gaze on the little white bird before her. "But _if_ your intentions are as pure as you claim, you will _leave_ this island as soon as you hear of somewhere else you can shelter."

"H-Huh?!" Pleo squawked.

"Look, Pleo, there's obviously some things about you that don't match with what we've been taught," Daraen explained. "But those teachings obviously must have _some_ truth to them, otherwise _maman_ would have never known about what you are!"

More murmurs of "That's right!" and "We can't get _too_ close to the thing, no matter how nice it seems!" went about the crowd. Pleo's head and wings drooped, before he had his attention drawn back to the Deino as he began to speak again.

"In _that_ case, we have to stay careful," he said. "You understand, don't you?"

"I… I guess," Pleo replied. "But I really don't-"

"It's good enough, Pleo," Nida sighed. "We'll be headed home soon enough anyways."

"And besides, we need to get some food in our stomachs! We haven't eaten since last night!" Elty cried, as he dug a paper from the satchel on Nida's back and slid a dog-eared sheet of paper in front of Daraen.

"So… about that signature?"

* * *

A few moments and a dusting of Daraen's foot in some charcoal powder later, the mission listing was finally signed with Daraen's footprint. Team Traveller gave their thanks to Daraen and Margi, and turned to trek down the rope bridge for the thick woods outside the Marked neighborhood, now with two Oran Berries, a Rawst, a Pecha, and a Chesto in the team bag. The guarding Croconaw and Forretress warily returned to their posts, and the other Pokémon slowly returned to their day's routine.

Daraen and his mother remained at the platform's edge, wondering just what to make of the exchange they had just gone through.

" _Maman_ …? If a demon doesn't _want_ to be a demon," the Deino murmured. "Will it really still be one?"

"I don't know, _ma petite_ ," the Hydreigon sighed, as she watched Team Traveller slip into the trees at the end of the bridge. "But… part of me hopes it won't."

* * *

Unbeknownst to Team Traveller as they made their way back to the guild hall in high spirits, the skies and seas around Boisocéan had fallen into a precarious tension. Pokémon flew and swam along the loose cordon that Lyn had enacted- far enough from the island to elude suspicion from watchers on shore, but sufficiently close for Lyn's spotters to make out the Pokémon that came and went. And most importantly, still near enough to ferry word to prowling pods of lackeys lying in wait to pounce.

At the hub of the operation was Lyn's still-stricken vessel, the Samurott taking some time out from inspecting the half-done patchwork on his sails to press a group consisting of a Ninjask, a swimming Furret, and a Fearow of their findings.

"I want a status report, now."

"Well, he wasn't by the gummi fa-," a Ninjask began, only to clamp his mandibles shut, grimace, and hastily amend his words. "Er… we didn't see him in town today!"

"So then one of your squads on the cordon _caught_ him, then?" Lyn demanded. The otter hardened his gaze at the three Pokémon, who gulped and paused noticeably before continuing.

"I didn't see anything on the far side of the island when the dive team there took me down," the Furret bobbing in the water said. "And there were no signs of the Lugia at the end of the Subway path offshore-"

The Surfing ferret was interrupted by the sound of a sudden commotion and splashing further away from the ship.

" _Ack!_ Bird! Bird!"

The group turned to see a Goldeen thrashing while a group of irked-sounding blue and teal seabirds were pursuing and pecking her. Lyn's Weavile first mate chanced to pass by after an inspection of some recently untangled rigging, and sent a frigid, cutting gust of wind just overhead of the birds. The Icy Wind quickly sent them flying away in a panic, much to the Dark-Type's smirking amusement as the red-and-white fish sidled up against Lyn's ship.

"Well, we found some white and blue birds," the Water-Type sighed, shaking some sensation back into her pecked fins and flank. "But they were just feral Wingull. Nasty little buggers, too!"

Lyn's face fell, and the Samurott growled and seethed. Picking a crew on short notice and drastically changing their orders would lead to some degree of sloppier work, but this was ridiculous! What sort of cordon was ringing this island?

"Do you mean to tell me that an overgrown seabird and two landlubbing runts slipped past us _again?_ "

"I-Impossible! I caught a glimpse of the target just half an hour ago on the fringes!" a Fearow nervously stammered. "The group looked about as prepared to leave as an Ingrained Oddish! I would've swooped in, but there were some tough customers around them and I lost them as they went through Seahive..."

"They _could_ just be doing work in the Mystery Dungeon, Captain," the first mate added in between disinterested picks at his claws. "After all, even amateurs need to put food in their stomachs."

The Dark-Type's words made Lyn pause, and his posture slackened from resignation.

"That's… true," he admitted, even if it was not the least bit reassuring. He could tighten the cordon and whip the current shifts into better shape, yes. But even sharp and focused spotters would get worn down if pressed for too long… Bah, this ought to be simply going ashore and claiming his prize! Why couldn't the Guardian have tumbled down onto an island that wouldn't have geopolitics to complicate the matter?

"On the other fin, we'll have some more help with this cordon soon!" the Goldeen piped up in a cheery tone. "One of our ships was looking for your coordinates earlier!"

"One of our-?" Lyn asked. The Samurott scarcely got in a couple puzzled blinks before he heard a buzzing voice call off from behind.

" _Lyn!_ "

After turning towards it, he saw a Mothim flitting from a two-masted ship with the patterns of a Second-Rank captain on its sails further out at sea… heading directly for his deck.

"Of _course_ ," the Water-Type sighed, as Ellsberg flitted over the deck and came to a fluttering rest on the railing beside the Third-Rank. The moth's expression betrayed an uneasy and exasperated impatience. It was no secret to Lyn what the culprit was…

"I thought you said that the Guardian of the Seas was facing imminent recapture!"

"For crying out loud, it's the _second day_ ," Lyn growled. "How much more imminent do I need to get with a potential diplomatic powderkeg like Boisocéan?"

"You didn't include that in your message!" the Mothim cried back, hopping up and down on the railing with idle flutters. "Is it _my_ fault that the Board wound up coming to their own assumptions with such an evasive account?"

Ellsberg shook his head, drew in a deep breath, and calmed himself. Impatient Administrators or not, Lyn _did_ have a point. Even if they wouldn't be pleased, they would surely understand the delicacies of the situation, wouldn't they? And it wasn't as if he _only_ had bad news to deliver to the Commissioner…

"On the positive side, I _think_ the Board must have anticipated that this mission would potentially run into trouble. They seem to have been able to put together a second crew quietly enough to help you after all," Ellsberg buzzed. "Why, I heard from a spotter that one of our own ships pulled out of Tromba last night. It could be a coincidence, but-"

Ellsberg flinched as he saw Lyn tense up and sink into a crouched pose that the moth normally saw whenever the Water-Type was about to pounce at an opponent while training. The Samurott twitched his whiskers, shook his head, and grumbled back in a low tone.

"That's not a coincidence. That's a sign we're running out of time."

"E-Eh?" the moth asked. "How do you figure-?"

" _Think_ , Ellsberg!" Lyn roared at the Bug-Type, startling him off his perch on the railing and into the air. "Who is on Tromba and what's happened there lately?"

Tromba? But the only Pokémon there were the locals, Osmund, and Hatterby… Wait a minute, surely Lyn didn't mean that he expected _them_ to somehow be involved.

"You can't honestly be suggesting that those rubes would try and-"

"That's _exactly_ what I'm suggesting, Ellsberg!" the Samurott cried. "From all the runs I've made to that accursed sea rock, I know it's exactly the sort of stunt that Hatteras would try and pull!"

Lyn looked out at the sea. He had already stretched his numbers thin with the cordon, and leaving his ship to be a sitting Ducklett without defenses during any move on Seahive would be asking for trouble. The cordon could be condensed around a narrower portion of the island if he had an idea where Pleo would try and fly off from, but too many unpatrolled patches raised the risk of the Protector slipping away under his nose.

The Samurott then cast a glance over at Ellsberg's craft in the distance and, after pausing in thought, spoke back to the waiting notary.

"We're going in."

"Eh?! But your sails are still half-torn!" the Mothim spluttered. "You'll wear out your escorts just by having them help you limp into port!"

"I said _we're_ going in, Ellsberg," Lyn corrected. "You have a ship and I can lend a few paws already out and about to it."

The Mothim stared back blankly at the Water-Type. It explained the look at the craft, but Lyn couldn't be suggesting that he use it like he would his own, right?

"You can't seriously hope to intimidate a town into submission with _my_ ship!" the moth protested. "It's got half as many cannons and crew members as yours!"

Indeed, Ellsberg's craft was very much like the Mothim himself. None too imposing or spectacular on its own, but rather reliant on the unstated threat of bigger problems coming in its wake to arm-twist locals into compliance. How would he be able to apply that to an island that wasn't even under Company jurisdiction?

"We won't _need_ to, Ellsberg."

"But what are we _supposed_ to do otherwise, Lyn?" the Mothim pressed. "You can't quietly snatch Lugia away without good intel on his location! What are we supposed to do if not use brute force?"

"Tell me, Ellsberg, _what_ do you do in our ranks?" the Samurott barked.

"Deliver and notarize messages of importance to our realms, of course!"

"Such as say, extradition notices?"

Ellsberg paused. That… actually made quite a bit of sense. He supposed he had underestimated Lyn as merely a more accomplished brute. An extradition notice provided a decent cover, it was something that he as a notary could do, but there still was something that didn't add up…

"It could work… But just what can you say to get an island that has stubbornly refused to pick a side all these years to cooperate?"

"It's simple really," Lyn explained, as he nonchalantly fished out a seamitar from along his right arm and began to idly toy with it about his knuckles. "If Seahive were to harbor cutthroat pirates that raided and attempted to burn a Company vessel on the high seas, that's not just a reckless disregard for local safety…"

_Thunk!_

The sound of Lyn's blade striking wood reverberated along the deck. As Ellsberg looked down, he saw that Lyn had thrown the blade into the timbers underfoot, leaving it stuck blade-first in the wood.

"That's a stunt that _no one_ this side of the Cradle would tolerate. After all, neither us nor the Imps have any interest in seeing a _second_ island become a pirate haven, neutral territory or not! Their leader's only _real_ choices there then become stalling for time- which allows for an extraction team to either grab or flush out the Protector- or handing him over to us directly," the otter said, smirking. "And if they attempt to mount forceful resistance in defense of these 'pirates', why that's grounds for _military intervention_ in the imminent future!"

"One that _you're_ there to harbinger, I take it?" the Mothim asked as Lyn pried the seamitar out of the wood.

"Would you expect me to have it any other way?" he chuckled. "Inform your deck hands of the new plans. We're setting sail immediately."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _Dosyć_ \- Polish: "Enough" (Interjection)  
>  \- _un 'Cintillo Trombense'_ \- Spanish: "a 'Tromban Headband'"  
>  \- _Hola, buenos días_ \- Spanish: "Hello, good morning"  
>  \- _Madame_ \- French: "Madam"  
>  \- _la bastille_ \- French: "the fortress, "the citadel, "the bastion"  
>  \- _Na litość boską!_ \- Polish: Interjection roughly analogous to "For crying out loud!" or "For goodness/God's sake!", lit. "For divine mercy!"  
>  \- _ma petite_ \- French: "my little (one)" (Term of endearment)


	26. Moving Targets

_Sploosh!_

As Ellsberg fluttered along, he heard the sound of his ship's stone anchor hit the water. Turning his head, he saw his ship finally come to a bobbing rest, just in time to see Lyn leap into the water. The Samurott barked an order, signaling the Pokémon maintaining the cordon to move into position around the town ahead. The Mothim redirected his attention back ahead to see the docks of Seahive Square in the distance, nestled among the mangroves that held up most of the town.

"Remember, Ellsberg, I need you to stall for a few moments before I come along so the extraction team can slip in. Keep them occupied until we get there," he grumbled, mockingly mimicking Lyn's voice from an earlier debriefing as he continued along his erratic flight path. For a Pokemon that was his ticket to becoming a Commissioner, the Samurott's tendency to treat Ellsberg like another one of his deckhands never failed to grate the moth's nerves. "How new does he think I am? _I'm_ not the one who got a ship damaged from careless oversights!"

Before long, Ellsberg came to the edge of one of the harbor's wharves, where a Durant and Simisage in the flowery, sea-green scarves of Seahive's guards. The pair chattered idly with each other, the metal-plated bug prattling along next to a wall-like pile of rough barrels and crates.

"And _I_ told him, ' _You_ take the leafcutting duty this week, I'm a ground Pokémon and _you're_ built for it!'"

"Eh? With the Captain? So how'd that work out?" the leafy ape asked back, cocking his head puzzledly and waiting on the Bug-Type's answer.

"Er… not so great, I've got to pick between leafcutting duty and helping him out with river patrol now," the Durant reluctantly admitted, flinching at the thought of having to struggle to keep his head above water all day. "Since when did _Papa_ get this spiteful over a few suggestions?"

Those two looked like they'd be able to drag out a standoff, distraction enough for Lyn's infiltrators to slip in. After selecting his target, Ellsberg flitted up to the pair and loudly buzzed at them to gather their attention.

"You there!"

"Eh?"

The Durant and Simisage turned to see the waiting notary fluttering about impatiently. After the two realized that the creature was wearing a lavender scarf with violet squares, matching the sails on a ship coming in from sea, their expressions hardened into gruff scowls.

"Hrmph. Oh, it's you guys again," the ant chittered. "What do you want this time?"

"Yeah, you know the rules, we're _neutral_ ," the ape added. "If you want more provisions, you can follow the same loading procedures as everyone else."

"Hardly," Ellsberg huffed, his patience for the intransigent duo worn thin from his earlier debriefing. But nonetheless, Lyn had asked for a few moments, and he could get him that much. "I bring important news from Kenobi, and if your leader knows what's good for this town, she'll hear me out."

The two Pokémon looked up at the leering moth, then at each other with skeptical looks before turning their attention back to Ellsberg.

"Yeah?" the Durant scoffed. "Says you and what ar-"

The bug's words were cut off with a harsh bellow and the stiff slap of seawater, knocking him and his partner back. As the two stumbled back to their feet, they came face-to-face with the piercing glare of a Samurott. In the background they heard cries from their fellow guards and other Pokemon at the docks, as surly-looking sea Pokemon and fliers moved into position around them.

"Says _mine_ ," Lyn growled. "And it doesn't like to be kept _waiting._ "

The Pokemon froze out of startled shock, before the two guards, whether out of bravery or rash pride, attempted to put on brave faces and stand their ground.

"Th-That's not an army!" he hastily retorted. "That's just a squad!"

"Y-Yeah!" the Simisage added. "You won't be able to shake down our town with that!"

"Oh, we don't have to shake down your town to get what we want," Lyn sneered, drawing a seamitar from his sheath and leveling it at the Simisage's throat. "We just need someone to deliver a summons. If you'd rather spend your time lying down on the job, I'd be more than happy to make you _stay_ down for a _very_ long while."

The monkey slowly inched away from the point of the seamitar and gasped for air as he and his now trembling, bug-eyed companion looked anxiously back along the docks for some open route to scuttle to safety. As the two tried to regain a semblance of composure after Lyn's threat, the sound of a Mothim clearing his throat cut through the air.

"As I said earlier, I bring _news_ ," Ellsberg insisted. "One that you and your town would be wise to not ignore."

The Simisage and Durant audibly gulped, and then asked stammering, one after the other...

"Er… wh-what's the news?"

"Y-Yeah, wh-what's going on?"

* * *

A few minutes later, Team Traveller made their way back to the looming, conical main hall of Seahive's guild complex, blissfully unaware of the present happenings at the town's dock. As Nida, Pleo, and Elty continued alongside the final stretch of the stream that separated the guild from the nearby shops, the three prattled along about concerns that were closer to their minds...

"Heh heh! Mission accomplished!" Elty cheered. "So what are you going to eat first?"

"Hmm?" Pleo murmured, as he hopped down from a railing on the walkway. "What do you mean?"

"Yeah, wouldn't the food here be the same as in the guild back home?" Nida said, tilting an ear quizzically.

" _Chyba żartujesz!_ Seahive's known for its food!" the Growlithe barked. "You don't think they'd get all the sea Pokemon around these parts hooked on their stuff if they were bad at it, did you? Why they've got Gummis… Poffins… Donu-"

The Fire-Type's words trailed off and died as he and the others saw Maranda talking with a rattled-looking Simisage and Durant with sea-green scarves at the entrance to the Medic's Hut further down the walkway.

"Wait a minute," Elty began. "That's…"

"Maranda?" Pleo asked.

They couldn't pick out the conversation from their distance, but they could see her expression grew unnerved, and the Leavanny quickly darted off with the two guards down Seahive's web of raised walkways.

"Where's she off in such a hurry?" Nida wondered. "Didn't she need to tend to the medic's hut right about now?"

"Eh, I'm sure it's just normal-" Elty dismissively answered, only to be cut off by a sudden shout.

"Oi! You guys!"

The three Pokemon turned from the direction that Maranda had darted down and saw three other Pokemon rushing for them from further up the walkway- a Venipede, a Tepig, and a Purrloin, all of whom seemed every bit as shaken as the recently-departed Leavanny did.

"Just what did you guys _do_ before coming here?" Venner demanded.

"Yeah, we heard that a Company ship pulled into the harbor!" Francouer exclaimed. "They say they're looking to extradite a group of pirates that match your description!"

Nida, Pleo, and Elty froze as the Tepig's words played over and over again in their heads. As their blood ran cold, and their stomachs knotted from stress at the realization that the Company had followed them here, they were able to only muster a collective, shocked cry of...

"Wh-What?!"

"Hmph," Actor harrumphed, shaking his head. "I knew something seemed fishy about them."

"Eh?!" Pleo cried. "But Nida and I- None of us are pirates!"

"Then why does the Company want you all so badly? I mean, if you were just run-of-the-mill pirates, they'd be happy to just let our town's guards handle you, but…" Venner said. "No offense, you look like you'd have trouble fighting your way out of a pile of Substitutes."

The three stammered and tried to make sense of how they could explain this to Team Chasseur. The truth was simple enough, the Company wanted Pleo because of who he was, and use him for gods know what… But Maranda had warned them not to tell anyone about the young Lugia's nature, and-

"Is- Is Pleo _really_ a Protector?" Francouer asked, his body tense and expectant.

"Huh?!" Nida squeaked, hopping back. "How did you?!"

"I mean, it sounds crazy," he murmured. "But I remembered you all saying it earlier…"

"That's preposterous!" Actor hissed. "Why would a _Protector_ have trouble fighting off some Company Pokemon?"

"Why, because he's still young and vulnerable of course," a voice called out. Elty and Nida's fur stood on end at the sound of the voice, and Pleo looked around anxiously, leaving Team Chasseur to scan their environment quizzically.

" _'sa?_ " the Purrloin muttered. "Who said-? _Ack!_ "

From the corner of their eyes, the two teams saw a Water Pulse bearing down on their position, and dove out of its way as it struck the middle of where the group had been. As Pleo stumbled back up, he saw a blue orb with electric sparks dancing inside it fly towards them. The Protector blew a gust of air with his wings at the Petrify Orb in a panic, deflecting it and sending it into the stream with a splash.

As the two teams looked off in the direction of the attacks, their assailants became clear: a Frogadier, an Ursaring, and a Xatu. Their scarves had been hastily bleached white with a blue sun added, with little flecks of the original lavender and purple showing up here and there, but the last two definitely were Pokemon they had seen on the fateful day they snuck aboard Lyn's ship.

"Don't let him get away!" the frog yelled.

Without thinking, Elty hopped up onto Pleo's back, and as the young Protector shifted to try and adjust to the pudgy dog's weight, he barked desperately to his teammates.

"Hurry up! We can shake them if we get into the air!"

Nida followed suit as Pleo quickly hopped up onto the railing with his two passengers and spread his wings to take flight, only to see the Ursaring bearing down on them. The white bird froze in place as Nida and Elty begged him to fly, flinching as the bear swooped in with a swipe of his claws .

"Argh!"

Only, the attack never came. Pleo opened his eyes and saw that the Ursaring had stumbled and tumbled along the walkway, a poisonous barb lodged in his calf. Further behind, Venner was still in a braced position, and spat out a second venomous dart at the Ursaring for good measure. The sound of the Xatu squawking in pain could be heard, as Team Traveller saw Francoeur spit out a cone of cinders on the bird, and the Frogadier tumbled forward after being tripped up mid-hop by a dark, shadowy ball Actor spat up.

"What are you waiting for?!" Venner chittered. "Get out of here!"

"Yeah, we'll hold them off!" Francoeur added.

"But-!" Nida cried, only for Actor to cut her off with a hiss.

"Just go already!"

Pleo leapt up into the air, Elty and Nida clinging on for dear life as Pleo tore up above the trees with desperate wingbeats. The three could hear the sounds of a scuffle below, and when the Nidoran and Growlithe looked back, their hearts sank.

They saw Team Chasseur getting knocked about. Francoeur was launched into a wall by a telekinetic fling from the Xatu, the Frogadier had punted Actor tumbling down the walkway, and Venner was clinging precariously to the edge of the walkway with his foreleg after the Ursaring attempted to swipe him down into the miry swamp below.

"We shouldn't have left them behind," Nida muttered.

"We need to look out for ourselves here!" Elty huffed back. "Let's just hope those Company jerks can't catch up."

The Nidoran shook her head and turned away, and let the trees fade into an indistinct sea of leaves and boughs. The team couldn't afford to stay around while Lyn was prowling at the town's port…

Not that any of those self-reassurances made her feel better.

* * *

Back on the ground, Francoeur was struggling to get back up from underneath a dent in a wall, Actor panted raggedly as he picked himself up from the walkway, and Venner struggled to pull himself back up. They had really bitten off more than they could chew this time, with no obvious means of turning the tables...

"Stop right there!" a Claydol's voice rang out.

Meyrink rushed in with an Emolga and an Igglybuff from the guild. The Claydol knocked the Ursaring down into the swamp with a slapping jet of mud, where as he staggered up, a waiting Gastrodon swept the creature unconscious into a mangrove trunk with a muddy wave. The Frogadier yelped as the Emolga swooped by and ran a weak jolt of electricity through him, leaving him wobbly and sluggish enough to be knocked over to the ground by the Igglybuff's tackle. Before the amphibian could hop back to his feet, a jagged, blue bolt from the flying squirrel on a return pass caught the Water-Type. The frog slumped over onto the walkway and lapsed out of consciousness as the Igglybuff gave him a stiff swat to his head.

Another beam of electricity swiftly followed and struck its Xatu partner, sending her tumbling against a wall as the other guild Pokémon rushed over to finish her off. Her health depleted, cornered, and robbed of her allies, the remaining Xatu panicked, and in the blink of an eye, vanished entirely, having fled by teleportation.

Of course, those morons had ambushed them right outside the _guild hall!_

Team Chasseur woozily stumbled back onto the walkway with the help of a few nearby Pokemon. As the two remaining infiltrators were tied down with rope by a growing crowd of Pokémon from the guild, some Pokémon went up to Maranda's hut further ahead to bring back someone to tend Team Chasseur's injuries.

"Hrmph. Was causing trouble in town part of that 'news' too?" a Snorunt spat, glaring at the prone forms of the two Company Pokémon. As the interrogation of the two semi-lucid strangers continued, the Diggersby from the Medic's Hut finally rushed in with a handful of Oran Berries and anxiously inspected Team Chasseur's members.

"Are you three alright?" Meyrink asked, bobbing uneasily over the planks of the walkway. "What just _happened?_ "

The Tepig and Purrloin looked tiredly at the Venipede, who despite aching from the blows in his struggle earlier, paused, and looked into the sky for a moment.

"Just us helping out the young and vulnerable," he chittered, giving a weak smile. "You know, normal guild stuff."

Meyrink shook his head, and looked back, seeing the form of a white bird with an orange and blue passenger clinging tight. The psychic trailed off with a wondering "Hey, aren't those…?" as Venner murmured under his breath.

"We've helped you guys as much as we can… Good luck out there."

* * *

Back at Seahive's docks, the piers had cleared out and emptied of Pokemon beyond Lyn and Ellsberg's entourage, a cordon of nervous-looking guards who had blocked off the paths that lead deeper into town, and a Leavanny who had hastily darted up to the docks just a few moments ago. She came flanked by the Durant and Simisage from earlier, along with an elder Masquerain whose eyes flashed a venomous expression that almost seemed to match the spots on his wings. As Lyn and Ellsberg continued to badger her over these 'pirates', the leafy bug shook her head shot a defiant glare back.

"Well, it's certainly an _interesting_ story, but I can't say that I'm particularly convinced," she scoffed. "A team of _three_ pirates, humbling a three-masted ship with escorts in the sea and air?"

"That's precisely why we need them extradited!" Ellsberg buzzed indignantly.

"Hmph. What makes you so sure that those three would even _be_ here?" she asked. "Don't you think competent pirates like those would stick out like a sore thumb? That there wouldn't already be a bounty floating around for them somewhere?"

"Look here, I know those three are here and don't you play coy with me!" Lyn growled. "How they pulled off their shenanigans is unimportant, their capture is an immediate priority on behalf of the Company! _If_ you insist on harboring dangerous criminals, we _will_ come back to uphold the peace! By any means necessary-"

Lyn trailed off as he saw a silvery-white form rise above the treetops. The wings, the head, the neck, the accursed blue and orange fuzzballs on his back… There was only one thing that it could be.

"Kane! The target's moving!" he bayed. "Get in the sky and signal the other Pokémon in the cordon to shoot him down!"

The Crobat grunted and flew off. After getting a ways off the ground, the bat spewed out a volume of thick, black haze as he cut along, forming a long, ugly streak in the sky pointing towards Pleo's current flight path. Back on the docks, Ellsberg quickly turned to a Lanturn, and hastily barked at the creature to follow suit.

"Tell First Mate Gordon to get the ship out there and cut off their escape!"

"Right!" the anglerfish answered, before turning and swimming off for the ship. Maranda spat a long strand of silk after the Crobat in the air and cried out.

"Stop hi-!"

Only to be abruptly shoved to the dock by a sudden wave, making the silk miss her target and aimlessly drift back to earth. As the water subsided, the Leavanny looked up, and saw that Lyn had pushed her entourage back down the docks with a Surf where they were coughing up water and trading wide-eyed looks. It was only a short gap between them and the Mairesse, yes, but the Samurott now perched over the Leavanny, seamitar in paw and trained at the base of her neck, Ellsberg shooting an unimpressed leer from behind.

"My aren't _you_ eager to start a diplomatic incident?" the Mothim chided, as the remaining Company lackeys dug in and leered at the Leavanny and the local guards. "How do you think the Board is going to take finding out that this island's leadership aids and abets wanted criminals?

The leafy bug paused, and ground her chitinous teeth. She couldn't come to Team Traveler's aid, not at the expense of her town… leaving Lyn to smirk smugly at the bedeviled Mairesse.

"Just sit tight and let us handle our own problems. Everything will work out fine."

Indeed, all that was left to do was hope that things would work out for the three young Pokemon above.

* * *

Out at the Gummi Fab where Margi worked, the six-winged form of a Hydreigon swooped in from the air and came to a flapping stop. The past few days had been stressful, what with coming and going on short notice to try and keep tabs on home and the 'demon' that lurked about. But now… perhaps it was ill judgment on her part, but after her encounter with Pleo earlier in the morning, she felt more at peace paying closer mind to her work at the fab.

"Hey!"

The Hydreigon's earholes caught the sound of a young dragon's voice, and she whirled about, seeing her son poking his head over a tall pile of stacked barrels.

"Eh? Daraen?" she asked, craning a head down to meet his snout. "What are you doing out here?"

"Er, well... I figured that after all the trouble you've been having the past few days, you could use some help with your work!" the Deino began, ruffling his feathers proudly. "Eating all the deformed gummis sounds like hard work!"

Ah, of course… He was thinking with his stomach, one sign that things had returned to their normal order.

"Daraen… I'm a custodian," Margi sighed. "That's only _part_ of my-"

Just then, the normal sights and sounds of life were punctured by a pair of sudden cries.

"We've got company!"

"Pleo! Go left! Go left!"

The frantic voice was followed by the sound of a thick, wet glob flying through the air, then a sphere of spectral energy zipping through the air...

And finally, a frightened squawk.

"A-Aah! Nida!"

One that made the two Dragon-Type's plumes stand on end.

"Mom, that's _Pleo's_ voice!" Daraen cried.

The Hydreigon craned her heads up, and saw the form of Team Traveller's members frantically diving to evade a Sludge Bomb and a Shadow Ball sailing overhead. Further behind, there were the forms of a Crobat and a Ninjask that were quickly closing the distance in on him.

"Mom, what's going on?" the Deino asked anxiously. "What's happening to Pleo? I can't see him!"

The Hydreigon turned as a Swanna swooped in behind the two pursuers. As the two groups flew by, she could make out that there were lavender scarves with violet squares on all of the pursuing Pokémon's necks, leaving her to murmur aloud in unsettled realization.

"They're trying to take him."

Dark images of what their world might become if Pleo were to be brought under the Company's banners filtered into the Hydreigon's mind. Even if he _didn't_ buy into their horrid designs, it was something that surely would portend nothing but sorrow and anguish, including for the Pokémon in _la bastille._ But… could anyone afford for that to happen?

"... Stay here, _ma petite._ "

* * *

In the skies above, Pleo lurched up with a squawk as a slicing gust of air sailed under his wings, close enough to cut the tips of a few of his flight feathers. Elty dug his paws into Pleo's plumage while they lost altitude. As the bird fought with the wind and finally evened out, he looked back and saw...

"Gah! That Swanna wasn't there before!" he yelped.

Their pursuers were still hot on their tails. The Growlithe threw a Stick from the bag with his mouth, only for it to fall into the sea below without so much as fazing the fliers behind them. It was the latest in a series of ineffectual attempts to strike back. Team Traveller had spat fire at them, flung poisonous barbs, and even turned to attempt to gust away one of their pursuers. All of the attacks had been intercepted, fallen into the sea, or been woven around by their targets exploiting the winds at such a height.

"Gwark!"

Their attackers on the other hand seemed to be much more used to fighting in the midst of windy skies. No matter how hard Pleo tried, there were still attacks that would inevitably find their mark, as he staggered and dove uncontrollably after a Swift clipped a wing tip with star-shaped bursts of burning light and smoke, sending Pleo plummeting towards the sea.

"Aaah! _Sube! Sube!_ " Nida cried.

As the Nidoran held on for dear life, her muscles froze and she began to feel faint while a thousand regrets passed by her eyes, little things she would no longer be able to make right back home with Crom, her family, and the other villagers. Nida felt Pleo's body even out in the air, leaving her to pant anxiously as her senses slowly returned to her. The blue spike ball chanced to look up and see the three Company Pokémon carry on in their original vector thanks to the obscuring smoke, only to stall and notice their quarry had gone below them, prompting the Flying-Types to dive after them.

Wait a minute.

Their pursuers seemed to be wary of getting too close to Pleo, probably because of a lingering fear of being blown around again like a few nights ago. Whenever they lost track of him for a moment, they would have to look around to find the party again before the Crobat would spew out smoke of his own to form a trail to follow past it. If only they had some way of making smoke to muddle the bat's Haze! Or did they already have one? Why, between Pleo's Weather Balls and Elty's Embers… that just might do it!

Nida's ears pricked up, and she shouted over the wind.

"You guys!" she squeaked. "We need to charge them and take them head on!"

An eerie, shadowy ball sailed on overhead, Nida and Elty hunkering down with yelps as it zipped over their ears and just past Pleo's head crest. Did the spike ball _seriously_ just suggest that?

" _Jesteś szalona!_ " Elty growled. "They'll pick us off by the time we nail one of them!"

"And I don't know how to bring out my power!" Pleo squawked. "If it doesn't come out in time, I'll never be able to defeat them!"

"We don't _have_ to defeat them!" Nida explained. "They've been staying back from us all this time! We just need to intercept one or two of their attacks and climb over them to kick up some cover to slip away!"

Pleo cast a glance back at the pursuing Pokémon, they had almost closed the distance between him, and it wouldn't be long before their attacks would come too soon to be weaved around or blocked. Nida's plan sounded impossible and scary, but…

"Are you sure this is going to work, Nida?!"

"No!" she cried back. "But whatever happens, we can't give up here!"

That was right, they had promised each other they wouldn't give up. It was the only plan that any of them could think of that had a chance of working. So perhaps all that was left to do, was to stare down the impossible and hope for the best.

Pleo circled around and the three Pokemon came face to face with their pursuers. Team Traveller watched as their tormenters widened their eyes out of surprise while preparing to unleash a volley on the team. They saw the ball of vile-looking purple glop in the Crobat's mouth, the ominous dark ball in between the Ninjask's mandibles, and the cutting winds in between the Swanna's wings...

And as they watched the attacks leave their foes' bodies, all converging on their position…

"Now!"

With the blind frenzy of a cornered animal, Team Traveller returned with their own salvo. A glowing ball of light from Pleo's mouth, a cone of fiery Ember's from Elty's muzzle, and a piercing barb flying through the air from Nida. As soon as the three had flung their attacks back at the Company Pokemon, Pleo climbed up into the sky as loud bursts and puffs of smoke filled the air beneath them.

"Hey! Where'd they go?!"

As the three pursuers shouted out in confusion as to where their targets had gone off to, Pleo tore on ahead, beating his wings forward with all of his might as Nida and Elty looked back at the puffs of smoke behind them.

"Well I'll be," Elty said. "They _did_ actually teach you things at that guild of yours."

"That ought to buy us some-" Nida began, only to hear Pleo suddenly cry out.

"N-Nida?! Their friends are here, too!"

His passengers whipped their heads around, seeing that much to their horror, there was a ship with lavender sails just ahead of them. It was smaller than Lyn's, but that was of little relief as the team saw Pokemon scrambling into positions to try and lob attacks at them.

"A-Ack! Where'd that ship come from?!" Nida squeaked. As her barbs began to dribble poison, the team's blood ran cold as they heard a voice calling from behind.

"There they are! Shoot them down!"

The smoke cloud from earlier apparently hadn't bought nearly as much time as Nida hoped. Now, here was the team, boxed in between the Company ahead and behind them. The three saw glints coming from the ship, and without thinking, Elty suddenly barked out…

"Pleo, dive and go right! Now!"

Without thinking, Pleo followed along, and entered a steep, almost perpendicular dive to his right. As soon as they left, attacks sailed all around their former position, followed quickly by the sound of a commotion.

"Gah! You aren't supposed to be attacking us, you morons!"

Elty and Nida quickly looked back in the direction of the voices where they saw their three pursuers staggering and struggling, evidently having been nicked by some of the attacks coming from the ship.

"Er… Ellsberg will understand about that damage right?" the Swanna's voice called.

On the opposite end the ship was in a frantic commotion, its stern the unfortunate victim of the attacks meant for Pleo, and her escorts preoccupied more with saving their stricken craft than the white bird slipping away. There was a hole punched just along the waterline letting in seawater that a Snover was desperately trying to mend by making an icy plug, one of the sails had a long gash torn into its fabric, and the tiller was torn from its place, floating along behind the ship with some planks of the stern's deck. As he surveyed the damage from the friendly fire, Elty shook his head and wondered aloud...

"Wait, why didn't we think of doing _that_ earlier-?" he began, only to be forced to drop down by the Crobat diving overhead, his companions coming into view.

"They're still coming after us!" Pleo cried, only to squawk out of pain as starry bursts came down on him and his passengers from above. As the little Protector felt himself stagger and struggle in the air, He heard Elty yelp as the dog's hindquarters dangled precariously in the air, Nida trying her hardest to keep him from falling into the sea below. Above him, the Crobat was still there preparing a glob of vile-looking sludge in his mouth trained on his tired wings.

Pleo's mind shifted back to Lyn's threat back in the hold to cut his flight feathers, and shuddered realizing that now he was about to suffer whatever pain that would involve… high above the sea below him. He beat his wings wildly in the last-ditch hope that his power would come to him like it did on Lyn's ship, but nothing came but the aching of his sore and desperate muscles.

Maybe… maybe there wasn't a way to get out of this...

_**GRAWWWWWWR!** _

The Crobat spluttered and gagged after accidentally swallowing his sludge as the three Company Pokémon flinched and looked around uneasily for the source of the noise. The Ninjask scanned the bottom as he wondered aloud...

"What on earth wa-AAAH!"

A black and blue blur abruptly tore up, as a blue-scaled head delivered a crushing bite to the costa of the cicada's left wing. As the bug screeched in pain, the head, attached to a long, serpentine neck flung the Ninjask away, sending him pinwheeling through the air until he fell into the sea with a splash.

The blur then came for Pleo, leaving him to flinch in the air as he felt a soft, but noticeable nip at his back. Both Nida and Elty cried out in shock as the Growlithe got shoved back onto Pleo's back and they all were tugged along. He then noticed that in spite of his tired condition he was flying along faster… Wait a minute, that nip was _towing_ him! As the three looked up at the now clear form overshadowing them, they saw it was none other than...

"Margi?!"

The six wings, the jet-black feathers, the magenta and blue scales, the comet-shaped blotch on her central head. That was Margi alright, but… why had she come?

"What are you doing?!" Pleo cried.

"Keeping our world safe by keeping the Company from getting their grubby maws on you!"

The ship rapidly began to shrink away further and further into the distance, but in spite of that the forms of Swanna and Crobat kept coming after the group. Pleo felt the nip let go and toss him and his team forward into the air.

"Ack!"

As he straightened out, he saw a frigid, cutting burst of air strike Margi's back and cake over the shoulder of one of her wings with a layer of ice. The Hydreigon whirled around with a loud roar and sent a bluish-white fireball at the Swanna. The burst struck him along his side and tore away some of his flight feathers in the process, sending him spiraling out of the sky and into the sea below. Before the dragon could take any particular satisfaction in her victory, she felt a stiff smack and a vile sensation along the side of her underbelly. She looked down and saw that poisonous, purple glop was dribbling down her scales, and threw her into a struggling panic to try and clean it off herself before it seeped into her body. As the Hydreigon fought to be rid of the sludge, the Crobat closed in on her, snarling.

"You're gonna _pay_ for that you vile-"

"Margi, fly away!" a voice suddenly rang out.

"Huh-?! Augh!"

The bat suddenly had a spike catch him near the carpal joint of his upper right wing, followed by a cone of cinders which set the fur on his belly afire, and finally, a strong, overwhelming Whirlwind which swept the creature up and sent him into a steep dive into the sea below.

"Margi! Don't just wait there!" Pleo squawked. "We need to keep flying!"

And indeed they did need to, Team Traveller could already see Pokémon in the sea swimming after the downed fliers, and others were shifting their attention to them. The two fliers tore along, their wings feeling increasingly numb as they continued desperately pushing forth in the air as jets of water and beams occasionally came at them from the sea. The shots grew further and further away, and when the four Pokémon looked back… they saw there were no more pursuers. The other flying Pokémon in the air had gravitated to the Crobat's Haze trails that no longer pointed to them, and the now small ship behind them had still not changed course to pursue them.

"Wait a minute… they're not turning after us!" Pleo exclaimed.

"What's their deal?" Nida asked. "It's not that hard to turn a ship!"

Elty's mind drifted back to the damage the ship's stern had taken earlier, why at that sort of location, if there was a particularly unlucky shot...

"I don't think they _can_ ," he replied. "Those guys must have hit their tiller earlier."

"All the better for us," Margi grunted. "Here."

The dragon passed a Sitrus Berry over to Nida, the Nidoran grasping it in her paws and looking down at it.

"It's been touched by the local Distortion, give it to your friend to eat," she explained. "It won't work as well as if you applied it as you were supposed to, but it should heal those wounds enough to make it to the next island."

"The next island?" Pleo asked.

"You don't mean to try and _stay_ do you? I know that you didn't mean it in this case, but our forebears _were_ right," the dragon responded. "If you stay here, you will only bring trouble for the town... and for yourself."

"B-But where are we supposed to go?!" Nida cried. "We can't go back to Bluewhorl… not while Lyn is still hounding us like this…"

"Why not Kenobi?" Elty suggested, as he gestured down to a stream of lighter-colored water in the sea below. "That's the Spiral Stream right down there. If we follow it, it'll lead us straight to there."

" _Kenobi?_ " Margi questioned. "Surely you can't possibly mean that... Kenobi's a big island with a Company shipyard and all manner of unseemly characters in it!"

"Exactly where they _won't_ expect to find us!" Elty insisted, his words carrying a defensive adamance that surprised Nida and Pleo. "It's the only other island that's as close to here as Bluewhorl, and there's some crowds I know around there we can hide in."

"Is… that true?" Nida asked.

"It is, unfortunately," the Hydreigon answered, shaking her heads.

Nida's ears drooped from realization that their choices amounted to bringing calamity back on their home, and following Elty's suggestion to lie low in a place that even Margi was skeptical of. The Nidoran stopped and thought, before flicking her ears as she came to her own conclusion.

"We'll have to chance it," she sighed. "We only need to hold out until Pleo figures out how to draw out his power more regularly anyways."

With that, the Nidoran popped the Sitrus Berry into Pleo's mouth, leaving him to masticate it and gulp its crushed pulp down as he started to trace the route of current below. A dark thought suddenly crept into his mind… Venner and his friends had suffered while helping them... would the Company come to punish Margi too for coming to their rescue?

"Will you be alright, Margi?" he asked, craning his neck back. Pleo saw the dragon hesitate for a long moment, clearly she must have had similar apprehensions of what might come in her future, and what it might mean for her son. She blinked and shook her heads, giving back a small, if somewhat forced-looking smile.

"I'm sure I can manage along with Daraen," she replied. "It's in our kind's nature to make many enemies… And I've survived this far, haven't I?"

The Pokemon on Team Traveler looked at each other uneasily. If there was a reassurance that Margi could give them, this didn't seem to be it. Still, she wasn't exactly a pushover, and surely Maranda and other Pokemon in Seahive like her would come to Margi's defense if trouble brewed…

Wouldn't they?

"If you say so…" Nida murmured. "Thanks again for everything."

The effects of the strange Sitrus Berry had begun to kick in, as Pleo began to feel the aches and pains of his body start to ebb and drain. He turned his attention back to the Spiral Stream, and set off, when Margi's voice suddenly rang out again.

"Before you go!"

The team looked back one last time to Margi, as she continued to speak.

"'Pleo', right? If you do run into any others of your sort… if you can," she mumbled. "Please… try to make them more like you."

For a brief moment, the two Pokémon stared into each other's eyes. Margi's eyes were still their unnerving, blood-red selves, but this time, there seemed to be something different about them. They were worried and uncertain, but even in spite of that…

There seemed to be a small flicker of hope in them.

"I will!" Pleo chirped, bobbing in affirmation. "I promise!"

And with that, the two fliers, jet-black and silvery-white, parted ways and carried on towards their respective islands and their unknown tomorrows.

* * *

Back at the docks, the remaining lavender-scarved Pokémon stared blankly at the scene offshore. There was the black and blue creature that was quickly ducking below the treelines. Their counterparts in the air were flying along to Kane's latest Haze trail only, much to their confusion, to find empty air. Ellsberg's ship was stricken offshore with activity buzzing all around it, and most importantly, the white bird and his passengers were slipping rapidly out of view.

"Erm… Captain?" a Sigilyph asked warily.

"Are you sure it was a good idea keeping us here on crowd control instead of helping to chase after the Lugia?" a Pidgeot added.

Uneasy murmurs went about the lavender-scarved Pokemon as they cast quick glances at their Captain and the Third-Rank alongside him...

"Grr…"

And saw that he was visibly seething. The Mothim with him was in a similarly poor mood, and went into a fit at the sight of the damage to his poor ship.

"I don't believe this!" Ellsberg buzzed. " _Two_ damaged ships in _three_ days? Just what sort of-?"

"Shut it, Ellsberg!" Lyn bellowed. The Mothim flinched and fluttered back, clamping his mouth shut as the Samurott whirled around to the Leavanny and growled viciously.

"You had something to do with this, didn't you?"

"Actually, I didn't," the Bug-Type chittered back calmy. "Do you honestly expect me to have full control over _every_ Pokemon's actions in this town? Let alone those of every Marked?"

"Pah, don't think that will be the end of things!" the Samurott spat. "I _will_ let my superiors know that your horrid swamp aided and abetted the escape of wanted Pokemon, and there _will_ be consequences. For that Marked, for this town, and-"

"For you, too," Maranda added, her voice full of calm but focused defiance. "Did you really think you could just drag us down like this?"

At this, the Samurott lost his temper and threw his arm back, ready to strike at the pinned bug.

"Oh, that is-!"

"Not that seeing you get red in the face isn't amusing, but you should really calm down and face the facts," Maranda interrupted. "Your wanted Pokemon are escaping, and from what I've pieced together, neither the ship out there, nor this other that your friend referred to will keep pace with them well."

Lyn caught his blade in mid-swing and froze. That… was actually a good point.

"Look, Lyn, is it? If you were really in a position to use force to get your way here, wouldn't you have done so earlier?" the Mairesse continued. "In that case, don't you have better things to do than to trouble our island and start a diplomatic incident with the Imperials that won't end well for any of us? Like not _letting yourself fall too far behind your prey?_ "

The Samurott glared at the Leavanny, and with a growl he sheathed his blade. He turned for the water, and stopped to glance at Ellsberg as the leafy bug pushed herself back to her feet with the help of some of the guards.

"We're _leaving_ , Ellsberg," he grunted.

"What?!" the Mothim buzzed. "But-!"

"As much as I hate to admit it, she _is_ right. I need to get my ship moving and so do you," Lyn grumbled. "We'll meet in Kenobi and figure out where to go from there."

The Samurott then leapt into the seawater with a splash, leaving the fluttering Bug-Type to shake his head and bury a palm in his face as he muttered to himself.

"Oh, Administrator Farn isn't going to like this at all…"

Ellsberg trailed off as he looked up and saw that Lyn was still waiting in the water, staring back at him with a piercing glare.

"... Right, we'll worry about that when we get there," he said, before turning to the other lavender-scarved Pokemon. "Everyone, move out!"

And with that, one by one, the amassed Pokemon at the docks melted away, and departed by sea and sky for the stricken Company ships offshore.

* * *

Back in Tromba, far, far away from Pleo's ordeal, Bluewhorl's expedition was preparing to set off. The provisions had been stocked, everyone had received their debriefings, and what seemed to be the whole town had gathered together to show their support as the Illumise captain of the Siglo Swellow and her crew set off. This included Gwenith and Cenn, who embraced Crom and Pladur at the foot of the gangplank.

"Take care of yourselves out there!" Crom's younger brother cheered. "It's my turn to head out to sea with dad when you come back, you hear!"

"We'll be praying for you," Gwenith added, giving a gentle nuzzle to her elder child. "And make sure that you listen to your father!"

"I will, mom!" Crom replied. "And don't let Cenn root through my treasure hoard!"

After Gwenith let her older son go, her Fraxure husband stepped forward to draw his mate and younger child into a tender (if careful) embrace, as he attempted to give some reassurances before he left.

"I'll bring him home as soon as we're done, dear," Pladur insisted.

"Good," Gwenith answered, before hardening her gaze. "After all, if he _doesn't_ …"

The Fraxure gulped and began to flail nervously, Gwenith wasn't seriously insinuating that…

"A-Ah!" he squeaked. "I'll meant home _alive_ , of course-!"

"Don't be so morbid, dear," Gwenith chuckled. "It's not seemly for a dragon to wear his worries on his hide."

"Ehehe," he stammered back. "I'll… I'll try, but…"

" _Pladur!_ " Kiran's voice called from the railing. "You shouldn't dawdle in front of the gangplank like that! Why, you're making the line for the others on the dock 50% longer than normal!"

The Fraxure cast a glance at a small crowd of fellow crewmates, waiting impatiently for him and his child to move along. The hatchet-faced dragon gave a sheepish apology, and decided that it was perhaps best to speed along his farewells with his family.

"Maybe try to make it a little clearer when you're joking around?" he asked.

"It's something we'll both have to work on, it seems," the elder Druddigon answered, leaving Crom and Pladur to quickly scamper up the gangway and onto the ship.

One by one, the rest of the crew for the ship came aboard. The gangplank was taken down, the sails were lowered, and the anchor raised. As the crowd waved and cheered their farewells, the craft slipped along the waves and out the harbor to the open sea, leaving Crom to watch Bluewhorl's harbor fade away from the railing until it was an unclear mass of shapes on the horizon.

That was, until he felt a peck at his shoulder.

"Crom?"

"Eh?"

The Druddigon turned around, where he saw Kiran and Ander waiting for him.

"Captain Beatrix's about to give an announcement by the tiller," the Scyther explained.

"Can't go about on a ship without knowing what's going on, after all!" the Swellow added. "Why, it makes work aboard a ship 75% more wasteful!"

"Hmm, right."

Crom followed the two along to a rough wooden lever towards the back of the stern, where the Illumise flitted back and forth, clearing her throat to speak as all eyes and ears trained on her.

"Alright, I just wanted to say that I'm proud of you all," she began. "You took on an uncertain job, and didn't let the Butterfree in your stomach get to you."

"So… what happens next?" a Servine asked.

"We do what Hatteras set us out to do-" the Illumise answered, only to be interrupted by a young, rough voice.

"We get Pleo back!"

All eyes turned to Crom, which made him shrink back sheepishly as he realized that he had spoken out of turn. Kiran ruffled out his feathers and cleared his throat.

"Well, he isn't _wrong_ , Beatrix," he chirped, rubbing a wing against the back of his head.

"Heh, I see he takes to the sea just like his father," the Illumise chuckled, gesturing towards a flustered-looking Fraxure in the crowd.

"Er… heh... well, what can I say there?"

"As I was saying, I'm not fully sure what we're going to see on this voyage," the firefly continued. "But I'm confident that if we all work together, we'll stand as good of a chance we can hope of for pulling through. So stay sharp, help out your fellow 'mon when the opportunity shows itself…"

The Illumise looked about her crew. It was a motley and unimposing lot sure, but her old schooner had seen improbable runs before. She gave a faint smile and nodded, what was pushing the envelope a little when the stakes were what they were?

"And let's make sure that Protector gets back home. By tomorrow if we can help it!"

" _ **YEAH!**_ "

As the meeting wound down, the crew members turned to tend to their various tasks aboard the ship in high spirits.

It would surely not be too long before the Protector was among them, joining their reverie on the humble little craft as they traced the winds and the currents back home…

Into the arms of a town that was waiting expectantly for them all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
>  
> 
> \- _Papa_ \- French: "Dad", "Father"  
>  \- _Chyba żartujesz!_ \- Polish: Expression meaning roughly "Are you kidding me!" or "You must be joking!"  
>  \- _'sa?_ \- Venetian: Interjection meaning "What?" or "Why?"  
>  \- _(¡)Sube!_ \- Spanish: "Pull up!", "Go up!"  
>  \- _Jesteś szalona!_ \- Polish: "You're crazy!"


	27. Special Chapter: Auld Lang Syne

As the sun made its earliest setting of the year on Tromba Island, Marley and Teja's burrow overlooking Bluewhorl Town was abuzz with activity. Inside, a Nidorina, Nidorino, and their ten kits crowded around a crude table in the main chamber of the burrow for dinner. Their already tight room was even more cramped than usual that night as the customary gummis and greens jostled for space alongside an uncharacteristically large spread of berries and pastries. The spread having been carefully scrounged together in the days leading up to the Winter Solstice.

On top of that, the food and the simple glass jars that normally provided light had to share table space with a large number of paper lanterns tonight. All about the table, colorful and gaudy constructions sat by each of the ten kits, tied with string to carrying sticks and filled with glow-moss. A crude mountain competed for room with a rude house, a ship alongside a paper Leppa Berry. One particular lantern featured two goldenrod stars at opposite ends of a circular strip of paper enclosing a gap between them.

Fortunately, the food was being cleared off the table at a faster than usual rate, thanks in particular to the star-shaped lantern's owner, who was halfway through inhaling a leaf of lettuce.

"Slow down, Nida!" Teja urged, nosing the Nidoran's shoulder. "Take some time to savor your food!"

"But _Papi!_ it's New Year's!" the blue spike ball protested in between a mouthful of her greens. "Lanterning starts at sundown!"

After all, this was no ordinary night, it was _Año Nuevo Trombense,_ the longest night of the year. The night which marked when one year's moons gave way to the next, and in which the town did its best to try and defy its natural darkness. Children such as Nida and her siblings did their part to also spread light to the long night, going door to door to their neighbors with their gaily-colored papercrafts...

And there were other things for the children to look forward to as well.

"Yeah!" one of the younger purple Nidoran squeaked. "If we take too long, we'll miss all of the candy being given out!"

"And we won't be able to open our presents unless we get our lanterning done!" another interjected.

"Besides, Ms. Hariti said she'd give extra sweets to the Pokémon that sang at her door tonight!" a blue counterpart added. The conversation quickly devolved into excited chatter as one after the other, the rambunctious spike balls began to plead and whine about " _Mami_ , can we go-?"

_Thump thump thump_

Only for their racket to be cut off by the sharp thumping of a Nidorina's foot against the ground, followed up with a piercing leer.

"After dinner, _then_ you can get candy," she gruffly interrupted. "And not a moment sooner!"

Marley's words were met by a series of disappointed groans and folded ears as the young Poison-Types reluctantly, but swiftly returned to their meals. The Nidorino and Nidorina looked at each other and sighed. Teja shook his head with a bemused smile as he turned to Nida, who was still busily gulping down her food.

"Don't get yourself so wound up, Nida," the Nidorino chuckled. "It's a special night of the year! Why rush through it?"

Just then, a pair of voices came down the burrow's entrance. One the chirping voice of a Swellow, the other the young, but rough voice of a Druddigon...

"Nida?" Kiran's voice called out. "Are you in there?"

"Yeah!" Crom shouted. "You're ready to go lanterning, right?"

Nida's ears perked up as she heard the sounds, and quickly whirled her head towards the voices.

"Coming!" she exclaimed. The Nidoran hastily inhaled the last few bits of food spread out before her, and grabbed the stick of her yellow star-shaped lantern with her teeth. As she turned from the table with the five-spoked papercraft, a Nidorina's voice stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Eh?!" Marley cried. "Where do you think you're going?!"

Nida folded her ears back and screwed her eyes shut for a moment before turning around and setting her lantern down. Nida had been waiting all day to go off lanterning with Crom and Kiran and they were _right there._

"But _Mami!_ " Nida whined. "I'm done eating!"

"Aren't you coming with your brothers and sisters like last year, _mija?_ " Teja wondered, tilting an ear back quizzically. All eyes turned to Nida, who shifted uncomfortably and sheepishly.

"B-But I'm old enough to go without them, _Papi!_ " she protested. "And Crom and Kiran are from my team!"

"Just what will your siblings think of that?" Marley countered in a scolding tone, only for her three elder children to chime in:

"Eh, it's okay," one of Nida's brothers nonchalantly answered. "More candy for _us_ that way!"

"Yeah, Dorin's right," a blue Nidoran added. "Three of us can watch the younger ones just fine!"

The last of Nida's elder brothers blinked and flicked an ear puzzledly, before turning back to the female Nidoran.

"Wait a minute, Ani," he asked. "I thought we were sneaking o- Ow!"

The purple spike ball was answered with a swat at his flank from Dorin, who mouthed a hasty 'shut your yap, Orino' as the voices of Nida's teammates made their way back down the burrow again.

"Nida? Are you down there?"

"If we're getting in the way of something, there's no shame in letting your old Team Captain know!"

Back in the chamber of the burrow, Nida and her mother traded an awkward silence with each other, the Nidorina giving a leering frown.

"You will spend at least _some_ time with us, won't you?" the Nidorina pressed. "It _is_ New Year's."

"I will, _Mami!_ " Nida squeaked. "I'll be at the shrine later like I promised! I even already talked it over with Kiran and Crom!"

The Nidorina's leer lingered a little longer, before it finally gave way to a sigh and head-shake.

"Ay. Fine," she relented. "But behave yourself out the-"

" _Gracías Mami! Gracías Papi!_ " Nida squeaked, bounding away from the table with her lantern. The Nidoran called up a "Coming!" to the voices above, and bounded up the passage to the surface, coming face to face with a young Druddigon poking his head and upper body down the family's burrow.

"Ah! There you are, Nida!" he cried. Crom pulled himself out clumsily, brushing his crest up against the burrow's walls on the way out. Nida poked her head out and crossed the threshold of the entrance onto the mat outside. The stars and the moon had already started to poke out into the twilit sky, the mat being kept more illuminated than normal by some candles set out for the night. There, the young Druddigon hastily dusted some dirt off of himself as Kiran hopped over and passed a lantern over to Crom… which looked like a misshapen white egg with two blue spikes attached to it.

"Erm… Crom?" Nida questioned, flattening out her ears. "Is that your lantern? What's it supposed to _be?_ "

"It's the Protector's head!" he cheered. "I made it myself!"

Nida gave an askew glance and stifled a giggle at the rather misshapen likeness of the Protector before shaking her head. The New Year was in part a night in honor of the Sea Guardian, but it was _also_ a night to be a little silly and childish for young Pokémon. What harm was there in being a little silly with one's lantern?

"We weren't rushing you, I hope," Kiran chirped, as he bent down to his spiky blue pupil.

"Nah, it's fine," Nida insisted. She looked around at the trees and mats about the neighborhood. The reason why everything seemed so much brighter than normal immediately became clear. On her family's mat, on the mats of her neighbors, and at the base of the trees, there were jars filled with lit candles and glow-moss. In the branches above, lanterns and colorful paper ornaments had been hung from the branches, some along streamers which zipped from treetop to treetop.

"Who'd want to stay cooped up in the burrow on a night like this?" the Nidoran asked, giving a cheerful tilt of her head.

"Hehe… I guess we should get started, Kiran," Crom chuckled. "After all, lanterning only goes on until an hour before midnight!"

* * *

Out at sea, just over the horizon, a two-masted caravel with golden sails and gray designs resembling an Aggron's head from above, prowled along the waves. The sails' designer and metal helmeted captain of the craft peered through the lenses of a crude scope fashioned from bamboo. In the distance, the ships in the sleepy town were moored firmly and were largely unattended. There were a larger number of indistinct shapes shifting around the docks than would be expected for a small town normally, but that most likely had something to do with the glinting lights of myriad lanterns visible in the scope.

The site of his crew's next target, all of it there for the Iron Fleet's taking. As Hess took the scope down, the lights of lanterns shrank from view, leaving behind the fuzzy sight of an island with a mountain with a fog-shrouded face poking over the horizon.

"Those lights really _do_ make seeing what's going on easier," he said with a low grunt, shoving his scope into one of the three waterproofed pouches he carried on him. "Couldn't have picked a better time for a night raid-"

"What on earth is taking so long with this detour?" a chittering voice whined. "It doesn't take _that_ long to get to Aisle Town!"

"Relax, _Veikka._ We've got plenty of stuff to tide us over!" a rougher voice answered back. "Why between the lanterns and the grog, we've got everything we need for the best view of Kenobi's fireworks from the Andaku Docks!"

" _Watching_ fireworks?" a dog's voice scoffed. "Bo-oring! Some of us here can _make_ some! Like this!"

Hess' face fell, and he turned around just in time to see a Growlithe spitting up an ember into the air in front of a Gabite and Trapinch. The three Pokémon were gathered around some paper lanterns illuminating a game of cards with drawings of Pokémon on them. Further out on the deck more lanterns were spread out, and in the background some cheery-sounding deckhands were twining strands of them around the rigging.

"Oi! Knock it off and stop slacking off!" the Aggron angrily bellowed, stamping against the deck of the wooden craft. The ship rocked a few times and the partying Pokemon came to yelping stops as they turned and reluctantly faced the scowling Steel-Type.

"For crying out loud, Tromba's just over the horizon!"

"Wait a minute, _Tromba?_ " Hess' Floatzel first mate asked. "Captain, isn't this a bit overkill for a detour?"

"Yeah, you said we were going to Kenobi!" a Sableye protested. "I thought the entire reason we were leaving Orleigh at all tonight was because our fencing spot at Aisle Town had the better fireworks!"

"We _will!_ " Hess growled back. " _After_ we pick up a haul from Bluewhorl to fence at Andaku!"

The faces of the gathered golden-scarved Pokémon fell as skeptical murmurs flitted about the gathered brigands.

"A holiday raid _again?_ " a Jigglypuff muttered.

"He's not serious, right?" Pekka whispered to an unamused-looking Pyry. The Gabite and Trapinch's murmuring died down after a Ledian cleared his throat and fluttered up.

"Um, Captain? You _do_ remember what happened during the last raid we did during a holiday with fireworks earlier this year, right? The one on Boisocéan?"

The Aggron caught himself and froze for a minute as memories seared into his mind from the raid in question. He subconsciously pawed at his scarf and felt a round lump underneath. He peeked down and caught the reassuring sight of his lucky charm, a marble-like stone sphere with gray, helical swirls on it. He'd been told ever since he first got it from that fortune-teller back in his Aron days that as long as he had it, it would guide him safely back home, and it had never failed him.

He reminded himself of the times he'd slipped out of the maws of exile to the Wastes wearing it... How he survived that nasty business with that barbaric Marowak wearing it… How he'd won his beloved _Mistral Marauder_ in a card game (and dodged getting his armor turned into ship cladding thanks to a less-than-sober wager)... All of them while wearing the little stone...

Besides, even if that raid on that lousy swamp was hairier than normal, it _did_ have some good come out of it. Always a handy thing for the biggest and toughest Pokémon of the Iron Fleet to point out.

"S-So what? We had a bigger haul than normal that time!" he countered overhastily. "And our ship-burners got to show those treehuggers not to mess with us!"

"Oh, right!" Elty yipped, the Growlithe's ears perking up energetically and his tail wagging. "That was the raid where I blew up that hulk!"

The Fire-Type's comment brought back scorching memories that were joined with groans of displeasure from the other gathered pirates.

"Yeah, along with _us_ ," the Floatzel spat. "If it weren't for those tree bugs getting distracted by all the fires those shells started, we'd probably be out in the Wastes right now!"

"And we could always raid this place tomorrow! It's _New Year's!_ " a Sableye whined. "If we don't turn around right now, there's no way we'll make it to Aisle Town in time to see the fireworks!"

"Wait a minute, 'New Year's'?" the Jigglypuff asked. "New Year's isn't for another two moons! It's the Winter Solstice!"

"You're both wrong," Pyry interjected. "It's _Lyhtyjuhla!_ "

The crew quickly devolved into arguing about the proper naming of the night festivities according to their homes' varied traditions. Hess put a claw over his face shook his head. After a brief moment grumbling about 'recruits these days', he decided he had quite enough. The Aggron sprang up from the deck and came back down onto its timbers to rock the caravel and jolt some sense into the gathered Pokémon.

"I don't care _what_ you call it," he roared. "Take that paper clutter down and wait a few hours! We're raiding _tonight_ and I'm not giving out shares of loot to bums that don't pull their own weight!"

Some uneasy looks intermingled with glares came from the gathered Pokémon, which quickly evaporated after Hess shot a leer of his own back. He may have been a 'bottom feeder' captain who had to stitch his crew together from the rejects of the other crews on Orleigh, but in piracy, sometimes the situation called for reminding one's underlings who the biggest and toughest Pokémon around was.

"If anyone wants to pick a bone with that, they can take it out of my stony hide!" the Aggron growled. A wave caught the ship and made the Steel-Type brush one of his legs before easing into a tense, charging-ready position, daring his crew to try him.

The _Mistral Marauder_ might not have been a mountain peak, but it was still their Aggron captain's domain. And it was evident from his demeanor that like others of his kind, a trespass on his domain was an invitation for confrontation with the much larger and stronger Steel-Type. Some coughs and nervous excuses floated about as one by one, the various members of the crew sullenly headed off.

The lanterns were taken below deck, the cards and rum put away, and the different Pokémon returned to their station. Hess grunted satisfiedly as his underlings returned to the practical work of preparing for the raid on Tromba, and turned to tend to a few loose ends of his own, gesturing to the Ledian among the crew as he passed.

"Oi, Kichiro," he grunted. "Don't head off so fast."

"Captain, it's ' _Keiichiro!_ ' Kichiro's the dweeb I used to mug for his lunch back in school!" the ladybug buzzed back annoyedly.

"Yeah, yeah," the Aggron replied with a dismissive eye roll. "Just follow me off to the prow a moment."

The Aggron lead the beetle off down towards the front of the bow, where the sounds of the crew at work faded away, and the escorts were distant enough to be out of earshot if things were kept mum enough.

"You've got that powder trick of yours, right?" the metal lizard asked in a low voice, tapping a claw against his chin.

"I know there's supposed to be a bunch of shops and a big ceremonial bell onshore, but I can't get a good bead on anything that's not right next to the shoreline in this light. Think you can slip a signal or two into that town's light show to mark out the good stuff for us?"

* * *

Back in Bluewhorl, Nida, Crom, and Kiran made their way down the lanes of the little hamlet. The town had been decked out with decorations much as the clump of trees up the hill had been. A cluster of candlelit jars under a window here, a string of paper decorations from an eave there, and more candle and moss-lit lanterns riddled about than a Nidoran could shake a spike at.

As the hours went by, the three passed impromptu light shows by entertaining Fire and Electric-Types artfully throwing around embers and sparks, rowdy sailors who traded stories of their exploits of the past year over swigs of berry juice, and most importantly…

_♫ In my paw I have a light ~_  
_That will glow the entire night ~_  
_I'll sing here, and I'll sing there ~_  
_That way I'll get a decent share! ♫_

Doorway after doorway of lit houses and shops about the town, much like Melissa's cubical shop and abode before them. As was custom for Bluewhorl's children, Crom and Nida brought their lanterns along with them. When they found a promising house, they would rap at the door, sing a ditty about their lanterns or chasing away the night's darkness, and…

"Excellent execution, children!" the polygonal bird droned. She then nudged forward the main attraction, a dish with two brown sugar cubes in it. Nida and Crom scooped up the sugar lumps and deposited them into a pair of simple sacks that had grown swollen with sweets from throughout the night.

"Thanks, Melissa!" Crom cried.

" _Feliz Año Nuevo!_ " Nida added.

The two scampered down the lane, Kiran taking wing after the two and settling down in front of them at a crossroads. As the children stopped to set down their lanterns and inspect their loot, Kiran took a few moments to preen some feathers under his wing before turning back to his charges.

"Well, I think that's every house along this lane," he chirped. "So where are we off to next?"

"Hrm, what about this crossing lane here?" Nida suggested. The Nidoran pointed down the left lane, which was lined with simple wood and thatch huts with lit doorways. There was one very visible exception at the front of the lane where a Corphish and a young Tropius with bubble and apple-shaped lanterns stood at a door trying to peer in through darkened, glassless windows.

"Aww, he's not home," the arboreal sauropod muttered. The two shook their heads and went off disappointedly to the next house down the path to try their luck drawing the occupants' attention. As Crom watched the pair move on he tilted his head curiously.

"Wait, isn't that Calino's house?" Crom asked. "Wouldn't Bracket and Patricia know better than to go there? He's never at home or in his shop after sundown on New Year's!"

As the Druddigon finished his words, the team chanced to see a crowd of chattering young Nidoran pass down the lane, Marley at the head. Crom cast an uneasy glance at the Nidorina when he saw her and her children stop at Calino's door.

"Oh, don't be so sure about that, Crom," Nida answered, shaking her head bemusedly as her mother shook her ruff, tensed her spines in front of a window and flicked one through the glassless aperture.

_Thwip!_

_Crash!_

The sound of shattering clay rang out inside, quickly followed by an irate Kecleon's voice and storming footsteps coming from inside.

" _Oi!_ What do you kids think that you're doing?!" it growled. "Don't think that you're not going to pay for-!"

The door flew open, and a red-scaled Kecleon poked his head out, only to begin to flush white when he saw that on his doorstep was the form of a waiting Nidorina.

"A-Ack! Marley?!"

"Oh, so you _are_ home, Calino," she harrumphed, flaring her ears and rolling her eyes. "You wouldn't mind being a dear and giving the children some candy, would you? It _is_ a local custom here."

Crom and Kiran respectively put a claw and wing over their faces, and sighed as the young Nidoran with Marley began to pester Calino with questions about where his lights were and whether he would listen to them sing. Bracket and Patricia had turned from down the lane and were staring at the unfolding scene. So that's what Nida meant... the lizard _was_ here on Tromba for New Year's after all! The three watched as Calino squirmed a bit, then cleared his throat as he attempted to offer an excuse for the lack of candy at the door.

"Uhm, well… I'm sorry, but I didn't set out lanterns because I didn't have any candy to give out this year!" he overhastily explained. "Maybe try again next year?"

"Oh that's fine, the children accept orbs, too. I'm not sure how things work where you're from, but we _Trombenses_ are _very_ flexible about adapting traditions," the Nidorina cheerily countered, making a subtle nod of her horned head to lightly prod at the chameleon's belly. The Kecleon paused and screwed his eyes shut, shaking his head.

"I'll… see what I can do," he grumbled.

The Kecleon ducked into his house and after the sound of some rooting around, came back with a small bowl of Cheri Berries, begrudgingly bringing the bowl of unsweetened fruits to the doorway.

"Alright, alright, here you go, but _no singing!_ " he hissed. "The last thing I need is for a bunch of other kids to know I'm-"

"Too late!" came a chittering voice from up the lane. Bracket and Patricia entered from behind Marley and her children, eager to get their fill of candy at the darkened house. Then came the neighbor Poochyena, and a young, excited-looking Meowth kitten. As Calino buried his face in a claw, Nida looked over to her teammates.

"Come on, let's get some too," she offered.

"Well, I don't think that it would hurt," Kiran murmured, as some glittering light passed overhead. The three looked up and saw that a Bug-Type was scattering glowing dust up in the sky, probably a sailor seeking to get in on the lighting fun. As the bug flitted away, Kiran noticed the Continent Tower's Traveller beginning to slip behind the moon and paused.

"We should probably start heading off after this lane if we're going to watch the fireworks at the shrine though," he warned. "It's getting late, and it _does_ take a bit of time to travel the path out there."

"Right!" Nida answered. "So then let's hurry up and get our share here and do one or two more lanes before we go!"

The three then darted off to join the growing crowd of pushy and demanding children forming in front of Calino's doorstep. Every now and then as they waited, they'd look up towards the fog hanging from the mountain above, their little minds beginning to drift to the bluff up the path to the Mystery Dungeon.

* * *

After Team Traveller wrapped up their lanterning and began their ascent up to the town's shrine, Hess continued to watch the flickering lights of Tromba from the prow of his ship out on the open water. He impatiently tapped his claws against the rough planks that formed the railing. His underlings had done their duties as commanded, if in sour moods over working on the night of New Year's. But no matter, it was something that could be mollified with loot and liquor he'd hidden aboard for just that sort of celebratory occasion…

Once Kichiro got back that is. Hess began to turn away when he chanced to notice a sparkling trail just above the water. A cry went up from a Seadra in the water, and his gaze settled upon a Ledian coming to a stop on the railing. As Pokémon on the deck and in the sea below continued their busywork preparing for the imminent raid, Hess spoke up to the Bug-Type in a gruff voice.

"What _took_ you so long, Kichiro? Your first sky trails faded out five minutes ago!"

The Ledian buzzed annoyedly and flicked out his wings in a huff.

"Oi! _You_ try picking out details from the sky at night!" he spat back. "And it's _Keiichi-_ "

The bug was caught off by a low, rumbling growl, and saw that the captain was giving a piercing leer. The beetle blinked and gulped, before hastily amending his words.

"Err… right, what I saw when I made those markings..." the Ledian said. "Well, for starters, most of the shops in that town are clustered in a square right by the docks, including a bank towards the edge of it. But it's kinda crowded right now. There's a couple things further inland, and I spotted what might have been a 'tee-yem' shop on the way back-"

"Crowds aren't an issue," Hess interrupted. "Nothing clears them out like a little panic and a good charge. And the defenses?"

"There's a guild on the bluff over the town to north," the Bug-Type explained. "And the Company outpost is on the other side of town in some glorified hole dug into a hill."

The Aggron paused and put a claw under his chin. They were going to be barging into someplace with defenders flanking them on two sides? The level of exposure was uncomfortable, but on the other claw… they'd kept bigger settlements at bay long enough to mount a hit-and-run in the _past._

"A little risky, but… if we had a distraction," he began. "It could buy us enough time to clear out that square. Saw anything of that sort?"

"There's a Day Care up the creek," Kichiro answered. "I saw a school too not too far from the Company Outpost, but there's no way it's open at this hour."

That could work! If a couple of teams went up to that Day Care and sent some potshots around, it would scare the town into thinking his crew had come for the eggs there. Egg theft was a dirty business that the Steel-Type had no intention of ever dipping his claws into, but the fear of it was certainly distraction enough to provide a feint for their real targets.

"The Day Care will do," Hess grunted back. "And that bell?"

The Ledian buzzed and muttered something exasperatedly under his breath before looking back up at the Aggron captain.

" _Nanda?_ "

"Tromba's supposed to have a big bell made of iron," Hess responded. "You didn't think that I'd want to just leave a tasty treat like _that_ behind, did you?"

"Uhm… well, with a big bell like that, they probably keep it under a roof around town," the Bug-Type offered. "Don't you think it would be hard to miss?"

"Hm. Fair point," the Aggron answered. "We'll be counting on you to mark a landing site for us out there, so don't mess it up!"

"Yeah, no pressure there," the Ledian grumbled, before flitting off back for the island.

The lizard turned off to the blinking lights on the horizon as the Bug-Type's droning wings faded with increasing distance. Kichiro's earlier trails in the sky over Bluewhorl from his first pass over the town already dissipated and his more recent ones were following suit. Now was as good an opportunity his crew would get to make their move. He hopped back down to the deck, and after giving the boat a sharp rock from the force of his landing and drawing the attention of his crew, he bellowed out to them.

"Oi! Look alive! We're going in!" Hess shouted. "We're gonna need a distraction team to go up a creek and scare a few kids so the rest of us can pick the central square clean!"

Some murmuring went about the crew, which Hess presumed to be discussion among the pirates of who'd be going on what team. With that, the Aggron backed up behind the railing, charged, and vaulted over it.

_Sploosh!_

And dove into the sea below. The Steel-Type felt the water wash over his body and rose back up to the surface. The metal lizard wiped some seawater from his eyes and turned back to his ship's deck.

"Everyone else, either get in the water or in the air! If you're not helping me with the initial rush in, you're on defense!" Hess roared up to the deck. "Rodion, guide the ship in, and make sure your buddies in the water keep the local fish from getting too close to the hull!"

The Floatzel tilted his head skeptically, before sighing an "Aye, Captain" back. As the first mate dove into the water, Hess saw that a wall of skeptical leers and grumbles was growing among the Pokémon aboard and in the water around him.

"Are we _seriously_ doing this?" Pyry whined.

"It took Kichiro this long just to scout the island," Pekka added. "Maybe raiding tonight's not such a good idea."

"Yeah, why don't we just rip off a ship on the way back to Kenobi?" the Gabite asked.

"Hey! I don't like water that much either!" he roared. "Get the ship moving or I'll wash you off the deck and you can _swim_ the rest of the way to shore!"

The gathered brigands stared at the Aggron in the water, and then at each other. Some disappointed groans went out as they begrudgingly got into position. All in all, as intolerable as the present turn of events was, it wasn't worth picking a fight with such a strong Pokémon over. And it could be made worth their while…

 _If_ they had something to show for it at the end.

* * *

The winding path from Bluewhorl town up to the shrine was lit that night, lined with dozens upon dozens of candles and lanterns that had been painstakingly set up over the course of the day before. Their light allowed Team Traveller to see what the night normally hid from their eyes, the flowers among the bushes, the swirls in the little pebbles along the path, and the shifting forms of ferals further off in the undergrowth.

The lights lead the three to the path's final destination, a simple wooden shrine on a seaside bluff. Behind them were the lights of Bluewhorl's lanterns twinkling off in the distance, the Moon and stars glittering above, a beautiful sight that came only once a year…

"Hahh, hahh…"

Not that the three Pokémon had much of a chance to stop and enjoy them on the way up. Halfway up the path, Kiran noted that the Time Lord's Traveller, the one whose crossing of the moon marked midnight, was about to slip out of view behind it. From there, the rest of the way up became a mad dash up the trail to try and reach the shrine before it popped out on the other end.

Panting and exhausted, the team finally arrived at a seaside bluff where a bonfire had been lit and a great array of lanterns hung from temporary wooden racks. Surrounding them were the faces of townsfolk who had chosen to see the full panorama of the town's fireworks display that only distance could allow. There were stranger faces without scarves that watched curiously, if cautiously from the fringes.

The figures were met with curious and guarded glances back, and occasionally a piece of candy or fruit would be tossed over by a more gregarious and courageous child from the center. Even with the lingering wariness, Tromba's Protector was also Protector to these ferals too, and it was custom for the town not to begrudge those who came in peace to share this night devoted to the local sea god.

"Hey!"

But more importantly, it was also the place where Crom's parents and his brother had been waiting for them. The form of a waving Fraxure bobbed and weaved through the crowd, and darted up to Kiran and his charges. Gwenith plodded along after him with a yawning Cenn latched onto her wings for a sleepy piggyback ride.

"We were wondering when you and your Hunter friends would show up!" he cheered, giving a nuzzle at his elder son's snout, leaving him to blush and snort flusteredly.

" _Daaad_ , you're embarrassing me," the young Druddigon whined. Only to be answered by the deeper voice of a grown nettle dragon from within the crowd.

"Remember that your father doesn't have _that_ long of a shore leave to fluster you like this in front of your teammates," Gwenith gently reprimanded, before shifting her gaze over to Kiran. "He wasn't too much of a handful tonight, was he?"

"Nothing that I haven't seen with a team in the past!" the Flying-Type warbled back. "Why, they were 50% less rambunctious than I was expecting based off of past experiences!"

"We still got a lot of candy, though!" Nida cried. "Look at it all!"

Gwenith peered down at the sacks that her child and the little Nidoran held before her, and noticed that unlike previous years, they were almost filled to the tips of their brims... For now. She would have to be careful to keep an eye out to make sure that the little scamp didn't eat too much at once overnight.

"Well, they've certainly been to a lot of houses tonight," the Druddigon murmured. From his perch on her back, Cenn's sleepy eyes were still able to detect the large hoards of sweets in his brother's bag, prompting him to stir a few rumbles of dissatisfaction.

" _Moooom!_ Why does _Crom_ get so much candy?" he growled.

"Aw, don't worry about it," Pladur reassured. "Your old man will make up the difference when the shops open tomorrow morning!"

Gwenith shot an unamused look over at her mate, which drew a sheepish grin and quiet "It's only once a year, isn't it?" as Kiran scanned the crowd. He had found _one_ of his charges' parents but...

"Hrm? I was sure that Marley would already be-"

" _Hola a todos._ "

Nida turned around and saw her mother waiting behind her, lowering her head to nuzzle her child. The young Nidoran squirmed a little and turned back, only to see that Crom was no longer beside her.

"Huh?! Crom?!" she squeaked. "Where did you-?!"

And saw that her teammate had ducked behind his mother, his brother now alert and wide-eyed and tightly gripping the shoulders of his mother's wings. And along with her two children…

"J-Just wanted to get a little closer to the kids, that's all! I-It's a New Year's Resolution!"

… was the anxious, wary glance of her mate, peering from behind Gwenith's opposite flank, much to the sighing annoyance of the mother Druddigon.

"Will 'getting over fears of _friendly_ Dragon Busters' be one too, dear?" she sighed. Marley tilted her head curiously at the dragon family, before deciding that the new year's proceedings were perhaps best done with their own respective families.

"Come on," she prodded, nudging her daughter with her muzzle. "Your _papi_ and siblings have been waiting."

Nida waved off her teammates and followed after her mother, the various faces around shifting by until her gaze came to a waiting Nidorino. Nearby, nine spike balls were impatiently jostling with each other for a better view of an empty crate. Nida recognized it as one that had been used to lug the parts of the lantern-racks up from Bluewhorl.

"You made it just in time," Teja said. "Looks like Hatteras is about ready to kick everything off."

"Hrm?" she asked. "How can you tell, Papi?"

Just then, the form of an elderly Ampharos sauntered his way over to the crate, donning his 'mayoral' scarf for the occasion. After casting a glance at the moon, he climbed atop it and turned back to the crowd, clearing his throat.

"As we watch the last moments of this year depart us, it is only fitting that we dwell on what has passed," Hatteras bleated. "On the good times and the ill. On those who have departed us, and those whose journey with us has just begun. On our lives, and those who came before us."

Some murmurs went about the gathered Pokémon as they took a few moments to heed their Mayor's words. Reminisces of flashes of grace and glory floated about, intermixed with low whispers of past sorrows and regrets. The Ampharos then stamped against the crate underfoot and continued on with his speech.

"Our ancestors had many an occasion to despair and let themselves be swallowed by the ashes of time. They saw the heavens turn against the Protectors of old and cut them down," he said, his voice carrying a grave and solemn tenor. "They saw the grasp of life on our world evaporate beyond this Cradle that the providence of Arceus has given us. They saw plague, famine, war, and unspeakable sufferings come to their shores."

Nida shifted uncomfortably at the Ampharos' words. The Company's tribute after each harvest and the raids they had endured that year were already burden enough. At times, it was hard to imagine that there had been years in the past that were even harder to bear for the humble Pokémon of Bluewhorl, and that there might be more such years lurking in the future. The Nidoran watched as Hatteras lowered and shook his head, before turning back to the crowd.

"In spite of all that, they also saw flickers of light in our world's long night, and clung stubbornly to them. To the hope that our Protector, the great Guardian of the Seas, would one day awake, and help to reclaim the world that was lost for their descendants," he spoke, the grave tone melting away in favor of a sanguine tenor. "To keep their hopes alive even if they couldn't see the light at the end. The hope that if they stood firm, the day would come when dawn broke on our world's night once more."

Mumbles of "That's right" and "And we'll keep their hopes going, too!" floated about. Hatteras' speech usually didn't change too much between years, but in some ways it was comforting. To be reassured after each year and its trials, that there _was_ something greater still coming. And of course, his customary finish...

"That is why to this day, we hang these lanterns, we light these candles, and defy the darkness in this longest of night of the year. To show our slumbering Protector that we haven't forgotten about it, and that we eagerly await the day when we can pay it tribute face to face!" he cried, raising a paw into the air. "So then, how about we put away these little children's lights and put on a _real_ light show?"

And in return, came an unmistakable, unanimous shout that rang down the sides of the mountain that Winter Solstice night.

" _ **YEAH!**_ "

The Ampharos smiled and nodded, as he wagged his tail back and forth. The red jewel on it began to blink out flashes of light, which carried on off into the faraway darkness.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the edge of the town's harbor, an Azumarill floated lazily on the surface near the edge of a group of local sea Pokémon. As the school took advantage of their aquatic physiologies to bob and circle expectantly, a carefully watching Chinchou looked off in the distance, waiting for the mayor's signal to blink from the mountain.

"What's taking him so long, Angie?" the Azumarill grumbled. "The Time Lord's just about to pop out from behind the moon! It's almost the new year already!"

As the water mouse continued pestering the hapless fish, a small, but distinct light began to blink off in the direction of Tromba's interior. The Chinchou watched, and quickly realized that the flashes were in the same signaling standard that approaching ships used by night.

"Oh! That's it!" she bubbled. "That's the- Huh?"

The pair felt a disturbance in the waves, and turned around to see what the matter was.

"Outta my way!"

Only to promptly get smacked by a faceful of surf for their efforts.

An Aggron swiftly barreled past the two, leading a pack of swimmers and covering fliers in tight succession as a golden-sailed caravel lumbered along in their wake. The Aggron watched as a school of Pokémon up ahead was tossed about by his rogue wave, and as in most settlements, their ranks were primarily a matter of quantity over quality. Most froze and then darted under the surface at the sight of the golden-scarved prowlers and their great, cruel-jawed leader slicing through the water for them. A few attempted to hold their positions, only to be picked off by attacks from the Iron Fleet's marauders and left listing and groaning in the water. The surprise, the confusion, and the panic ruined any efforts the harbor Pokémon had to band together.

Why, it was like taking Gummis from a hatchling! The docks were now plainly in sight and only half a minute away swimming. The ship was picking up pace into the harbor, and soon the Iron Fleet would have their true prizes on land for the taking.

" _S-Stop!_ "

Hess felt a wet smack that sent him off-balance in the water and a particularly sharp jolting pain that shot through his body. The Aggron righted himself, whirled about, and saw the now-ragged looking Azumarill and Chinchou he had run down earlier. The sea rat and fishy little twerp had managed to tough out the wave he sent their way earlier. The sea was not Hess' element as a Pokémon, but judging from the blank, petrified look on the Azumarill's face and the nervous blinking on the pathetic anglerfish accompanying her, they didn't know that.

"Oh, you two picked a _real_ smart fight!" he growled.

After chancing to feel some small rocks glance against him from the disturbed water below, the Aggron circled around, and cut through the water with a faint aura forming on his body, attempting to call forth a barrage of rocks off the seabed at the Water-Types.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Hess, from the ledge of the Tromba Island Guild, the resident Teleporters were waiting alongside a pile of vaguely spherical objects wrapped in simple, rough paper. Each came with a fuse soaked in propellant, which lead into a mass of Blast Seeds glued together along with mixes of various berry powders for coloring, the typical means of fashioning fireworks in the Cradle.

The Psychic-Types' own abilities had been similarly tuned for the night's performance ever since they were notified of their duties a few months ago by Hatteras. While teleporting allowed for placing stray shells high in the air, the three quickly discovered in their practice sessions that pooling the telekinetic force of a few Confusions was similarly effective. As a bonus, Hatteras and Melissa had even arranged for them to learn from a "tee-yem 73", though much to her consternation, Pataki was the only one of the lot to truly master the Thunder Wave enchanted in the magical plate in time for the night.

The Elixirs the local apothecaries provided to restore their moves' elements sat atop the reference chart for flashed messages on a nearby stump. There were the fireworks shells that were stacked neatly beside them, and most importantly…

Overhead, the night sky for the shells to light up was as clear and unperturbed as all the light and color coming from Bluewhorl's lanterns allowed it to be.

All that was left was for Angie to relay Hatteras' signal to ring in the New Year from the harbor's water below. Except, when the Chinchou's message came, the pattern seemed different than expected. After hopping over to check the reference chart, the Natu realized the Water-Type's flashes carried an additional message came along with the expected signal.

"Aim just over the water at the harbor's edge?" the little bird murmured, trading a puzzled look with his Kadabra colleague. "But you won't be able to see the full burst that way!"

The fox-faced Psychic paused and shrugged, before looking down at the firework shells. "Maybe Hatteras wanted us to warm up the crowd this year?" he asked.

Pataki shook her head and turned to the fireworks next to her. "Oi, don't question it! The entire town's waiting on these fireworks!" she barked.

The Kirlia pushed over three of the shells, lit the fuse with a weak spark from her hands, and with the aid of her companions, levitated it above the ground. The three psychics spent a short moment synchronizing their breathes and thoughts before finally flinging it off with a collective shove, sending the shell sailing up in an arc and down towards the darkened water below.

* * *

Down at the edge of the harbor, Hess' rocks cut through the water and flew out in a spray of stone and sea foam. As the disturbed water settled down, the Steel-Type scanned his environment, but beyond a few bubbles leading towards the shoreline, he couldn't find a trace of the two Water-Types. Further ahead, the remaining harbor Pokémon were frantically ducking under the surface, which prompted the pirate captain to take a moment to crow over their swift surrender.

" _Ha!_ Some first line of defense you wimpy fish are!" he roared. "I've seen stiffer resistance from-!"

From the corner of his eye, the Aggron noticed a faint, burning light which was arcing in his direction. The captain thought nothing of it, until a golden-scarved Seadra suddenly yelped out of startled shock.

"Ack!" the seahorse cried. "Incoming fire!"

Hess looked up, and saw the light. And another, and another. On closer inspection, the first light was circling a round sphere and drawing nearer and nearer to the sphere's edge. As the fire reached the first sphere overhead, his eyes widened and his limbs stiffened as he realized exactly what the airborne objects were and _why_ the locals had all suddenly swam for cover.

"Aw, _sh-_ "

* * *

" _Feliz Año Nuevo!_ "

Back up the hill, the lights of the town were joined by a colorful burst, sending shining trails of fiery light into the air. An electric blue one, a puplish-red one, and a golden yellow one. Nida and her siblings flicked their ears up and crowded up to try and get better views, when suddenly...

_Boom... Bo-boom..._

The sound of faint rumbles came rolling in over the distance from the direction of the town. Nida fidgeted uncomfortably, and her younger siblings' ears flicked every now and then as one of the spike balls would push against their parents timidly.

"M-Mami? P-Papi?" one of the shivering younger purple Nidoran squeaked. "Where's the thunder coming from?"

"It's not thunder, _mijo,_ " Marley reassured, patting at the tense spike balls huddled up against her. "It's the fireworks. They make big, loud noises when they go off, which is why we're watching them from here."

Mami hadn't changed her explanation since Nida's days as a little kit, it seemed. As the bursts went on and began to climb into the air (Pataki and her companions must have aimed a bit low by accident this year), Nida's siblings calmed and her own discomfort melted away with the murmured "oohs" and "ahhs" of the surrounding crowd.

A bright green burst went off that time, and as the trailing lights came down, Nida saw a muddled shape just beyond the town and hopped back, her younger siblings similarly startled and now pawing and casting anxious looks at their parents. A few Pokémon with sharper eyesight had seen it too, who began to grow unsettled as they realized.

"Eh?!" a Tropius' voice suddenly cried. "There's a ship in the harbor this late?!"

For a moment, the crowd turned and watched Mildrew beat his wings nervously and agitatedly, before turning their attention back to the sea. Sure enough, it was a ship, its form trailing smoke and here at an hour of the night that most sailors avoided. The developments made Hatteras' face fall and grow etched with worry; he turned to the town in the distance and began to signal from his tail again as the shells continued to burst in the air.

By chance, another one of the fireworks shells lit the ship up again, and from a vantage point near the edge of the cliff, Pladur was able to make out the sight of golden sails. The Fraxure's blood went cold as he remembered a shifty-looking ship with similar sails that pursued the _Siglo Swellow_ during an approach to Kenobi back in the spring. Between that and the suspicious timing, that meant this could only be...

"A-Ack! It's a pirate ship!" he yelped. The dragon's words set off a wave of anxiety across the crowd. Younger Pokémon pulled themselves in towards their parents, tight and wide-eyed as a few of the tougher and more brave-hearted attendees made their way for the path. Marley turned to follow the hasty defenders, when a faint series of blinking lights came back from the direction of the town. Hatteras paused, tilted his ears quizzically, and looked at a patch of sea between the town and where the ship was.

"Everything's… under control?" he asked aloud. Another firework went off, and as the fiery trails went down, the shape of the ship was visible further out at sea, growing smaller and smaller until the light from the bursts no longer lit up its form.

"It's- It's going away!" a Raichu crewmate from Pladur's ship cried.

"Heh! They must've gotten scared off by that lightshow down there!" a Servine from the same crew crowed.

Sighs of relief and comments about the "close call there" floated around as Hatteras and a few of the earlier would-be defenders excused themselves to make their way back down to Bluewhorl… Just in case. As Nida's attention shifted back to the lights in the distance, she looked up and saw the midnight Traveller poking out behind the moon.

 _Was it really just luck?_ she thought to herself. Or was it something greater stirring among the spirit-stars above?

_Bo-Boom…_

Whelp, no sense puzzling over it for too long, the fireworks show wasn't over yet!

As the show went on, the gaiety and festive mood of the gathering returned. The Pokémon on the hill were quietly grateful that even in trying ages like their own, the gods that were and were yet to come still watched over nights like these.

* * *

Back aboard the _Mistral Marauder_ , a soggy Aggron with burns along his back hoisted himself back onto the deck and flopped over. As he hacked the seawater out of his windpipe and rubbed at the tender-feeling spots the Blast Seeds in the shells had left on his hide, he noticed that his beloved caravel hadn't dodged the fireworks either.

There were holes pockmarking the wood and sails going back from the direction of the prow; a few below the waterline having been hastily patched with ice until sawdust could be mixed in to make the plugs keep. Here and there, embers and trails of smoke still smoldered from mostly-doused fires that stubbornly attempted to flicker on despite being soaked and stamped. A number of unconscious Pokémon with burns were laid out along the deck, groaning, as the crew's Miltank medic went about inspecting them and tried prioritizing which wounds to treat first.

"Oi, _Captain._ "

And of course, there was the wall of leers from the battered and now ornery crew members that were still well enough to stand. At the head of the group was a burned and glaring Ledian, angrily shaking his fists at the Steel-Type.

"We _warned_ you about those fireworks," Kichiro hissed, as a chorus of irate affirmations followed. The Aggron hastily rose to his feet, hoping that his larger stature would intimidate his lackeys into knowing who was boss, but no dice. Their faces were still every bit as livid as they were before, and the rough shape he was in surely wasn't helping him look strong and imposing.

"Give us one reason why we shouldn't mutiny over this right _here and now!_ " a singed Staravia from the aerial detail angrily squawked. The bird, and the faces around her shot piercing glares, that all but bored through the captain's hide.

"Uhm… Er…"

The Aggron gulped and looked around uneasily as the Pokémon on deck began to herd him to the charred gap in the railing he clambered up from. Down in the water, the sea escorts were similarly glaring, and even Rodion wasn't keeping them in line and coming to his defense. The Steel-Type stammered and continued to backpedal when the ship rocked with the waves and chanced to hear the sound of a crate being shoved out of the way by someone at the back of the crowd, the container's contents clattering inside…

"Hey, _wait!_ B-Be careful with that! That's-!" the Aggron protested, when he remembered the clink to be the distinct sound of clay jugs filled with liquid. Hess eyes lit up, and he did his best to summon a cheery, if still-nervous demeanor as he turned back to the gathered crew members

"Th-That's the booze that we looted!" he cheered, nodding his head triumphantly. The gathered brigands paused in their tracks, traded askew looks with each other, and began to quizzically ask each other.

"Huh? You mean we actually _did_ get something?" a Sableye asked, drawing back his claws and easing out of a pouncing stance.

"We _did?_ " a Carvanha in the seas behind cried out. "But we didn't even hit land!"

"Well, how _else_ would we have gotten it?" Pyry demanded. "I didn't remember the crate being there before, and it's even soggy!"

As the Gabite went over to the crate to nose about, others followed after him quizzically. The rest of the pirates, most notably Kichiro, remained unsatisfied and stood their ground, continuing to glare and brace themselves for imminent battle with their Captain.

"Just how dumb do you think we _are?_ " the Bug-Type scoffed. "As _if_ we're letting you just weasel your way out of this over some drinks-!"

"Hey, _wait a minute!_ " the land shark's voice suddenly interrupted. "I smell wine in here!"

The aggression quickly evaporated from the remaining holdouts at the mention of 'wine' and they joined the excited crowd of ruffians gathered about the now-opened wooden crate. Sure enough, there were clay jugs neatly packed inside. Elty stuck his head in, used his maw to grab one of the jugs by its handle, and gave it a good shake.

_Slosh slosh_

There really was drink inside! Could it really be _wine?_ That stuff was several cuts above the normal drink the crew carried! And if it _was_ wine, just what sort was it…?

"That's right, it's champagne! _Moët du Boisocéan!_ And we snagged two other crates of it too!" Hess exclaimed. "So what's say we all split our fair shares, break out those lanterns, and enjoy these lights from a safe distance on our way to Kenobi for the afterparty there, huh?"

The pirates looked skeptically at the Aggron, then at the clay jugs in the crate, then at each other, and then finally back at the Aggron.

"Fine. You win this one, Captain," Kichiro sighed. "But this is _only_ because you'll actually make sure the loot gets split fairly!"

"Alright!" Pekka cried. "It's party time!"

"Dibs on the first jug!" Pyry bellowed, followed quickly by a yip from Elty.

" _Drugi gąsior jest mój!_ " he barked. "I call the one with the tall neck!"

"Oi, you selfish deck clods!" the Seadra called from below. "Share some with us! We keep you from getting sunk at sea!"

"Happy New Year!" Hess cheered. "I'll come back for my own share after I and the other roughed-up guys get treated. And don't forget that!"

The deck quickly burst into a frenzy of activity as the crate was swarmed and the champagne was passed around. Other Pokémon fished out the stored lanterns and began to deck the rigging with them. Still others helped the crew's medic pop some tiny Reviver Seeds and Energy Powder into the mouths of their more injured comrades, so they could at least be conscious for the festivities on deck.

As his crew was distracted with the impromptu party, Hess exhaustedly slunk off to where his caravel's tiller was on the stern before sighing out of relief and wiping some seawater from his brow. He rooted through one of the pouches he wore on his body and fished out a Rawst and an Oran Berry, scarfing the two down whole to provide some temporary relief from his burns, at least well enough to make sure that he too could get some of that _Moët_ in the crates.

"Hess," a voice called from behind. The Aggron turned and saw the shorter form of Rodion waiting behind him, giving a skeptical and unimpressed look.

"Didn't you bring those crates aboard when we left Orleigh?" the Floatzel demanded.

"Hey, I just said it was _loot._ I didn't say it was _Tromban_ loot!" Hess countered. The Aggron cast a glance at the reveries below, and at the now mostly-empty crate of champagne before turning back. "And, er… it _was_ supposed to be something for after the raid. That's why I bothered packing it along anyways."

Rodion closed his eyes and lowered his head, rubbing a paw over a frustrated crease in his brow. After pausing and casting a skeptical glance, the Water-Type sighed a groaning " _Neveroyatno_ " before looking back up at the Aggron captain.

"I'll keep _this one_ under the rug. This may have been a disaster of a raid, but you _do_ know a thing or two about making restitution," the Floatzel grunted as he turned and made his way back for the main deck. When he reached the stairs, the otter took a moment to pause and turn back.

"If you want to make sure that your share doesn't get claimed, you should probably get those other two crates out before the rest of the crew finds them."

"Alright, alright, just give me a moment," Hess muttered back, waving the Water-Type off. The Aggron pulled his lucky charm out from under his scarf and sighed, grateful that it had lived up to its supposed properties to bring its bearer home and bailed his hide out of another disaster…

Sort of.

The metal lizard tucked his bauble back in safely, and turned towards the now-distant lights of Bluewhorl Town in the distance. As bursts of light continued to fleck the skies overhead, he gave a surly leer.

"You win this time," he growled. "But I'll be _back_ , and _next_ time, you won't have your lousy fireworks to stop me!"

But that could wait a while. Maybe a week. Or a moon. Or a season. Targets to plunder on _land_ usually didn't go anywhere fast. The Aggron got up, the effects of his hasty patch job with the berries were starting to kick in and dulling his wounds.

After all, there was that champagne to get to, and a little partying probably couldn't hurt to salvage the rough night a bit.

* * *

Back at the seaside bluff, the show's grand finale lit up the shrine on the hill. With one final riot of color and sound, the fireworks finally died down, as hollers of excitement continued to ring out from the crowd. The scare with the pirates earlier was nearly forgotten now, the fear swept away by wonder and camaraderie as one by one, the Pokémon up the bluff began to make their way for the path back to town.

Nida snuck off from her siblings and darted out into the crowd with her bag of remaining candy, where she chanced to come upon Kiran and Crom chattering excitedly with each other about the show.

"Did you see those ones with the silver and gold colors towards the end?" Crom cried. "How'd the town make that happen?"

"They must have mixed in some extra metal powder this year for their colors," the Swellow chirped back. "Why, based off of my experiences with setting up the big show the year before you joined the team... I'd say they used 50% more than last year!"

The Nidoran began to hop forward to join the two, only to feel a tugging nip at her barbs from behind followed by a gentle, but stern voice.

" _Mija._ "

The little spike ball turned around and came face to face with Teja. The Nidorino leaned in and nosed the Nidoran before continuing on with his words.

"Don't be so quick to hop off," he prodded. "Your _Mami_ and I need you to help walk the little ones back tonight."

"H-Huh?! But _Papi!_ " she protested. "Dorin, Ani, and Orino also are able to walk them back!"

"Yes, and you too," Teja grunted. The little Nidoran opened her mouth to protest, only to be cut off by Crom and Kiran spotting her and waving her off one after the other.

"See you in the morning, Nida!"

"Happy New Year!"

The two headed off, Kiran taking to the air back for the town, and Crom shuffling off for the company of his parents and his now-dozing younger brother. Nida's ears drooped out of disappointment as her hopes for walking home with her teammate that night evaporated like the fireworks in the sky. Only to be brought back to attention by her father pawing at her flank.

"Besides, don't you think it's time to be around your family a bit tonight?" he chuckled. "Your friends from the guild seem to be doing the same."

Nida looked back and watched as Crom grabbed his lantern from the rack on the way out, and continued along the path with his family. Their happy chattering fading away into indistinct nothings as they went further and further down the path, leaving Nida to reluctantly answer her father.

"Yes, _Papi._ "

She turned back as Teja and Marley made their way to the paths, after grabbing their lanterns and wrangling the still-rambunctious kits together, Nida set off for the trek home along with her fellow blue and purple spike lumps. Perhaps it was the hour, but the way back past the lantern-lined trees felt longer than the hike up to the bluff.

Every now and then the younger Nidoran would pose a question, like 'Who got to launch the fireworks?', 'Where did the Blast Seeds came from?', 'Would it be a bad idea to set one off in the dining chamber?', and the expected litany of questions about New Year's presents that only served to wear the Nidoran down more and more. Eventually, they reached the outskirts of Bluewhorl again, and passed the guild and the still-lit huts on the way to Hariti's. They crossed one of the bridges across the stream and made their way back to the wooded and structureless hills above the town where the family burrow was, staggering yawning and tiredly past the mat and the box on the wooden post where mail came in...

"Eh? _Chicos?_ Where are you going?" Marley's voice interrupted. "You weren't about to head to bed without first unwrapping gifts, were you?"

The ten Nidoran's ears pricked up, and their tired eyes widened as they whirled about and saw that waiting for them on the mat were their parents… and a pile of colorful paper bundles tied together with dyed string. She and her siblings darted forward to claim their parcels, plopping the gifts atop what remaining candy was left in their lanterning bags before following their parents down the burrow.

The lanterns were set back onto the rude table much as they were at dinnertime, and one by one, they began to open their gifts at their parents prodding, the parcels getting torn open with tooth and claw to delighted squeaks. So _this_ was why _Papi_ had put her through all that trouble earlier! He wanted time to sneak home and get the presents out onto the doorstep first! Dorin got a metal whistle for his apprenticeship at the Dojo, Ani got a mortar and pestle to grind berries with for her work with the medics. Orino got a slip of paper that he seemed rather excited about. Between the late hour and her drooping eyelids, Nida couldn't really tell what it was, but it must've been something to help out with his training with the local guards (if one could call watching hung-over sailors in the cells half the time along with other Pokémon "training").

" _Mija?_ " Teja's voice asked.

"Huh?" Nida blinked back, yawning.

"Don't doze off just yet!" he chuckled. "It's your turn to unwrap your gift!"

Nida looked down and nibbled through the string. She felt the wrapping paper begin to give way and tore the rest of it away from its contents. Inside, she found a small, brown satchel with a light blue swirl on it. As the Nidoran pawed and nosed the simple little sack, she saw that it was made from tightly-woven hemp, the strap formed of layer upon layer bound with glue to form a solid fit for Nida's torso.

"We saw how hard you've been working with your Guild training," Teja offered. "So we figured that you might want something to help you out like your siblings."

"It might be a _little_ small for a team bag," Marley added. "But I think that you three should still be able to find some use for it, no?"

That wasn't important, they had gotten her her own bag! Sure, the team would likely use Kiran's most of the time, but when it came time to move on, there would be a bag of her own to use and share with her teammates. And such a cute and perfectly-sized one, too! She looked up from her present, and much as her siblings before her, gave a tired, but appreciative thanks.

" _Gracías Mami, Gracías Papi._ "

" _De nada,_ " her father answered. The last few presents went by quickly, their specifics fading off as sleep began to creep up on Nida. The time came when the Nidoran in the little burrow were finally ushered off to sleep, each taking their prize back to their straw bedding for the night. Nida set hers at the foot of her bed, covered up the jar of glow-moss in the corner, and began to doze off to the sounds of her snoring elder siblings.

Sweet dreams began to filter over her mind, dreams of using her bag as one for the team she and Crom would set up. Of them making rank and getting their badges upgraded from the little misshapen lumps that they were. Who knows, maybe this would even be the year that the Protector finally woke up and came down the hill!

" _Feliz Año a todos,_ " she murmured, as she drifted off into the dreams swirling about in her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _Año Nuevo Trombense_ \- Spanish: "Tromban New Year's"  
>  \- _(¡)Gracías Mami! (¡)Gracías Papi!_ \- Spanish: "Thanks Mom! Thanks Dad!"  
>  \- _Lyhtyjuhla_ \- Finnish: "Lantern Festival"  
>  \- _Feliz Año Nuevo!_ \- Spanish: "Happy New Year!"  
>  \- _Trombenses_ \- Spanish: "Trombans"  
>  \- _Nanda? (_ _何だ_ _?)_ \- Japanese: "What?" / "What is it?" Informal, rude or contemptuous in some contexts. (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _mija_ \- Spanish: "my son", compare to " _mija_ " for usage and connotations.  
> \- _Moët du Boisocéan_ \- French: "Moët of Boisocéan", play off of " _Moët et Chandon_ ".  
> \- _Drugi gąsior jest mój!_ \- Polish: "(The) Second jug is mine!"  
>  \- _Neveroyatno (Невероятно)_ \- Russian: "Unbelievable" / "Incredible". (BGN/PCGN Romanization.)  
>  \- _Chicos_ \- Spanish: "Children"  
>  \- _De nada_ \- Spanish: "You're welcome"  
>  \- _Feliz Año a todos_ \- Spanish: "Happy (New) Year, everyone"


	28. In the Dark

Hours since Team Traveller had shaken their pursuit at Boisocéan, Pleo's flight over the sea remained a long and circuitous ordeal.

If the team followed the the Spiral Stream's light-colored water below, the current would eventually bring them past Kenobi after four beacons. Whenever one of those beacons was spotted, Elty instructed Pleo to swim close to the surface and take a detouring arc around to reduce the likelihood of a spotter seeing them in the air.

Much to their astonishment, the journey had gone largely without incident. The high sea was supposed to be riddled with aggressive ferals, and pirates prowling on ships who didn't broadcast their true colors until it was too late. While the team had glimpsed ships here and there (which were likely not pirates, but it was better to err on the side of caution) and the backs of passing Pokémon below, they had seen far more emptiness…

Their only companions for those empty stretches were the waves and the current below, along with the sun and clouds above. Soon, even the sun began to leave them: after the fourth beacon, its last rays were slipping perilously low to the horizon as a sea fog began to roll in.

"Eh?! It's supposed to be right here!"

And much to Nida's squeaking concern, they had still not caught sight of Kenobi, even as the visibility continued to wane.

"I don't understand," the Nidoran murmured. "We followed the current and counted the beacons just like we were supposed to…"

"We must've veered off course earlier," Elty grumbled, the Growlithe peering out into the foggy distance with a scowl. "It's not like it would've been hard to mix things up out here."

Just then, the Growlithe felt Pleo's wings wobble unsteadily. The dog hunkered down and latched onto some feathers, expecting Pleo to suddenly fall towards the sea. Mercifully, the little Protector's flight path evened out, if betraying tired and sluggish motions with his wings.

"N-Nida? E-Elty?" he asked. "How much further do we have to go?"

"We should almost be there Pleo," Nida quickly answered. "Just hang in there a little longer!"

"But my wings hurt, and I haven't eaten anything since that Sitrus Berry," Pleo whined. And indeed, Pleo's healing aside, the three hadn't had a proper meal in over a day now. Nida and Elty's stomachs softly growled, joining in quiet protest with their carrier's.

"Can't we rest somewhere? Just for a little?"

"Pleo. We're out in the middle of the ocean!" Elty snapped. "Unless you happen to be able to dive all of us down into the Subway, there _is_ nowhere to rest-!"

Just then, a fleeting, murky shape caught the eyes of Team Traveller, partly enshrouded by the rolling fog. It was the shape of a two-masted ship, but something seemed amiss about it…

Where were its sails?

On closer inspection, the three noticed that one of its masts was tilting precariously at an angle, and its timbers were rotted with gaping holes in the hull and deck. Not only that, the vessel appeared to be stranded on a small collection of sea rocks. This was…

"A shipwreck?"

"Looks like it. It must've been pushed up onto those rocks during a storm…" Elty murmured. "Either that, or its captain must've drinking something really strong to get it wrecked like _that._ "

"Wait a minute, why don't we rest _there?_ " Nida asked. "It can't be too much worse than hunkering down in a stable zone… And it's not as if we'd be able to see much from the air to keep us from getting lost with this fog."

Pleo turned towards the ship and circled about it, as he and Elty cast glances at the decay.

"Eh? We're going to rest there, Nida?" Pleo hesitated. "But it looks- well…"

" _Scary._ "

Elty also seemed unenthused by the idea of overnighting in the ratty-looking wreck, casting a glance at where Kenobi ought to be. They couldn't possibly get _that_ lost, could they?

"Well, let's decide. Are we going to risk fumbling around a little so we can get food and an _actual_ place to stay? Or are we going to spend the night hungry in that pile of driftwood there?

* * *

Five minutes later, Team Traveller sat in the pile of driftwood, hungry. An irked Growlithe fumed as the three searched the worn and battered deck for places to spend the night.

"This was _not_ what you two were supposed to choose!" Elty huffed. His protests only drew a tired head turn from Pleo and an unamused head shake from Nida.

"Come on, Elty," she replied. "Between 'spending a night hungry and trying again tomorrow' and 'getting lost at sea in the fog', which is the safer bet?"

As the fog-shrouded moon and stars continued to grow dimmer and dimmer, the team came across some overturned crates in the battered remains of the stern. While there _were_ Pokémon scents around, their staleness suggested there'd likely not be any company for the night. It wasn't the lodging of the guild back home, but it was an unclaimed space, and the crates formed the best roof they could hope for right now.

"Whelp, at least it won't be another night sleeping under the stars," Elty murmured to himself as he pawed at a tilted crate. He hopped inside, circled a few times, then settled down and rested his head. Nida yawned at the sight and shepherded Pleo in under the timbers of another crate.

"Let's wind down and try again tomorrow, then," she said, groggily eyeing a crate atop Pleo and Elty's. The Nidoran hopped up, shook her spikes out, and settled down for the night with heavy eyes.

"Nida?"

Only for Pleo's voice from below to interrupt her?

"Hrm?" she yawned back.

"Are- Are we doing the right thing?"

"Huh?" she asked. "What do you mean by that, Pleo?"

Pleo shuffled out of his box and beat his wings, turning back to face the Nidoran. The young Protector drew a wing to his beak, clearly troubled and unsure.

"Well, Margi said that this next island had a bunch of Company Pokémon on it… I mean, Elty says we can hide there… but-," he muttered, his words starting to trail off. "What if I wind up bringing trouble again?"

"Pleo, even if trouble _has_ been following us, what's been happening _isn't_ your fault," Nida reassured.

The little spike ball rose from the timbers under her feet and poked her head out, coming face to face with the waiting Protector. She looked off into the foggy distance, hoping to catch a glimpse of the island, but saw nothing. Perhaps then, the best thing to do would be to try and somehow make the hurdles before them seem a little less insurmountable to the young bird.

"That's why we're even going there," she continued "To try to see if we can find anything that will help you draw out your power better, and figure out how to keep this trouble from following us so we can all go home. I mean if _Elty_ could figure something about how to stay out of trouble there…"

"Eh? How do you figure that?" Elty's voice called off from below. "I've mostly been getting by with dumb lu-"

"Shh!" Nida hissed, shaking her head before turning her attention back to the little Lugia. The Nidoran folded her ears back, and leaned in to Pleo's snout to nuzzle it, hoping that the gesture would calm her partner. "Don't worry about it, Pleo. We made a promise, remember?"

"Whatever happens, we'll be together?" he chirped back. Elty's voice grunted dismissively from his resting place, but just looking back into Nida's red eyes, Pleo already knew her answer before she spoke it.

"That's right," she replied. And that was enough. No matter how scary things were, they would be there for each other, and they would fight tooth and claw to stay together…

But… those eyes… They looked…

_Yaaaaaaaah_

Tired.

"Let's get some sleep for now, though," Nida prodded. "Okay?"

"Okay… good night, Nida."

The little Protector shuffled back into his crate, where he curled up tightly. He heard Nida settle down above him, and turned to watch the fog-shrouded stars in the sky. As the waves rolled in the background, his eyes started feeling heavier and heavier, until sleep finally claimed him.

* * *

The next morning, while snores still drifted about below the deck of the _Siglo Swellow_ , Crom had awoken bright and early to help his father with his customary work.

"Remember, pull the gummis out of the dip sooner this time… You want the coating to be uniform, but not _too_ thick as it hardens…"

Namely to help prepare breakfast for the crew in the steerage space that doubled as the galley on the small and cramped vessel. It was an exercise that was new to Crom, stirring the mix along with little dashes of flavoring, heating the concoction with embers of dragonfire… And yes, as his father had mentioned: dipping the morsels into hot berry syrup with a fine mesh to form an sugary coating as the bean-like clumps cooled. Every step of gummi-making needed to be timed just right with the aid of a small pair of glass bulbs filled with sand. If not, they would turn out to be deformed or ill-tasting as they had after the young Druddigon's last attempt. This time, Crom dutifully watched the hourglass and after pulling out the current batch of dipped gummis, deposited them on a sheet of wax paper. Once the Dragon-Type did that, he grabbed little clumps of mix from a bowl and formed them into small, bean-like pieces on a clay tray for the next batch.

"Whew, gummis are sure an awful lot harder to make than bread…" Crom muttered. The Druddigon shook his head, why even _without_ all the mistakes he'd made, he'd spent over an hour just getting breakfast thrown together! "You really do this three times a day, dad?"

"Yep!" Pladur replied, the Fraxure nodding his head proudly. "In between deck work with the rest of the Pokémon aboard!"

Crom continued to place clumps on the tray as his mind drifted off. His expression started to take a turn for the downcast as he began to murmur to himself.

"So… that's how you became so strong, huh?"

Pladur blinked, and watched as his son slowly became more and more preoccupied, while his gummi-making slowed down.

"What do you mean?" the Fraxure prodded.

"Always getting up early, always pushing yourself," Crom said, his claws now drifting over the mix bowl listless. "If only I had done a little more of that, then-"

" _Mijo_ , take it easy. Getting stronger takes time, and it's not something you can do on your own… And… well," the Fraxure sighed reluctantly, before shaking his head and turning his head to the young Druddigon. "A little father-son secret here, but… I honestly wouldn't be anywhere near as strong as you think I am if it weren't for my friends aboard this ship."

"Huh?!" the Druddigon cried, almost pulling the bowl off the shelf out of surprise. _Dad_ not being strong? But… how would that even-? "What do you mean?!"

"It's _hard_ to stand and face down things that are bigger and scarier than you, to not turn tail and hide," the Fraxure explained. "But when you have other Pokémon alongside you… they protect you. They help you fight, and give you the strength to stand your ground."

"It's something that I've always envied about your mother, her ability to stand firm even when alone. Especially with that _Cazadragones!_ " the Fraxure interjected, a faint shiver creeping up his spine. "And… well, I don't think you'd have been able to sneak into a crate full of stinking berries to try and get the Protector back if you _didn't_ have some of her nature in you."

Crom looked downward, drifting in his thoughts. He supposed that going after his friends was _something_ , but… Before the Druddigon could continue, he felt a tug, and turned to see his father's claw reassuringly on his shoulder.

"But I think you've made enough gummis for a day, and they're not bad for a beginner's effort," the elder dragon cheered. "Why don't you head up and take a break on deck for a bit, it should only take half an hour before the rest of breakfast is ready."

"Mmph. Right!"

Crom scampered off from the galley, and down a tight, tunnel-like passage over to a set of stairs. After a quick clamber up, he found himself up on the deck, the warm rays of a still-rising sun flitting down on his wings through thinning sea fog.

"Eh?! Crom?" a voice suddenly buzzed from the side. "What are you doing up so early? Kiran's still asleep, isn't he? Aren't you two working together?"

The young dragon jump with a start at the voice, and after looking over in its direction, his suspicions of its source were confirmed. Perched on a barrel by the front mast, a Scyther with a five-tailed blotch on his head was flitting his wings in the rising sun.

"Ack! Ander?!" Crom cried. "What are you doing up?!"

"I normally get up early," the Bug-Type explained. "It's part of my job back home."

That… seemed to make sense. And with blades that could be set to work cutting and filing down wood and rope, it probably made sense that Captain Beatrix would want Ander's help on deck bright and early in the morning.

"Er… right," Crom replied, the Druddigon returning to a state of uneasy calm as the two awkwardly dodged glances at each other.

"So… uh… you came to see Boisocéan come over the horizon, I take it?" Ander offered, as he fluttered off the barrel and over to the railing.

"Huh?"

"The island our mission is taking us to?" he asked, as he pointed a scythe out over the railing. There, off in the distance, was a lush, verdant island with a low and worn-down peak. On the eastern side of it, a thick shroud of fog hugged its shoreline.

"It's really much prettier than I expected," the Bug-Type murmured. "Why I've only read about it, and heard of it from the sailors down at the docks… It's really quite different once you see it for yourself."

"B-But we aren't going here just to see the island!" Crom protested. "We're going to get Pleo and everyone else back!"

"Yes, that's… true…" Ander responded hesitantly, which made the Druddigon cast a suspicious glance at the bladed mantis.

"Ander, do you even really _want_ them to return?" he mumbled. "I mean, back when we came to your house-"

"Whether or not I want them to return is irrelevant," Ander interrupted. "What matters is that the truth comes out of this for the whole town to know. That's why I agreed to come along in the first place."

"E-Eh?! That doesn't sound like you want Pleo to come back at all!" Crom cried. "And he's really been a nice Pokémon! How could he be anything _but_ our Protector?!"

There was a long, overwhelming silence as the two locked eyes with each other. Each waiting for the other to say something. Finally, the mantis shook his head and began to speak.

"I'm sorry… I… I just can't accept that," Ander replied. "Not with everything that has been written and passed down through all these years. And sure, he's _acted_ nice so far… but what do we about what he'll do? Especially when he's off on his own?"

* * *

"Nida! Nida!"

The sound of Pleo's chirping pricked the ears of Elty and Nida. Pleo's cries pierced the two's slumber as their other senses began to awake with their bodies. The two noticing the rough wood under their bodies, the warmth of the sun outside, and the soft noise of waves breaking in the distance.

"Nngh," Nida muttered, pawing at the side of her box blindly. "Five more minutes, _Mami_ …"

"Urgh… not right now," Elty grumbled. "It's too early for this…"

"There's an island close to us!" Pleo's voice cried. The mention of 'island' made Nida and Elty spring up to their feet in an instant with a mutual cry.

"Huh?! Where?!"

The two looked up and saw Pleo perched atop a railing and batting out a wing, gesturing excitedly off into the distance past the remains of the bow. Sure enough, the two saw an island up over the horizon. On it were two sets of peaks with scraggly trees and thick fog between them, the closer chain appearing far more lushly vegetated than the other, much more arid and tawny-looking chain.

Around the island, there was a ringing atoll formed of narrow, spindly reefs poking up above the water. On one of the atoll's islands, there was a complex of buildings and docks built around a sturdy-looking stone fort at one end, carefully guarding the direct entrance to a town built along a seaside bluff.

The settlement was on the more vegetated side of the island, filled with colorful, tightly spaced wooden shacks. There were two sets of docks and some assorted buildings below them that were separated by a great, stone barrier that ran to the top of the bluff between the upper and the lower parts. She could barely make out the lower part, but its tents and shacks seemed even gaudier than the ones on the upper side. The wall and the faces of the bluff surrounded the district on three sides.

"Why, that place in between the wall and bluffs looks almost as colorful as home during New Year's!" Nida cried, before tilting her head curiously at the hazy district. "But… why's it so hemmed in?"

"I _told_ you we could have found it last night!" Elty grumbled as Pleo waddled off to go and inspect the remains of a tiller further down the deck. "You stiffed us out of dinner!"

"Well, it's here, at least," Nida sighed. "So where are we going on Kenobi anyways?"

"Aisle Town. The town on the island past the long ones that form the ring," Elty replied. "That place you were looking at is the Andaku Docks. It's a district where I'd lie low in with the rest of the crew when we'd fence stuff. The locals have an understanding with Pokémon like us, and we can stay there for a little bit without getting into trouble."

"Eh?!" Pleo cried. "You mean we're going to a place full of pirates?!"

"Yes, along with bandits, smugglers, and _sknerzy_ that gouge you for crummy merchandise," the Growlithe answered. "What's your point?"

"Elty, we can't just go to a place like that!" Nida spluttered. Just then, a grumbling sound reverberated and both the Nidoran and the Lugia looked back at their flanks. Yes… that was the sound of their stomachs revolting. There were a handful of berries in the bag… but those berries were better used for healing than casual consumption. If they just gobbled them up, they'd be as unprepared for Mystery Dungeons as when they left Lyn's ship!

"Do _you_ have any alternatives?" Elty grumbled. "If you know someone around here, then by all means, tell me."

Nida traded an uneasy look with Pleo, and then shifted her gaze back at the island. She paused and then shook her head before turning back to the Growlithe.

"So… we just fly in?"

"Sure, if you want to be seen by a bunch of Company Pokémon," Elty scoffed, batting a paw dismissively in the air. "Look, just follow my lead and we'll get there fine."

The Nidoran stared back out at the town in the distance, finally flattening her ears dubiously and shaking her head with a sigh.

"I sure hope you know what you're doing, Elty."

* * *

It took a while for the three to get their blood flowing again, but before they knew it, Nida and Elty were riding on the young Guardian's back high above the sea. The final stretch between the derelict and the island slipping by with Pleo's wingbeats.

Per Elty's instructions, the young Lugia took a long route, cutting across the atoll in a place far away from the sea fort and approaching the hilltop overlooking the settlement from behind. Pleo settled in the branches of an elm tree that seemed sufficiently far enough to not attract any attention. After a few false starts, he managed to help his partners down the tree, right next to the side of a Leppa field that stirred up a few memories of Marley and Teja's field. From there, the group cut through it, and then through a Figy field, and an Aspear field, and…

"Gah… okay, so I wasn't expecting Razz Berries to be growing this season," Elty groaned. "But it's alright. We've made it to the outskirts."

Through a prickly field of Razz Berry plants, leaving behind a small collection of scrapes on Team Traveller. Much like the crops of the prior fields, the berries were still green, hard, and unripened, little comfort to their injuries or rumbling stomachs. Fortunately, for the sake of everyone's scuffed and scraped pelts and plumage, it looked like it was the last. There were no more mats or fields ahead to be seen, and directly in front of them were the outskirts of a cluster of mostly-wooden structures which stretched down to the bluffs the team had spotted earlier.

"So what do we do now?" Pleo chirped.

As Elty looked around for a way to sneak in, his eyes settled on a shaded, narrow passageway lined with broken-down jars and crates.

"Okay, so admittedly this is my first time going _this_ way down it, but… see that alley there?" he asked, gesturing at the lane with a paw. "It leads down to a bunch of other ones just like it that'll take us straight to the Andaku Docks. Just move quickly and carefully, and we'll be there soon enou-"

The Growlithe's words died in his mouth as he saw Pleo planting his feet into the ground and preparing to spring up.

"Oi!" he barked, drawing a startled squawk from the white bird.

"H-Huh?!"

"Move in a way that won't get you spotted!"

"But I was just going to fly-!"

" _No flying!_ " Elty insisted, narrowing his eyes impatiently. Nida shook her head and turned to Pleo, attempting to explain Elty's hesitance in more honeyed words.

"Pleo, remember that we're trying to not get seen while going in," she reminded. "If we walk along alleys like this, we'll be less likely to get spotted."

"Oh!" Pleo chirped. "I guess that makes sense…"

"Heh… it'll be just like when you came to Bluewhorl," she chuckled, which drew a smile from the white bird. But as Elty led them off, things weren't _fully_ like they were back on Bluewhorl…

For one, the paths were much steeper, enough so that some of the sections the team went down had stone steps placed into the path to help Pokémon up and down the lane. There was also a surprising lack of open space. Back in Bluewhorl, most of the huts outside the harbor area had gaps or even empty fields between them. They provided enough space for Pokémon to meet and greet one's neighbors. The huts back home were also made out of wood, and had earthy or no paint at all. However, in this town, the huts were as colorful as a spread of gummis back at the mess hall. Verdant greens… fiery reds… sea and sky blues… sunny yellows… The shacks would usually be built up to the edge of the lane. Every third or so had a second floor, and a few larger ones possessed three or even four. Their roofs were usually made of wooden shingles or thatch, and every so often, from dark-colored clay tiles.

As the team ducked from this alley to that, they passed a Kecleon arguing with a sleepy-looking Noibat over misplaced stock. Further ahead they noticed a small group of strange black Pokémon with big solitary eyes that floated around a game of monster even saw a group of young Pokémon in front of a mural with lines of glyphs composed of dots, depicting a white, eyeless Pokémon dragging an island through a seascape. The group seemed to be in the middle of an outing, and the three overheard snippets of a lecture about Anyilla's founder and the legendary adventurers he travelled with in the time of the Sigillating Wars… Fortunately, the only Pokémon in lavender scarves the team encountered were a Boldore and Palpitoad that were distracted enough to slip past thanks to some chatter over some actors of a local play troupe 'needing more stage time!'

"There it is!"

Until at last, they came to an alley that opened up at a kitty corner to a tile-roofed gate built into a series of wooden palisades, its sturdy wooden doors ajar and begging to be snuck through. All along the wall and gate Nida's nose caught hints of vile smells not wholly unlike those in the alley behind Miria's bar on more neglected days, with similarly uninviting scrawls of graffiti all along their surfaces.

"'Abandon all hope ye who enter'… What a dump!" Nida exclaimed. "The Company really just lets pirates hang around there?"

The mention of pirates made Pleo grow nervous. Weren't these the same Pokémon that caused all that trouble back in Bluewhorl? And now they were just going to go in among them?

"N-Nida?" Pleo stammered, the young Protector inching back into the alley uneasily. "Are the Pokémon in there going to be mean to us?"

"Relax, you two will be fine," Elty chided. "Last time I was here, we could only stay a few days. And that was as long as we didn't cause trouble. But hey, _I_ never made any of these town rules, I just broke them."

"That's not really assuring, Elty-" Nida began, only to be cut off with a sudden yip.

"Ah, there's an opening!" Elty cried. "Let's move already!"

The three bolted from the alley, and dashed for the gate. Just a few more leaps forward, and they'd finally be-

"Hold it right there!"

Running straight into a Yanmega, a Manectric, and a Marowak in Company scarves, who ducked out from an alley up ahead. The team turned to try and bolt, only to find themselves swiftly ringed by the strangers and their predatory gazes.

"Ulp."

"Where do you think you're off to so fast?" the Yanmega sneered.

"Yeah, you think that you can just _waltz in_ past the gate without someone noticing?" the Manectric snickered. "Especially with a big, ugly mug like the one your bird friend's got?"

Nida, Elty, and Pleo went wide-eyed at the sight of the leering guards. They were all so big and tough-looking… Nida's barbs raised and Elty's fur bristled as their hearts pounded against their chest. The three hastily dug in their feet, and braced themselves for a fierce and tough battle.

"Well, if you want that, you've gotta give us something first!"

Or maybe it wouldn't. The three broke their braced poses and blinked uneasily. Wait, so this meant that…

"Eh?" Pleo stammered. "G-Give you something?"

"You three are new, aren't ya?" Marowak chided. "Well, out here in Aisle Town, we have an understanding with the likes of you…"

"You all behave and bring in your loot here to fence, we let you carry out business as long as you stay out of the locals' fur and get out after three days," the Electric-Type said.

"And part of that business is helping out a few Pokémon who've been up your alley, don't you think?" the Bug-Type demanded.

"Huh?!" Nida cried. " _You're_ also pirates?!"

" _Former._ Our hull got shot out from under us and our captain's taking up space in a nut, so we're just Company conscripts," the bone lizard answered. "For now, we're working at the atoll while waiting for the right time to get back into the swing of things."

"A time that _you_ can help speed along with a little contribution," the Yanmega pressed, motioning at the bag slung along Nida's back.

"Wait… the Company makes captured pirates _work_ for them?" the Nidoran asked. "How on earth is _that_ a punishment?"

"There was some stupid name for it," the Manectric scoffed. "'Community Service' or something like that."

"Why are _you_ complaining anyways?" the Marowak growled. "You probably stole whatever was in that bag anyways, so hurry up and do the right thing and give some of it to someone who deserves it more!"

"Huh?! But why would we do that?!" Pleo cried. "You used to be mean, you're mean now, and we're supposed to want to help you be mean in a different way again? Why would anyone want that-?"

" _Or_ we could clear three extra spots at work for new conscripts over an unfortunate incident," the Yanmega chittered, before gesturing with a leg at his Manectric partner. "Alvise here needs some help loading crates. And lavender wouldn't look so bad on you!"

"Psst!" Elty whispered. "Give them something already!"

Nida quickly fumbled through the bag, and after carefully patting down the berries, reluctantly handed over the Chesto, the Rawst, and one of the Oran Berries that Daraen had given them. The three fruits seemed to satisfy the guards, who tore into them in front of Team Traveller.

"See, now _that_ wasn't so hard," the wolf said. "Who knows? Maybe we'll be on the same side of the law together before too long."

" _Tennobi-shima e yōkoso!_ " the Marowak snickered, giving a mocking bow. The three carried on down a hilly path towards some wooden docks in the distance where the visible forms of ferrying Pokémon were waiting to take them to the compound further off on the atoll. Their voices gave way to grumbling about "shoving crates around for that slave driver" and "let's get this over with already".

As the three slipped away and the sting of losing half of their hard-earned reward from Boisocéan lingered, Nida whirled back to Elty, her voice thick with dismay.

"Elty! They thought that we were all a bunch of pirates!" she cried. "This is terrible!"

"What, are you kidding?" he replied. "This is great!"

Nida flattened out her ears and screwed her eyes shut in frustration. Did… Elty just say that? Really?

" _What?!_ Elty, we just had half our berries taken!" she hissed "How on earth could this be a good thing?!"

"Yeah!" Pleo added. "They think we're bad Pokémon!"

"Well, think of it this way," he offered. "Would you rather those three to think that we're 'criminal scum'? Or for them to know about what happened back at the last two islands?"

Nida and Pleo traded blank looks with each other. It _was_ disheartening that they would be 'pirates' here, but with _that_ alternative…

"Er…"

"Point taken," Nida sighed.

"Let's hurry in before we run into another bunch of guards," Elty instructed, pointing at the gate. "We'll find a way back to your island soon enough."

* * *

The voyage back along the Spiral-beaconed route to Kenobi was a tiring and arduous one for everyone. There were two ships that needed to be pushed and steered along with drafts in the water and gusts from the air, Lyn's leading the way ahead of Ellsberg's. A number of crew members from both ships were in the sick bay for wounds, including three of Lyn's strongest fliers (not to mention the two infiltrators that had to be left behind lest they fall even further behind their target). The clear and balmy weather was of little comfort, as there were two captains to poison the atmosphere all the way back with sour and quarrelsome moods.

As the two ships limped the last stretch into the Company port on the atoll ringing Kenobi, there were some quiet exhalations of relief. Once Lyn and Ellsberg's crafts were in their spots along the docks, they would be repaired, and there would be downtime for a brief shore leave away from the duo as the stricken ships were repaired.

Except on this occasion, the crew aboard and accompanying Lyn's ship discovered that day…

"Who stole my place at the docks?!"

That at Lyn's place at the Kenobi shipyards had been occupied, much to the Samurott's bellowing displeasure. It would certainly be an unpleasant day for whoever was the captain of that- Wait…

After a closer observation, it became immediately apparent that the ship was noticeably bigger, with a fourth mast attached to it. Along the sides and base of its bow were iron plates, fastened tightly in place with metal nails. With the sheer expense that protective layer would've incurred, it was clear that this was no run-of-the-mill vessel, even before Lyn's first mate caught sight of the four-layered design on the sails.

"It seems to be an Administrator's ship," the Weavile sighed. "Farn must have moved it out of her normal place."

Ah yes, Kenobi's Administrator. The one that Ellsberg had been sent back to with that report… It was only logical that she would have been less than pleased with the turn of events that transpired while trying to capture the Guardian. With no recourse left for the sullen Commissioner, he turned disgustedly from the occupied space and began to scan the docks for any open ones.

"Wait, but Captain," a Cacnea protested. "Couldn't you just take Farn's normal- **YEOW!** "

The Grass-Type was answered with a swift-moving orb water from the Samurott mouth that sent it pinwheeling into one of the masts. That was as clear a 'no' as one needed to hear. After staggering back up to its feet, the Pokémon quickly darted off further down the deck, leaving Lyn to return his attention to finding a place to dock.

"Grr. We'll use an alternate spot," Lyn spat. After glancing to and fro along the docks, the Samurott's eyes settled upon a vacant spot by some warehouses along the water. "Pull us in into that space over there."

The cry went up, and the Pokémon on the deck and in the water and skies around immediately set to work pushing Lyn's ship into place. The Samurott leapt from the railing and into the water, tearing his way through the harbor to a pier with a Misdreavus and Shuppet trading idle gossip.

The Samurott sprang up and leapt onto the dock, sending the hapless Ghost-Types diving out of the way. The Misdreavus among them quickly floated back up, and leered at the Samurott.

"Hey! Who do you think you-?!" only for its words to trail off with the sight of the Samurott's scarf and piercing glare.

"A-Ack! Sorry! Sorry! I didn't know you wer- A- _Aah!_ "

And to blanch and flee along with its companion.

With the pier now vacated, the otter shook off some seawater from his pelt, took out a blade from one of his sheaths, and began to toy with it in his usual fashion. As his ship neared the chosen space at the docks, he chanced to hear a Mothim flutter up to him from the side in a hurry.

"Uhm… Lyn," Ellsberg buzzed. "I think there must be a misunderstanding… This is _my_ ship's spot."

"And? Your ship isn't the only one that needs maintenance, Ellsberg!" the Samurott grumbled, bringing his blade to a stop in his paw. The Water-Type nonchalantly pointed at a spot in a distant corner. "Besides, there's plenty of room in the overflow docks!"

"Lyn, my ship can't _steer_ without my escorts' help!" the Bug-Type protested. "That's something that needs to be fixed right away!"

"Yes, and _mine_ can't move forward without outside help!" Lyn growled. "Between that and me _outranking_ you, I think that's grounds for priority, yes?"

"But-!" the moth began, only for a voice to interrupt from behind.

"You two over there!"

At the end of the docks, a Braixen with a scrunched-up scarf scampered up, and gestured at the Samurott and the Mothim with a paw.

"Administrator Farn needed you two to meet her at her office," the fox announced.

"Can she wait just a moment?" Lyn growled, irritated at the creature's bluntness. "We just got back with damaged ships!"

"It _did_ seem to be really important," the Fire-Type insisted adamantly. "And Administrator Elilan is here, too."

"Wait, _Elilan?_ " Lyn asked. "But that's impossible! The only Administrator's ship is-!

Lyn gestured over to his normal spot, where sure enough, there was the iron-clad behemoth that Administrators were assigned as part of their duties. Except, now that he looked further back along the docks closer to the training grounds, he saw that there was a _second_ such ship… in Farn's normal spot.

While this meant that Farn hadn't been so petty to deny Lyn his normal spot at the docks, this was hardly any cause for relief. For now there would be _two_ Administrators to get an earful from.

"This is really not what I needed first thing onshore," Ellsberg muttered, putting his tarsus up to his forehead.

"A warm welcome back, I'm sure," Lyn grumbled. The Samurott sheathed his blade and shook his head before turning to the Mothim. "Come on, let's get this over with…"

* * *

Beyond the gate, Nida, Pleo, and Elty made their way down a short path that lead to a set of stone stairs winding down the sharp seaside bluff in between two barriers. One was a stone ledge that ran up to the edge of the sea. The other was a stone blockhouse perched atop a tall, thick wall on one end that cut off what would've otherwise been an uninterrupted stretch of beach. A short ways offshore, an additional (if seemingly redundant) breakwater further hemmed in the district by closing off the approach from the sea.

As the team made its way down, the sight of a compact district came into view, composed of the same gaudy collection of buildings that the team had seen from the derelict.

There were shops, docks, and Pokémon milling about to and fro while chattering with each other. After taking a moment to sniff the air and peek down a few paths from the end of the stairs, Elty pointed out a path that went past the docks. All in all, the place didn't feel too out of place for a seaside square… of sorts.

After all, in the seaside squares the team had seen, the sailors near the docks didn't have squabbles over "fair shares of the loot" or discussions of "black spots" received from rivals (suddenly the extra breakwater didn't seem so redundant). The shacks and tents were also less colorful, and the signage was more subdued instead of the gaudy balloons and the minor sculptural feats here in the Andaku Docks. They also didn't have a veritable layer of graffiti on their walls, the team chancing to sight a bipedal cream dog with a tail dribbling colored fluid nonchalantly leaving a splattered scrawl on the side wall to an uncharacteristically busy Juice Bar. And there certainly weren't any bands of shifty-looking Pokémon idling asking each other if they spotted any "promising marks" to go after (Pleo's curiosity on this matter being swiftly overruled as Nida and Elty quickly hushed him along down a detouring alley).

The shops similarly veered from past norms. Some, like an eatery with a Pangoro distributing leaflets advertising something called 'sushi' seemed innocuous enough. Others would have surely been normal establishments were they under more respectable ownership, such as the dingy junk shop owned by a Farfetch'd who was discussing "fenced goods" with a shifty-looking Floette that smelled of seawater.

"Nida, what is that Juice Bar over there?"

And then there were places like the syrup hut. It was a modest little shack, with a roof covered in bright red shingles and signage in bold green runes. Behind the counter with the Ciccino server was a clay pot with a spout at one end, a bowl under a cover with a clay juicing wedge with slits to let fluid through, and bunches of reddish-orange spiky berries hanging from the rafters behind. On the other side of the counter, a few simple, rough-hewn stools were spread out and a gruff-looking Sawk watched over dutifully over a small group of Pokémon.

"Dude… have you ever thought about why they call these berries 'Lansats'?" a Watchog slurred. "Like, I get the 'sat' part, since we sat before drinking… but what's a 'lan'?"

"Maybe it's- like… a metaphor," a similarly slurring Chatot answered. "Makes more sense than _Sang_ , though… I haven't heard the berries say a peep!"

On closer examination, the Watchog, Chatot, and several of the other Pokémon seemed to have glazed-over eyes. The team chanced to see a more lucid Bastiodon request "syrup". At once, the Cinccino grabbed a couple of the red berries. After pressing them against the clay wedge, their juice settled into the bowl below, before being transferred to the pot with the spout and placed over a strong fire. A few minutes, and a cloud of fruity-smelling steam later, this "syrup" was poured out into a rough bowl for the client.

The Steel-Type lapped up the thick, reddish glop. The contents of the bowl dropped, along with the Bastiodon's lucidity as it too began to babble giddy, incoherent nonsense with the others. Well, that would explain why they'd never seen a shop like that before!

"Yeah, we're moving on," Elty harrumphed.

"Huh?" Pleo asked. "Why? What's wrong with-?"

"Uhm… let's not worry about it, Pleo," Nida muttered. The Nidoran hopped along the path, shaking her head as they left the sordid hut behind. "You said the town's guild was here, Elty?"

"One of two, yeah," he replied. The response made Nida stop in her tracks and whirl around in surprise.

"One of _two?!_ " she cried, pressing her nose up against Elty's muzzle indignantly. "You mean there's one that _isn't_ in this _cuchitril?!_ "

"E-Eh?!" Pleo squawked. "Why aren't we going to _that_ one, then?!"

The Fire-Type for his part was remarkably unmoved by the Nidoran's exclamations, and after rolling his eyes, answered her question with one of his own.

"Tell me, you two. Between a guild in a district full of Pokémon on the wrong side of the law, and a normal one, which one do you think is _not_ going to be telling the Company who's been doing jobs here?"

Nida and Pleo blinked and looked at each other uneasily as they mulled over Elty's words.

"Er…"

"The one with all the mean Pokémon in it?"

"Exactly," Elty scoffed. "Now quit your whining and let's keep moving, the guild's just up ahead anyways."

The "guild" was a hodgepodge of Gummi-colored wooden shacks along the shoreline, the only real indication that it was a guild at all being the shallow-angled canvas roof perched popping over their rooflines. Upon slipping through the entrance in between two of the shanties, the team saw that the canvas roof shaded a spacious wooden pier inside that served as a main area. The basic amenities seemed to be present… There were some boards filled with listings, there was a metal gong which seemed to serve the role of the this guild's customary noisemaker that was used to summon nearby teams, and of course, the normal Pokémon drifting around looking for work.

"Hey, so we were going to hit up something tonight right? What's the plan?"

Well, 'normal' for a certain definition of the term. As Team Traveller passed a Drilbur, a Dewgong, and a Koffing, their musings of "throwing Shorty there, to _drill_ his way through their hull" and "if we found the help, I could try out a noxious gas combo" pricked Nida and Pleo's ears. It was quickly apparent that these Pokémon, much like the ones on the docks outside, were a colorful crowd, to say the least.

In less generous terms, they were exactly the sorts of Pokémon that Team Traveller _didn't_ need to have any business with beyond getting a mission to restock the contents of their bag. And the sooner they got away from them, the better.

"So… what do we do now?" Nida asked.

"Well, you need supplies, don't you? Different Pokémon or not, this _is_ a guild," Elty answered. "There's a mission board over there that'll have a few postings for jobs in the local Mystery Dungeon, just pick the easiest-looking one out of them, and we'll grab everything we can on the way."

"Eh?" Pleo chirped. "But don't we need to get our badges checked first-?"

" _I'll_ do it," the Fire-Type volunteered "We only have three days to spend here, right? We might as well make the most of our time while we're at it."

Nida and Pleo both traded distrustful looks with each other, before turning back to the Growlithe, eyelids lowered.

"Er… Elty?"

"Just _why_ are we supposed to trust you on your own again?"

"Oi, what's _that_ look for? Just where am I going to run to? You still have _my_ bag," Elty snorted. "Besides, Growlithe can't exactly fly or swim and this is the part of town where I'm least likely to get in trouble."

Nida paused, before flicking her ears and shaking her head with a reluctant sigh.

"Fine. We'll see what's there for missions."

Elty watched the pair head over to the mission board and darted off. Contrary to his word, as the Growlithe wandered about the main hall, he wasn't in any particular rush to find a teleporter. Rather, he kept his eyes peeled for golden scarves with a gray Aggron head design on them, and his ears for any word that seemed to provide a clue for the whereabouts of one 'Iron Fleet'…

"Oof!"

"Hey, watch it!"

Perhaps a little _too_ much attention, as Elty looked up to see the irked form of a Drowzee looking down at him.

"If you need me to check a badge, you don't have to run into me, you know!" the psychic chided. The Psychic-Type flicked a paw as its eyes glowed and Elty felt his badge and scarf tug against his neck before falling back to rest.

"That wasn't exactly what I was trying to do," the dog sighed. Whelp, the spike lump would be happy about this, at least, but that was cold comfort for a place where he should've been able to get _some_ word of the old crew! As Elty screwed his eyes up in frustration, he heard the tapir muse to himself.

"Hey wait a minute… I think I've seen you before. Weren't you with that crew that called themselves the 'Iron Fleet' just before _Sang_ season started?" it asked. "How come I didn't see you with the bug that came in from them earlier?"

Hold on a minute… someone from the crew came in earlier?

"Wait, 'bug'?" Elty cried, his ears perking up. "What are you-?"

" _Eltenios?_ " a voice suddenly buzzed. "Is that _you?_ "

The Growlithe whirled around and saw a Ledian flitting up in stupefied surprise. Sure enough, the beetle was wearing the familiar gold and gray patterned scarf of the Iron Fleet. Wait a minute! This was one of the crew's fliers...

"Ah! Kichiro!"

" _Keiichiro_ ," the Ledian corrected. "But what are you doing here? We thought you got captured back at Tromba!"

"Heh, well, what can I say?" Elty beamed. "I don't ever give up, not even at getting back on the job!"

"I can see that, and here I was just on my way back out!" Kichiro said. "Any of the others make it out with you?"

"No, unfortunately," the Growlithe sighed. "I'm all on my own out here."

"So then," the Ledian began. "They're…?"

"Oh, they're _alive_ ," Elty interrupted. "But they're kinda stuck with Community Service right now."

"Huh? But that can't be right," the Drowzee interrupted. "You came in with two extra Pokémon. Weren't those crewmates of yours?"

Elty cast a glance back over in the direction of the mission board. Those two couldn't have that much trouble getting back to Tromba from here if they really wanted to. Besides, it wasn't his job to babysit that _mewa_ anyways.

"Uh… _no_ ," the Growlithe grunted. "But don't worry about them, the only thing I need from them before getting back on the crew is my bag."

"Right! I'll be sure to let the Captain know that you're here!" the signaller replied. "Just hold tight for a few hours, we'll be back at sundown!"

"Hrmph. I'll be there!" Elty answered. The Growlithe then turned his head back in the direction of the mission board. "I don't think it'll be a problem. Tell him I'll be at the crew's normal hangout at 'bokuya!"

The orange and cream dog turned and darted through the crowd of shifty Pokémon at the guild, as he could just barely make out a fading, buzzing voice over the din…

"It's _Ryūbokuya_ , Eltenios!"

But there would be plenty of time to argue about bar names later. Before that, there were two loose ends to be tied down first…

* * *

"How about _this_ one, Nida?"

Nida looked up at the crowded and poster-plastered mission board and saw that Pleo had spotted a scruffy-looking mission listing. After looking a bit closer at the slip, she noticed that it was for a "quest for running booty past the walls"… Hardly the sort of thing that either of the two needed to get into.

"I… Don't think that we should get into that one either, Pleo," she sighed, giving a frowning shake of her head. "It doesn't look like there's an awful lot of honest work we can do in these listings."

When Nida first saw the mission board, she thought that surely with its larger size and plentiful listings at this hour, that there would be something for them to do. Well… from a certain point of view, there _were_ things to do. There was the request for deckhands that could 'give an aggressive welcome' for a merchant ship headed off along the Diamond Beacons, a request for making a scammer 'sleep with the fishes'… and the invitation to check out a secret base, preferably 'alone, and with lots of items to play with'. Even if it _wasn't_ posted in a dodgy guild, it would hardly be worth bothering with when there wasn't even a floor listed on the request!

Pleo's lack of literacy shielded him from most of the details, even if he could now discern a couple of runes such as the one for 'reward' and the Poké sign thanks to seeing them before in Bluewhorl and Seahive. But there was still something about what Nida said that made the little bird curious.

"Huh?" the young Protector wondered. "What's 'honest work,' Nida?"

"It's being able to do things that help out another Pokémon with a problem they have without hurting another Pokémon for no reason," she explained. The Nidoran folded her ears back and looked back up at the mass of papers on the board. "There just aren't any listings that I've seen in this bunch that seem to do th-"

Before Nida could finish her train of thought, she was cut off by a cry from behind.

"Hey!"

The two whirled around and saw Elty's pudgy form bounding towards them, the dog came to a trotting stop as he neared, sat down and scratched at an ear before turning back to the two.

"Got a mission yet?" the Fire-Type asked. While his cheery demeanor was probably a good sign that he had gotten the team's badges checked, it still wasn't _that_ comforting.

"Elty, most of these missions would get us kicked out of the Guild back at home if we took them!" Nida cried.

"You know, you could just _not tell them_ that you did them," the Growlithe scoffed, rolling his eyes. "But worry about that later. It's getting late, and you're hungry, right? I got us a place to eat!"

The Growlithe's words instantly made the young Lugia perk up and his eyes brighten. Elty had found them food?

"Oh! Is it nearby?"

"Yep!" the dog barked. "It's just a short walk from here!"

Nida's ears drooped. Yes, the idea of getting food sounded awfully enticing at the moment, but… something wasn't adding up here.

"Wait a minute. Elty, how on earth are we supposed to pay for this?" she questioned. "We don't have a single Poké to our names right now."

"We can take a tab!" he replied.

"A tab?" Pleo asked.

"It means you can get stuff now, and pay for it later," Elty explained. "Standard practice, really."

"Eh?" Nida murmured, raising an ear in puzzlement. "But back home, tabs weren't just given out like that-"

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Pleo cried. "Come on, Nida, let's eat!"

And with that, Pleo darted off and took wing out of the guild's main hall. Nida turned and glared at the Growlithe, before she felt a rumble in her stomach…

It _had_ been a while since she last ate…

"You'd have _better_ have thought this through, Elty," she grumbled.

"Relax, I've _been_ here before," he reassured the Nidoran. "I've thought through _everything._ Just kick back, eat up, and take it easy for a few hours."

It would have to do for now, Nida darted off after Pleo with a cry of "wait up!", leaving Elty to follow after her as a small smirk spread over his muzzle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _sknerzy_ \- Polish: "misers", "scrooges"  
>  \- _Tennobi-shima e yōkoso! (_ _テッノビ島へようこそ_ _!)_ \- Japanese: "Welcome to Tennobi Island!" (In reference to local name referenced in passing in Chapter 12.) (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _Sang (no Mi) (_ _サンのみ_ _)_ \- Japanese: "Sang (Fruit/Berry)". Language version name for "Lansat Berry". (Official Romanization)  
>  \- _cuchitril_ \- Spanish (Chilean, Peruvian): "hovel", "hive"  
>  \- _Ryūbokuya (_ _流木屋_ _)_ \- Japanese: lit. "Driftwood House/Shop". Style of place name is sometimes used in names for shops or dining establishments. e.g. " _Harukiya (_ _春木屋_ _)_ ". (Hepburn Romanization)


	29. False Pretenses

"Where have you three _been?!_ "

The Yanmega along with his Manectric and Marowak companions flinched from the sound of the snarl reverberating down the narrow, stone-walled alley in the Company's atoll compound. They were sure that they'd be able to easily sneak down these alleys to their unrewarding and tiring job of moving crates around, only for their hopes to be squashed by an churlish Rhydon bobbing out from a blind their turn. With a lavender scarf bearing four squares anchored on the corners of a larger square, their accoster was none other than…

"You're supposed to be down at the docks loading crates!"

Their supervisor. A chorus of gulps went about the three ex-pirates, who looked at each other nervously before trying to offer an explanation for their tardiness.

" _'sa?_ It's not _our_ fault!" the Manectric protested. "Our ferrymon was drinking Lansat syrup before we set off!"

"We can't go any faster from Mossaisle Town than that _tokage_ will take us!" the Marowak added. "Alvise and I can't exactly swim, you know!"

The dragonfly took the opportunity to flit and rear up, attempting to join in the Ground-Type's defense with a buzzing protest.

"And if the Company doesn't want us coming late, then what's the big idea of the lodging we got stuck with being across the wa- Gack-!"

The Bug-Type felt pain shoot through the back of his head as he slammed hard against the ground. The Yanmega gagged and coughed, twitching his wings weakly as he looked up at the scowling Rhydon, his fist still pulling back from a downward punch.

"Don't give me that garbage, Valatos! You can _fly!_ And your buddies have been late every day this week!" the rhino bellowed. "All of you better start moving your feet instead of your yaps! If I don't see you at the yards in five minutes, you can forget about getting your day's Thalers!"

"Alright! Alright!" Alvise squeaked. "We're going!"

The dragonfly got up and uneasily flitted back up into the air, leading his partners down the alley in a hurry. The three came upon a small side door in a stone wall and slipped down it, leaving the Rhydon to disappear from view as he continued down the alley outside. There were crates to be moved, yes, but it didn't take _five minutes_ to reach the docks! Surely it could fit a moment of peace by taking a scenic route.

The trio snuck down a few of less-travelled hallways of the local fort, devoid of all but the occasional fellow grunt to smile and wave at. The three Company Pokémon hurried up a flight of stairs, where an unwatched passage with windows covered by costly metal grating provided a view of the harbor and the ships in the water. A fine enough stretch for the three Pokémon to slacken their pace and their jaws.

"I _told_ you two we shouldn't have lied about the ferrymon being high in the past! The boss would've believed us!" the Manectric grumbled, before shooting a leer at the Marowak. "And thanks for getting us into this mess in the _first place_ , Nori."

"How is it _my_ fault that Maru misinterpreted my advice for getting over being rejected?" the lizard protested. "When I said ' _Sleep_ will help it', I didn't think he'd visit the tapir at Andaku's guild that sells _Sang_ on the side!"

Valatos frowned, and shook his body with an irked buzz. The supervisor's blow still stung his head, along with his pride, prompting the Bug-Type grumble noisily to himself.

"Ugh… when on earth are we going to find a crew to join?"

"Er… as soon as we find one that doesn't hang out in Company waters?" Alvise asked. "I mean, you _know_ what'll happen they caught us deserting to a crew…"

Yes, it was a solid plan. Get far away from the Pokémon who would be in any position to exact revenge for betrayal… Except for the part where a crew that would avoid Company waters would also come by Kenobi about as often as a fire sale at a Kecleon Shop, a matter which drew a displeased grunt from Valatos.

"Well, we certainly picked the right neighborhood to look for _tha-_ "

The Yanmega trailed off and turned back to a worn section of the wall where some trowels and a few wooden buckets filled with water and mortar sat beside the bottom. The Ground-Type and Electric-Type carried on a short way before noticing their companion had stopped to flutter by the damaged section of the wall, which drew consterned puzzlement from them.

"Eh? Valatos?" Nori barked. "Are you coming or what?"

"Yeah, we're already late!" Alvise yipped. "What's taking you so long?"

The Yanmega paused and settled his feet against the worn, stone wall, and after a quick glance both ways down the hall to make sure no one was watching, moved his head closer towards a crack in the grouting.

" _Koppen dicht_ , something's going on on the other side…"

* * *

On the opposite side of the wall laid a rectangular stone chamber, its high walls bedecked with tapestries of maps and landscapes. Slit-like windows were built near the ceiling to let in light while thwarting eavesdroppers; for night meetings, there were a pair of large torches that could be lit near two large, sturdy wooden doors. A small trail of lavender rugs with square friezes led the way from the door to the chamber, up to a ledge with a low table and ottomans with detachable cushions set around them, obscuring a trap door for hasty exits if needed.

_Click click click_

Behind the table, the form of a leering Luxray could be seen perched a detached cushion. Her tail beat impatiently against the stone floor to the rhythm of a set of metal balls threaded with wire clicking against each other from two supporting rails. This space was her office, the room from which she handled much of the administrivia of Kenobi's affairs, and her place for welcoming Pokémon in for correspondence…

_Click click click_

If one could call a greeting from Administrator Farn a 'welcome'.

At the far end, the doors were pushed open from outside by a keenly watching Chesnaught and Houndoom. A Braixen with a scrunched-up scarf came in, followed quickly by a Samurott and a fluttering Mothim.

As the guards slid the doors shut, the fox darted off to the side, leaving Lyn and Ellsberg to lock eyes with the waiting Luxray at the opposite side of the room.

_Click click cl-_

The Electric-Type stuck a paw out, stopping a metal ball mid-swing and guiding it down to rest. With the balls in the cradle now stilled, a tense silence filled the room as the Samurott and the Luxray stared speechlessly at each other. The Mothim took it upon himself to try and get the meeting rolling.

"Good afternoon, Administrator Farn," the moth offered, only to be answered with the sound of a quiet, but fierce growl. The Electric-Type narrowed her red eyes and sparks danced on her pelt, yes… pleasantries wouldn't be enough to take the edge off of this Administrator.

"Er… right," the Bug-Type sheepishly responded. "I suppose we should start as soon as Administrator Elilan comes in-"

"Oh, there's no need to wait," their guide suddenly answered. Lyn and Ellsberg turned their heads just in time to catch the Braixen's form get enveloped in a magenta-colored flash, giving way to a gray and red form with sharp claws. A creature with a spry, bipedal stance emerged from the dissipating light, a thick mane tied down around a bead hanging from its head. After a nonchalant flick of the stick in its claws off to the side, all that was left was unmistakeable form of a Zoroark, much to Ellsberg's buzzing surprise.

"Ah!" the Mothim recoiled, as he fluttered back from the sudden appearance of the Administrator's true form.

"With all due respect, was that _really_ necessary to start a meeting, Administrator Elilan?" Lyn asked. The Samurott grunted irkedly, locking eyes with the Zoroark's almost taunting gaze.

"I've never been a fan of dragging things out longer than they need to be," the fox scoffed, pulling his scarf down to reveal the four-layered design of an administrator. With that, the Dark-Type made his way to the table and pulled out an ottoman to sit on. He traded a brief glance with Farn as he neared her, before turning back to face the Commissioner and Notary at the other end of the desk. "Do you have anything further to add before we start, Farn?"

"If I recall my scheduling, there might be some wall repairs just outside this chamber starting in a bit," the Luxray harrumphed, as a weak crackle of static crossed her mane just above her brow. "But aside from my _obvious feelings_ right now, I don't think they'd pick up anything important through those little cracks."

"Well then, why don't you start us off?" the fox offered. The Luxray bit into a cushion and threw it aside before focusing her glare on the Samurott. Her muscles tensed as if she was ready to leap and pounce at a moment's notice, as was custom when Farn was displeased.

"Lyn, where is the _bird?_ " she growled. "I received word that you captured the Protector of Tromba and were en route back to port for an inspection, _four days ago._ "

The last few words came out with a particularly venomous enunciation that echoed around the room. For a moment Ellsberg wondered if he couldn't see little droplets of water form just below Lyn's keratinous helmet.

"Yes, well," the Samurott began, his words coming out tense and guarded. "Things didn't go quite to plan-"

"I _know_ they didn't!" the Luxray roared in interruption, slamming her paws against the table's surface. "What I _want_ to know is _why_ you don't have that bird in your paws this moment!"

The Samurott's muscles began to tense during the exchange, much as when staring down an impending battle. The Commissioner carefully mulled his words, before offering a guarded response back to the Administrator.

"The Guardian was stronger than I thought it would be," Lyn answered. "It broke free, got loose in my hold, and invoked its power to slip away while crippling my own ship."

"Slip away _how?_ It's a _bird!_ " she cried. "If its wings are clipped, it can't go anywhere at sea without swimming!"

The Samurott paused and for a fleeting moment, sported an expression like that of a Graveler about to be thrown off a ship. The Water-Type steeled himself, shook his head, and begrudgingly answered Farn's inquiry.

"I… didn't clip them, Administrator."

" ** _WHAT?!_** "

The room was filled with an outraged roar, making Lyn subconsciously lift one of his paws up by reflex, as he would in an ambush. The Samurott suppressed his instinct and stood his ground with a stoic gaze flecked by latent hints of unease. The cacophony gave way to a tense silence, punctuated by the seething breaths of a glaring Luxray.

"Gods, preserve me," Ellsberg muttered to himself.

"Nice candidate you and Zorn picked there, Farn," Elilan grumbled under his breath. The lion folded her ears back and gritted her teeth, her audible seething giving way to a heated question.

"What do you _mean_ you didn't clip his wings?!" she demanded.

"Administrator Farn, as you know, as part of the mission debriefing, my crew had to be made privy to certain… sensitive details about the Guardian's nature," the Samurott answered in a defensive, protesting tone, as his head lowered begrudgingly. "I was worried that things would get out of hand if he were handled too roughly-"

"Lyn, we didn't _pick_ you for this mission so that you could get hung up over potential sacrilege!" Farn bellowed. "We picked you because of your track record of getting the job done by any means necessary!"

"Need I remind you, Farn…" the Zoroark prodded. "I just drew up the protocol for responding to events like this in the wake of our past missed opportunities. It can't exactly deliver if the extractor is too wary to damage some feathers that would grow back in what? _A week?_ "

Lyn screwed his eyes shut in frustration. Yes, it would've been trivial to cut the Lugia's flight feathers. But with a creature that was supposed to be frail in the time after hatching, it should've also been trivial to foil his attempts to get away! Alas, in the face of the Protector's powers awakening when it did, all those 'should've's were moot.

"I understand that. It was an underestimation," the Samurott replied with a gruff, but apologetic tone. "I will remedy that as soon as the Guardian is back in my grasp."

"Well then, that settles it, doesn't it?" Elilan answered nonchalantly as he picked at some grains of dirt that had caught themselves between his claws. "Assuming that you know where the bird is, all that's left is to recapture him and do your job _right_ this time."

It was hard to tell whether or not the Zoroark really seemed to pay mind to the proceedings, until the creature suddenly cast a glance over at the Mothim fluttering beside Lyn.

"So then, Ellsberg. What's your excuse for why you _two_ haven't found a solitary bird yet?" he demanded.

"Erm… you 'two'?" the moth squeaked, flitting up out of surprise.

"Yes, both Lyn _and_ you," the fox pressed. "He seems to have gotten help in his search lately, unless you have some other explanation for why you came into port today with a broken tiller."

Ellsberg began to fumble for words, stammering and searching his mind for an acceptable excuse to feed the two Administrators.

"Er… that's- W-Well…"

A smug grin spread over the Zoroark's muzzle as Lyn shot a glare at the Dark-Type. The bug and otter both expected the fox to open his mouth to say something, but he never did. There was no _need_ for him to do so…

"Lyn. You're hiding something from me. Spit it out. Now."

Farn's growling tone indicated that the Luxray had already pieced together that something was amiss about the Commissioner's tale. Lyn exhaled through gritted teeth and reluctantly amended his story.

"There was an extraction team from Tromba that infiltrated my ship… and turned the Protector's powers against us," he conceded.

Lyn carefully chose to neglect mentioning that the team had consisted of a pair of whelps, but even with the limited details he provided, Farn's response came as loud as it was swift.

"Why didn't you say this earlier?!" she demanded. "And what did _Ellsberg_ have to do with this?! He was _here_ two nights ago!"

"We followed the team to Boisocéan, where Ellsberg helped me enter an aggressive negotiation with the local leadership yesterday," the otter answered reluctantly. "But we were caught off guard by unexpected resistance when the Guardian flew off."

The Luxray was bristling now, deeply unpleased at the new revelations that the Commissioner had brought to light. With her ears folded back, and sparks arcing off her hide, Farn gritted her teeth and snarled out her frustrations.

"How on earth do you get bested by a bunch of _untrained peasants?!_ " she hissed. " _Twice?!_ "

The otter opened his muzzle to protest that it was the _Protector_ , and then a meddlesome dragon, that had allowed the group to get away, only to be halted by a smug, taunting voice.

"It seems like it was a bit _much_ to be expecting results from the pup of a former employee dismissed for insubor-" Elilan began, his snide words cut off by the sound of keratinous blade scraping against sheath. The Zoroark shifted his gaze and caught the sight of a Samurott hunched up on his hind legs, blade in his left paw, and ready to spring at him.

"Well now, have I hit a nerve, Lyn?" Elilan asked, a satisfied smile creeping over his pointed muzzle. "Best not do anything _too_ rash. The Company might not give out a reward for an attempted capture, but it certainly will hand down a sentence for attempted _murder._ "

"Administrator Elilan, I was _perfectly_ aware that this was going to be a delicate mission!" the Samurott bellowed, his words not bothering to hide a bubbling hatred for everything the fox had done to undermine him in front of Farn. " _Everything_ that I've done for this mission, I've done because it seemed to be what was best for delivering the results that were needed. There was _nothing_ in my debriefing that suggested I'd have to deal with a Protector that could invoke its powers!"

"That's _wonderful_ , but we're not letting you take Darzin's position for the first hamlet that Guardian pacifies without _results_ ," Farn snapped. "Surely your little bird's flown back to his nest. Head back to Bluewhorl, go door-to-door if you must, but make sure that bird comes _back_ with you!"

The Samurott calmed himself, begrudgingly returned his seamitar to its sheath, and turned to the Luxray, shaking his head.

"I'm afraid that's not possible, Administrator. After the extraction team broke out of our cordon around Seahive, we saw them flying _along_ the direction of Spiral Steam, not _against_ it," he explained. "Based off of the sightings we were able to piece together on the way over, they seemed to have charted a course that would take him near, if not directly through Kenobi."

"Are you telling us that the Protector might be here on this very island _right now?!_ " Farn exclaimed.

"That is correct, Administrator."

"Well then, how do you propose that we find a _god_ without letting the world know, Lyn?" Farn demanded. "In case you've forgotten, sea fog is very common on this island. Any cordon after it's rolled would already be porous at _best,_ and that's assuming the Pokémon here _stay_ ignorant of what's going on."

"Also, there's the matter of the _interior_ as well," Elilan added. "The less we know about where they are on this island, the more likely they'll be able to slip past a cordon."

"We can have the locals help our work. We'll put up bounties for the extraction team and post them in the local guilds," Lyn answered, his voice coming out calm and controlled. "The extractors helped themselves to some of my cargo when they fled. I believe 'stealing Company assets' is grounds for a piracy charge, isn't it? And getting them is bound to either turn up the Protector, or leave him vulnerable for capture."

There was a long pause as both Farn and Elilan stared at the Samurott. Everyone was left to try and divine each other's thoughts in the unmoving silence, until Farn broke it with words that came out business-like, but surprisingly calm.

"Ellsberg, I will need you to pass word to Mengir and the Capital of the Guardian's presence in our territory, along with these bounties," she finally responded.

"B-But my ship is still-!" the moth began, only to be cut off by a growl from the Luxray.

"Your _sea escorts_ are still able-bodied. Pick some of them and form a caravan to bring the news!" she snapped. "By the time you get back, both your and Commissioner Lyn's ships should be repaired!"

The Luxray shifted her balance as the Mothim shut up and reluctantly flitted back, before turning her attention to Lyn.

"As for me, I'll have my Commander get the bounty notices you need printed and distributed on my island by the end of tomorrow," she said. "As soon as you're done giving him a description, I want you and your crew to go with the local Rangers along the shoreline and start searching the interior."

The Samurott exhaled in relief as he realized that there was a way to disguise his loss of the Protector to a pair of fluffballs. As long as he fed descriptions of one or two more imposing Pokémon along with the team, who would question if a pair of peasant pups drug along?

"I understand," Lyn replied. "And I'll be sure to dispatch a team for Seahi-"

" _Immediately,_ Lyn," she growled. The Luxray's eyes narrowed into a leer as a weak current flickered down her pelt and her tail batted impatiently back and forth. " _No distractions._ You can settle any scores you have there _after_ you do your job."

The moth and otter shifted their glance over to Elilan, who had returned to dispassionately picking at his claws. No comments from him, it seemed.

"Understood, Administrator," Lyn grunted. "I'll take my leave now. Come on, Ellsberg."

The two Pokémon turned and headed back for the door which, after a sharp rap from one of Lyn's paws, swung open as the waiting guards on the other side of the wall pulled them agape. After the pair left the room, the sound of the doors sealing shut reverberated in the room. With that, Elilan stopped fiddling with his claws, got up from the ottoman he was seated on, and shook his head.

"I can't believe that Inler consented to putting this mission in his paws," he sighed.

"Again, Elilan? We already settled this debate!" Farn interjected. "We can't afford the potential blowback of anyone on the Board getting directly involved in this, and we need the extraction to go off without a hitch. I know the selection process obviously didn't go how _you_ wanted, but didn't you think the rest of us would prefer a candidate with more experience at moving around? Lyn was the best candidate when we got the news and you know it!"

"Just like _Darzin_ was the Board's best candidate for taking over Tromba's Administratorship ten years ago?" the Zoroark accused. "The instinctive focus on self-preservation, the inability to consider possibilities without living through them, the defaulting to brute force when faced with a difficult problem…"

"He's a little cutthroat and single-minded, sure," the Luxray began. "But it's a fine set of tools for getting the job done. Exactly what we'd need from a new colleague…"

"Farn. That's the thought process of a feral that hasn't fully _left the wilds!_ " the Zoroark exclaimed. "It's why Darzin was able to claw his way to Administratorship from that soggy sea dungeon he used to live in but be utterly blind to the rebellion brewing under his feet on Tromba!"

"Hrmph, don't be daft, Elilan," the Luxray scolded. "I _know_ Lyn's background well enough, and _you_ ought to as well considering the island you administer. In _spite_ of it, he's demonstrated himself to be a loyal and effective operative. Besides…"

The Luxray gave a nonchalant flick of her tail as a smirk crept up over her muzzle, and a look like that of a veteran card player pouncing upon an obvious novice came over her eyes.

"If something goes wrong, Lyn's our insulation," she explained. "Would anyone really care about the fate of a disgraced rising star's child following his father's footsteps for carrying out instructions that officially don't exist?"

The Zoroark paused and leered back at the Luxray, before relenting with a sigh. This matter _had_ been chosen already, and by the Director of the Company no less!

"I should have expected as much from someone whose idea of fighting pirates is letting them run wild in a local district," he grumbled. "But I'm telling you, I don't trust that otter…"

"Well now, Elilan. I must say that I never expected _you_ to object at bending a few rules to ensnare some greedy fools. Kettle calling the pot black, much?" Farn chided. "And this is a _business_ , you aren't _supposed_ to trust Lyn! After all, isn't that why _you_ snuck your own little plant aboard Lyn's cre-?"

The Luxray trailed off as from the corner of her eye, she noticed bones and chitinous plates past one of the walls. They belonged to three creatures that were pressed up against the wall… without the trowels she expected. Farn leered before turning to her counterpart to ask for his patience with a "One moment…"

The Luxray crouched low and crept silently towards the wall. She was evidently quietly enough for the lazy bones on the other end not to hear her, as the three Pokémon did not budge much beyond the occasional shift of limbs or heads as they loafed around. The Electric-Type reached the place where the bones were all pressed up, sat down and tidied her fur… before she roared through the cracks in the grouting with the loudest voice she could muster.

" _You behind the wall!_ For a repair crew, I don't see many tools in your paws! Stop dozing off and get back to work!"

* * *

On the other end of the wall, the three former pirates leapt back in a panic from their listening place, and came to a tumbling stop in a heap along the other wall of the hallway. The three flinched and waited for their worlds to collapse into the Apricorns they knew were used for exile sentences to the Wastes… when they suddenly realized their fortune was better than they thought.

Farn thought they were sleeping on the job!

"E-Erk! Sorry, Administrator!" Valatos squeaked.

"Y-Yeah! We've got the tools!" Alvise yelped. "We were just inspecting this damage here!"

"W-We'll fix it right away!" Nori stammered, as the three quickly scooped up the trowels along the wall, slathered some mortar on them, and set to work repairing the cracked grout… Or at least pretending to.

After all, they'd only need to keep at it for as long as Farn was on the other end… But… they were already running late for their work at the docks… and when would they know if she had left or not?

"The boss is gonna withhold our pay today, isn't he?" the Marowak whined, much to the Valatos' buzzing displeasure.

" _Not helping_ , Nori!"

* * *

The sun had already peaked over the narrow alleyways of Mossaisle Town, and slowly but surely was beginning its descent. Elty led Pleo and Nida down a narrow and twisty street whose shadows had already shifted from leaning westwards to eastwards. The team passed the scavver's shop with bones displayed openly on the counter as a brown lizard and vulture haggled over them, a shop with an Audino offering to build up stamina for battle with just "three easy sessions!", and an unsavory-looking three-story shack with firmly barred windows and red glass lanterns hung from the eaves. All the while, Elty continued to ply Pleo with chatter about this 'bokuya' the team was headed for, much to Pleo's curious delight.

"So what sort of food do they serve at 'bokuya, Elty?" he asked. "Is it like the mess hall back home?"

"It's a little different- as long as you've got a way to pay, you can eat and drink as much as you want," the Growlithe explained. "No rations, either! You get to pick from a menu! Just read it and say what you want!"

The Growlithe kept up a cheery demeanor with the bird and the rabbit, as he lead them down a blind alley in between a den with Pokémon gathered about a roulette wheel and a dingy apothecary. If one could call the teeny gap just wide enough to accommodate Pleo's body an "alley", but given the puzzled stares and "what's with the bleached Swanna?" the team had earned on the way over, a little privacy wasn't the end of the world. All that was left now was the intersection with the perpendicular gap of another alley, and then a left turn to head to 'bokuya.

If all went well, over the next couple hours, he'd have food in his stomach, be able to force the spike ball to take a hike and give his bag back, and be free to return to the old business of hit-or-miss attempts at lighting things afire with the Iron Fleet. The explanation he fed the mewa seemed to sit well enough with the bird, except for one small problem that Pleo thought of as he rounded the corner…

"But… I _can't_ read, though," he chirped, tilting his head quizzically. The young Protector's unease drew a small chuckle from Nida as she followed Elty around the bend.

"I can help you out a bit, Pleo," she offered. "Heh, maybe we could even teach you a littl- Aah!"

Nida's words gave way to the abrupt sound of a cry and the sound of blows landing on hided flesh. Elty and Pleo whirled around and saw that Nida had been knocked down onto the lane, kicking back wildly at air as a Scraggy with a lined blue scarf with a red arrow design attempted to tear the satchel along her back free from behind.

"Eyaaah! Stop!" the Nidoran squealed. The Poison-Type thrashed about, her kicks connecting with empty air, and her barbs sailing uselessly away from her assailant. "Let go! You're pulling out my barbs!"

"Stop squirming and give me that bag, you lousy-!"

Elty lowered his ears and ran for the Dark-Type, only for a squawking cry to ring out.

"G-Get off of her!"

And a glowing ball to sail past the little dog's face, prompting him to skid to a stop as it carried along, and slammed into the Scraggy, sending him tumbling along the ground. The lizard righted himself and brushed some dirt off his scales, snarling back at the group.

"Ow! Oh, you're gonna pa-a-aah…"

Only for his aggression to melt away and become replaced with wide-eyed stammering. Team Traveller looked up at the Pokémon's forehead and saw that on it, in between scuff marks from a headbutt, there was a five-tailed blotch. So their attacker was a Marked, and that meant that to him, the white bird with them was a…

" _ **AAAAAAH!** Monster! Monster!_ "

The reptile turned and dashed down the alley, upending a pile of broken-up planks along the way in his mad dash to escape the group. Elty spat a cone of cinders down after the would-be mugger, frowned, and turned back to Nida getting back to her feet. The Nidoran twitched her whiskers irately as she pawed at a bruise on her flank where the reptile headbutted her.

"Elty, do we _really_ have to take a mission from this hole?" she growled. On closer inspection, it seemed that the scuffle with the Scraggy had torn out some barbs after all. Elty frowned as he noticed little blotches on the straps and back, likely poison that would have to be neutralized with fire after he got away. The little spike ball really _was_ going to make these last couple hours stuck with her a pain, wasn't she?

"What are _you_ complaining about?" Elty huffed. "Normally I have to _fight_ to shake off a _rabunek_ like that! Besides, that's 'bokuya right there!"

Sure enough, just past the next intersection on the corner sat a tile-roofed shack with orangish wood that seemed as worn and pitted as driftwood and a slitted cloth over the entrance with red runes in a circle. Much to Nida's surprise, the glyphs seemed to read "Driftwood House"… 'bokuya' was the local way of saying it perhaps?

The cloth over the entrance suddenly parted as a dark purple serpent with a bladed tail and fresh scrapes slithered out grumbling "next time, that spot won't just be on paper!" to herself. As the Seviper headed off, Elty saw a wave of skepticism flush over the faces of the Nidoran and Lugia, only for them to look back down the blind alley and shake their heads. Nothing like a good old-fashioned mugging to remove the skepticism from food and a roof over one's head.

"Fine," Nida sighed, flattening out her ears. "Let's just go inside before something else happens here!"

The three passed through the cloth, Pleo pushing the partition aside with his beak as the three pushed open a creaky door behind it, and were immediately overcome by the smell of cheaply-made spirits. The pressed on and let the door close behind them as their eyes adjusted to the light. Much like the exterior, the room's flooring and walls were made of an orangish worn wood, dotted with funny-smelling stains. There was a simple, low round table next to the door, with stumps for shorter patrons to sit on, with other tables further in hosting parties of obviously unsavory characters.

"Hey, you!"

The team froze and whirled about to see a Granbull, a Lucario, and a Stoutland at a table on the other side of the entrance with cards depicting flowers and Pokémon spread out in the middle. The lot of them leering and growling at the newcomers.

"We're in the _middle_ of something here!" the Stoutland snarled. "So stop hovering over our game!"

Before Pleo could ask questions, he was yanked away by the others. The team hurried along, keen to find a table where the team wouldn't fall afoul of the regulars. Nida reared up on her hind legs, and sniffed the rum-laden air around her…

"Ah! There!"

There was one unclaimed table in a corner that seemed to be away from any neighbors, a perfect place to lie low and not attract attention as the three ate. Nida motioned for her teammates to follow her, and they made their way past the other tables, reaching the last one when they chanced upon a party consisting of a Banette rubbing his brow, an exasperated Flareon, and a freshly-scuffed Zangoose.

"Travellers Above, Scian," the Banette sighed. "How many times have you gotten black spots from those snakes by now?"

The Ghost-Type flicked an unfolded piece of paper with a black dot at its center across the table to the Zangoose on the other side. He glanced over it disinterestedly before crumpling it up and flicking it into a corner, returning his attention to the contents of a rude clay cup on the table.

"Only 87 times," the mongoose, evidently 'Scian' grunted back. "Not _my_ fault that I'm unpopular with Seviper."

The Flareon with the group lowered his ears and narrowed his eyes, shaking his head in annoyance

"You'd get _fewer_ if you didn't constantly pick fights with them, you know!" he cried. "Could you at least _try_ not to get us thrown out? It gets old having to constantly bail you out of trouble!"

"Hey, I didn't _start_ anything this time!" the Zangoose shot back. "That _péist_ stuck her tongue out at me after giving that spot!"

As the three Pokémon continued arguing with each other and the subject drifted to whether to search for a rumored stash of loot some rivals were said to have buried near the barrier, Nida froze until Pleo suddenly roused her back to attention.

"Psst! Nida?" he asked. "What's a black spot? Didn't we hear Pokémon at the docks talking about them?"

The Nidoran noticed that all this time, she had been stuck in one place due to anxiety, and that while the corner table was a nice place to hide, that it would also be a good place to be waylaid without being seen, and-

" _Daj spokój!_ Are we taking this table or not?!" Elty demanded.

"Let's… keep moving," Nida grumbled. The Nidoran lead the team off away from the corner table as a "What's _their_ problem anyways?" came from the Banette back at the three ne'er-do-wells' table. The three made their way around and around the eatery, every vacant table being similarly unfriendly-looking. Why did this horrid dive have to be so popular with awful Pokémon anyways-?

"Hmm? Haven't seen you three around before. Not that you'd be hard to forget wandering around like that."

The three looked up and saw that they were passing by a raised counter with stools, and shelves lined with jugs, berries, and herbs behind it. On the other end, a Throh cracked his knuckles and shot a leer off in the direction of the entrance before turning to address Team Traveller,.

"You know, if you were waiting on these stools, you're not going to get a better chance than now to have them," the ruddy fighter said, casting an icy leer at a bruised Beartic and Exploud hastily ducking out of the door. "It's not often that I get customers boneheaded enough to try funny business right in front of me, and these are pretty popular seats here."

Nida looked back at the entrance and saw that there was a clear shot to the exit from the counter. Knowing the duo that had just made themselves scarce, this barkeep clearly was able to keep things in line here… in a manner of speaking. So then, as long as they paid their bill… this was probably the safest spot in 'bokuya they could hope for.

"Well, I'm usually more of a corner guy myself, but I know your mug just fine. You're Shuho!" Elty barked as he hopped atop one of the stools. "Let's get that 'local flavors' menu of yours! I'm treating some company to a taste of Aisle Town here!"

The Throh shifted his glance down below the counter before turning and grabbing an object from a counter behind that clattered. After bringing it up into view, the object was revealed to be a set of small, wooden panels held together by string with rune-riddled cloth glued to the sides.

"Knock yourselves out, then," the Throh replied, sliding the menu over. "You must've had a tiring stint out there, pick what you like and unwind a bit."

Elty cast a glance over to his partners as Pleo began to inspect the the wooden menu along with Nida. A content look crept over his eyes as the spike ball prattled on reading the items on it aloud to Pleo before he turned back to Shuho.

"I don't think I'll have any trouble with that at all."

* * *

Crom's encounter on the deck with Ander faded away into uneasy memories with the call for food. Breakfast that day was a simple meal of gummis, with a few more Royal Gummis than normal to reflect the chefs' tastes. A little over-heavy on flavoring, but still decent… or at least edible.

The crates repurposed into tables and seats near the steerage were only big enough for groups at a time. The setup inevitably leading to a rotating cast of crewmates bedecked in lavender to come by and trade gossip between nibbles, only to then head back for work and to bring portions to their seabound companions.

After the deck hands stopped coming, it came time to wrap breakfast up. Pladur and Crom ate their fill of leftover gummis and gathered up the dishes to be cleaned before deck work. Eventually, the ruddy lizard made his way down the orlop deck along with his father for the last cleanup task; namely to return a sack of Gummi base back to the cargo hold.

"Ack!"

Only for the ship to suddenly jolt underneath their feet. The two dragons flailed and fought to retain their balance, giving relieved sighs as the ship settled down…

"Watch it! You almost hit the pier!"

Along with muffled, exasperated cries filtering through the timbers overhead. Some more shouts went up and the sounds of footsteps rang out, the realization of what caused them dawning upon the two galley hands from their place in the hull.

"Ehehe, well, I guess that's one way of announcing that we're in port!" Pladur sheepishly offered. The Fraxure's words made Crom's eyes light up, and the Druddigon quickly climbed up the stairs to the deck. Upon reaching the top, he saw a harbor surrounded by huts nestled in the branches of tall mangroves. The scene was a riot of color: there were the other ships at dock, Pokémon milling about, and creeping vines with their flowers gracing huts and walkways here and there.

"Wow, it really _is_ pretty!" Crom cried. The sound of footsteps behind him quickly revealed themselves to belong to none other than Pladur, who sidled up alongside his son.

"Heh, I knew you would like it," the Fraxure chuckled. "There's not another town this side of the Cradle quite like it."

The young Druddigon ran up to the railing and took in the sight of the harbor. The customary complex of wharves, warehouses, and sea shanties were anchored at the base of a cluster of mangroves that stretched across two banks astride an island between forks of a river emptying out into the harbor and up into the branches. The skies were abuzz with Bug and Flying-Types flitting between treetops, though the sea Pokémon passing up the river seemed to be constrained by rocky channels built into the river's forks. Off in the distance, there was the form of a great tree with a small shack dangling from a branch, all marvelous sights…

"You there!"

Except it sure seemed like there were an awful lot of sea-green scarved Pokémon near their ship. Down at the gangplank, a glaring Durant and Masquerain blocked a Timburr and Hitmontop as they tried to make tried to make their ways onto the dock.

"Where do you think _you're_ going?" the Masquerain demanded, gesturing at the First-Rank scarf about the Fighting-Types' neck.

"Er," the Hitmontop murmured uneasily. "We were just docking?"

"Yeah, well _casse-toi!_ " the Durant chittered. "You Company sods can't honestly expect to be welcome after what your friends did to us yesterday-!"

"That's quite enough, you two," a voice interrupted, cutting off the metal-plated ant. "I believe I know why they're here."

All eyes turned to see a Leavanny approaching the ship, who looked about the vessel's crewmembers, her eyes eventually settling upon an Illumise flitting above the railing and her Second-Rank company scarf.

"The name's Maranda, I'm _la Mairesse_ of this town. We have who you're looking for," she told the Illumise. "If you want them back, prepare a negotiating team. We'll continue this matter somewhere more privately in a few hours after my shift at the medic's hut."

Captain Beatrix flitted back and buzzed out of surprise. The firefly paused, and after taking a moment to mull things over, spoke back to the Leavanny.

"Er… right, give me a moment to pick some help," she said. The Illumise turned her attention up to the flying escorts who were perched among the tops of the masts and their crow's nests, her attention settling on a certain Swellow. "Kiran, it's your team, right? Can you give me a wing?"

"I can do that, yes," he chirped, fluttering down beside the captain as she tried to settle on a second Pokémon for this "negotiating party".

"And, for the other-"

"Right here!"

The Servine from the crew shot up a leafy hand, only to be shoved out of the way by a beaming Raichu. Then came the other deck hands, and the fliers, and even the sea escorts! After watching the proud crew of the Siglo Swellow devolve into behavior fitting for children in a ballgame, Beatrix screwed her eyes shut and shook her head.

"Okay _seriously_ , guys?" the Illumise buzzed, putting a tarsus over her brow.

" _What?_ " the Servine asked. "It's a big occasion!"

"Fine, fine, whatever," she grumbled. "Let's go with… Pladur."

The Fraxure immediately stiffened up at attention, and darted out in front of the rest of his crewmates as a few disappointed groans rang out.

"Mrph! R-Right!" he cried. "It'll be an hon-"

Pladur's words trailed off as he saw that his son looked a bit downcast. The Fraxure wondered why his son's spirits seemed to have sunk as abruptly they did, when it occurred to him…

This _was_ his friend that the bug had. The one that he'd gone so far as to try and sneak aboard a Company ship to try and free from Lyn. Then…

Maybe it wouldn't hurt to let his child catch up with him a bit sooner.

"Oh… er… actually, can I let my son stand in, Beatrix?" Pladur asked. "He _could_ use some more experience and all…"

Crom's eyes brightened and his tail wagged a bit expectantly as the Illumise turned and stared, mulling before she finally came to a conclusion.

"Fine, he's on."

"Oh!"

"Heh," Pladur tittered. "Just make sure that our Pro- **OUCH!** "

The Fraxure was cut off by his son pouncing upon him, pulling the flailing tusked dragon into an eager hug.

"Thank you, dad!" Crom cried. "I won't let you down, I promise!"

"You really are a softie, Pladur," the Bug-Type chuckled, shaking her head.

"Just wish that my armor was a bit less so," he winced back as Crom relaxed his embrace and turned to face the Illumise and the Leavanny beyond.

"Anyhow," Beatrix answered. "Let's get to business."

* * *

Plate after plate, the peckish travelers eagerly made up for their skipped meals. They started with some Gummis, to take the edge off their hunger and start their stomachs on something easy. Afterwards, they ordered a small bowl of local produce, and some battered vegetables and mushrooms that were apparently called 'tempura'. Elty hoped to get the pair to discover a taste for Kenobi's famous Lum Wine, but the two seemed to be repelled by the strong flavor. Oh well, more for him!

Elty occasionally looked back at the windows by the door to watch the shadows shift with the moving sun. As Nida and Pleo munched on an order of star-shaped sugar clumps the _mewa_ dubbed 'sweet seeds', he saw that the sun only seemed to be about an hour or so off from sunset.

Just another hour until sweet freedom-

"Oi, _Gardie_ ," the Throh gruffly prodded. "I need to take a break to eat dinner before the evening crush, you and your friends going to pay or what?"

The three looked around as Pleo wondered aloud what a " _Gardie_ " was, and saw that the seats had cleared out, leaving them behind as the only customers. The wooden sign propped up against the window had been flipped so that the runes that read "Open" were visible from inside rather than out. So Shuho here didn't like leaving things unattended while eating, though it was hard to fault him considering the neighborhood. As for the matter of the bill…

"Er… put it on my tab!" Elty answered. The Throh raised a brow skeptically, clearly not liking where the little Fire-Type was taking the conversation.

"Yeah right," the barkeep scoffed. "If you've got a tab, show me your crew's colors. I don't keep tabs that I don't know I can _collect_."

Elty froze as he realized that the scarf around his neck was still the blue and white scarf of the spike ball's team. The Growlithe then remembered that his old golden-threaded ones were still with the guards back in Bluewhorl…

"Er… I can get you them by sundown!" he replied.

"Huh?" Pleo chirped. "What's at sundown, Elty?"

"Elty, just how do you expect us to get pirate scarves by _sundown?_ " Nida hissed quietly. "We're only three Pokémon!"

The Growlithe was about to reflexively explain that the Iron Fleet would surely cover the tab of one of its own, when he suddenly remembered that the spike ball and the _mewa_ were still _right there_ and bit down on his tongue.

"Uh…"

The Growlithe fumbled in his mind for something to feed the barkeep, but… just what was he supposed to say? What explanation would Fighting-Type would buy that _wouldn't_ get Nida and Pleo tanning his hide?

_**WHUMP** _

The three watched as Shuho suddenly hopped the counter and came to a rest behind them. As Team Traveller whirled around, they saw the barkeep was now standing between them and the exit, glaring and cracking his knuckles.

"If you don't have a tab, I'm gonna need you to fork over coins for your bill," he snarled. " _Ima sugu!_ "

"B-But we have any Poké!" Pleo stammered. "We haven't even picked a mission yet!"

As the little Lugia's words left his beak, Elty folded his ears back and pulled his tail against his legs as he stared up at the leering fighter.

"Uhm… W-Will you take berries and orbs?" he stammered. "Our team leader's got some! Ask her!"

"Elty, you _said_ that you had a tab for us!" the Nidoran hissed, glaring daggers of her own at the Growlithe.

"Er… I was mistaken?" he offered.

"Oh you're _mistaken_ , alright!" Shuho shouted. "Mistaken if you think I'm not going to take your bill out of your hides for this-!"

Just then, the sound of the tavern's door creaking open could be heard, as a familiar squeaking Sentret voice cried out inside.

"Hey! Has anyone here seen a Snorunt?" it asked. "Short, a little scruffy, and-"

" _Scout?!_ "

Sure enough, after poking their heads past the Throh, the three saw that Scout really was at the door. The Sentret for his part seemed equally surprised to see Team Traveller in a dive like this, the brown creature springing back with a start.

"Eh?! You three are here too?!" he cried. "And before you ask- Don't worry, I got your letter back home before I moved on."

"Oh, er… that's great, but," Nida began, before shaking her head. "Could you help us out here? We kinda need to pay off a bill…"

There was an awkward silence, Nida, Pleo, and Elty giving sheepish, pleading grins from one end. And on the other, the frown of a Sentret who saw Team Traveller's smiles, the unpleased Fighting-Type standing over them, and the pile of what were surely unpaid dishes on the counter.

"Whelp, enjoy your dishwashing, kids!" he exclaimed, as the next sounds that rang out were Scout ducking out of the tavern and slamming the door behind him.

"Grr…"

And a fist being punched into an open palm, and the low growling of Shuho still glowering at the three non-paying runts before him.

"Ahehehe," Elty offered. "U-Uhm… A-About that bill-"

_**CLUNK** _

"Sorry we're late, the money's right there," a voice suddenly answered. "Lucky break we saw you through the windows, huh?"

Team Traveller and the white-garbed fighter looked at the counter, where sure enough, a bag full of glistening golden-colored Poké sat on the counter.

"Huh?" Shuho began, as he turned around. He saw that at in front of a pair of just-opened doors were the forms of an Archen, a Marshtomp, a Tropius, and a Nidorino in red scarves with a white design that looked vaguely like an opened book with a horizontally divided circle in it. The fossil bird of the group hopped up on the counter by the bag of Poké and waved at the Throh.

"Yeah, we hired these three for an urgent mission in the Mystery Dungeon," he squawked. "They were in a bit of a rush so they walked out without their advance!"

"Yeah, Scholls and the rest of us just wanted to make sure that we were in agreement about what needed to be done," the mudskipper added, before turning to Pleo. "Isn't that right?"

"Wait, what's an 'adv'-?" Pleo began, only to be cut off as Elty stuffed a paw over his beak.

"That's right!" the Growlithe over-eagerly replied. "Sorry about the misunderstanding!"

"Wait just a minute!" the Fighting-Type demanded. " _Your friend_ just said you hadn't picked a mission yet!"

"Uhm… well… we hadn't picked one for _today_ …" Nida sheepishly offered. "I don't like to spend money without a couple missions in the pipeline, it leads to trouble like this!"

The Throh leered, and then looked at the bag of coins on the counter. After picking it up and finding that its weight seemed to be enough to cover the bill _and_ a generous tip, the thick-browed Pokémon rifled through the bag and decided that even if the explanation wasn't adding up, the money certainly was, and that would be more than sufficient.

"Hrmph. You oughta be more careful next time," the Fighting-Type growled, as he stuffed the bag of coins into a satchel he wore around his waist. The Archen hopped back to the floor and the leafy sauropod motioned to Team Traveller to join them.

"Come along, we remembered there were some details that we missed out from that debrief earlier."

" _Garth_ ," the Nidorino whispered to his Marshtomp partner. "And _how_ did we let Wally talk us into trusting three _delincuentes juveniles_ to get back our field notes?"

"Machalí, we _tried_ the normal guild! They said they wouldn't get our listing up until tomorrow!" the Marshtomp whispered back. "Desperate times call for desperate measures!"

Shuho cast a glance at the two parties before ducking behind the counter, and loitered at the edge of a back room ready to make itself a long-deserved meal once these last stubborn customers left, leaving Pleo to raise the long-pending question…

"Who _are_ you all?"

"The name's Team Taxonomy," the rabbit replied, following with a gesture of his paw relaxedly pointing to the rest of the group, " _El equipo de incansables buscadores de las verdades perdidas._ "

The other three Pokémon of this 'Team Taxonomy' rolled their eyes at the Nidorino's boast. Even so, Nida's ears pricked up out of surprise as she realized...

"Ah! _Eres Trombense!_ " Nida cried.

"… _Trombense?_ " The Nidorino lowered his paw and stared at Nida quizzically. He then let his ears down and smiled. "Alas, the truth's more complicated than that," the Poison-Type answered. "I've never _been_ there outside of field work, but my family has roots from there, yes."

"We saw you three were in a bit of a pinch. So how about a trade?" the Archen offered. "We got you out of your jam there, now we need the favor repaid a bit…"

 _Favor?_ No way! Hess and the Iron Fleet were going to be here in a couple of hours! The team couldn't just go off dungeoneering right now!

"Er, yeah, about tha-" Elty began. The Growlithe then felt a pricking sensation along his left hip and turned to see a glaring Nidoran prodding him with her barbs. From the back room, he could also hear Shuho growling, evidently irked at the team holding him up from his meal.

" _Bogowie..._ "

Gah… this wasn't supposed to happen! But still, as long as they were quick about this mission, he could still catch up with the rest of his crew when they came back to rest at night, right?

"What do you need us to do?" the Fire-Type sighed.

"We've got a place at a hostel outside this hive," the Tropius answered. "We'll talk when we get there."

That seemed fair enough to Nida and Pleo, even if the idea seemed to make Elty a bit agitated. It was a little riskier than they'd like, but these four _did_ help them out in their trouble earlier…

And with that, Team Traveller exited the sordid little shack, leaving its barkeep to tend to his food, and the three to wonder just what was getting back these "field notes" this "Team Taxonomy" lost going to entail?

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
>  
> 
> \- _tokage (_ _蜥蜴_ _)_ \- Japanese: "lizard" (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _Sleep (_ _スリープ_ _)_ \- Japanese: "Drowzee", used here as a pun/double entendre. (Official Romanization)  
>  \- _Koppen dicht_ \- Dutch: "Shut up" (plural subject). Compare " _Kop dicht_ " for singular subjects. lit. "heads closed"  
> \- _rabunek_ \- Polish: "mugging", "robbery"  
>  \- _péist_ \- Irish: "worm"  
>  \- _casse-toi!_ \- French: "get lost!", "get out!"  
>  \- _Gardie (_ _ガーディ_ _)_ \- Japanese: "Growlithe" (Official Romanization)  
>  \- _Ima sugu! (_ _今すぐ_ _!)_ \- Japanese: "Right now!", "Immediately!" (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _El equipo de incansables buscadores de las verdades perdidas._ \- Spanish: "The team of tireless seekers of lost truths." Ordering of adjective and noun is convention in romantic descriptions in Spanish.  
>  \- _(¡)Eres Trombense!_ \- Spanish: "You're Tromban!"


	30. Putting Two and Two Together

As the hours went by on the deck of the Siglo Swellow, Crom and Kiran did what they could to try and keep themselves preoccupied until Maranda's medic shift ended. When that time came to pass, the two and Captain Beatrix would be lead to "a place of my choosing", where Team Traveller would finally be returned to them. Mentor and pupil played a couple rounds of monster cards here, struck up few idle conversations about nothings such as "what do you suppose that big tree with the dangling hut is for?", and occasionally cast glances off at the town's scenery. Crom took the time to reexamine his wounds from the beating aboard Lyn's ship; fortunately, most of them had healed by now.

But as much as they tried, nothing seemed to fully dislodge a lingering anxiety among the ship's crew. The Pokémon with sea-green scarves glowering at the ship from the docks and the water the whole time certainly didn't help, but more importantly... this town was holding their Protector and the missing children from town, and it didn't sound like it would just be giving them back… But… why?

Had they gotten wise to Pleo's nature? Were they trying to extort them? Were they unwilling to leave him in the claws of Company lavenders?

"Aherm."

Until, at about the time of Team Traveller's visit to the Ryūbokuya bar, Maranda returned to the docks. From the bottom of the still-lowered gangplank, she looked up at a wary-eyed Illumise, wearing a stern and serious expression.

"It's time," the Mairesse said. "If you want your friends back, do come along."

"Yeah, and _don't_ try any funny business!" the Durant from earlier chittered.

Crom, Kiran, and Beatrix made their way down the gangplank and were quickly flanked by a small detail consisting of a handful of Pokémon, headed by an antsy Durant and a Masquerain that occasionally attempted to calm his counterpart with " _Calme-toi, mon fils._ " The churlish-looking reception quickly whisked the three lavender-scarved sailors along Maranda's steps.

In spite of the uninviting glares, the path over to the warehouse was still a treat for Crom's eyes. One could see shops, huts, and even what looked to be a shrine nestled in the trees off in the distance. The tantalizing smell of fresh gummis wafted here and there from eateries along the wind...

The treat was cut short as the trio and escort arrived at the warehouse Maranda had mentioned. It was a tall structure, "50% taller than the lighthouse" as Kiran put it, formed by erecting wooden walls in between trunks of a roughly rectangular clump of mangroves with a shingled roof. As the three slipped in, the light and color from the town around them faded away into tight, dimly lit corridors between stacks of crates and barrels.

The trio were led down a few dimly-lit twists and bends, past stacks of crates and barrels that Crom was just able to notice were worn and cracked from repeated use. When the three made their way a little further along, they caught sight of a ray of light peeking down from the ceiling.

"We're bringing your friends in right now," Maranda said. "Go on, and follow the instructions that the guards give you."

The three Pokémon looked uneasily up ahead as Maranda, the glowering Masquerain, the Durant, and the other guards fell back into the shadows, leaving Crom and his companions to carry on. Crom, Kiran, and Captain Beatrix shuffled forward uncomfortably towards an illuminated spot under a hole in the ceiling. The three squinted ahead, looking for any sign of Pleo, when a voice from the direction of the light called out.

"Come nice and steady," it barked. "Keep your limbs raised where we can see them and no sudden moves."

One by one, the trio followed the voice's orders and raised their arms and wings, stepping forward slowly towards the light as thoughts raced through their minds.

Did these Pokémon know about Pleo's true nature? Had the team gotten into trouble here? Were they still alright? Would these Pokémon try to blackmail them for something to get them back?

"Mrph!"

Everyone jumped as the sound of two protesting creatures pierced the warehouse's silence.

"Ow! Watch it, you dumb bugs!"

A Frogadier and an Ursaring, hogtied and loosely gagged with silken bindings, flopped forward in front of their three guards; a Crustle, a Galvantula, and a Seismitoad. The three Pokémon from the Siglo Swellow paused, blinking at the sight of the two strange Pokémon now in the circle of light, before turning to trade uneasy glances with each other.

"Er… are either of those yours, Kiran?" the Illumise asked. "They're kinda _big_ for rookies."

"No, they're not," Kiran sighed, as he buried his face in a wing.

"E-Eh?!" Crom cried. "This wasn't who you were supposed to have at all!"

The guards on the other end, for their part, seemed to grow impatient from the outburst, and growled back irritatedly.

"Oi! Don't give us that nonsense!" the Galvantula hissed.

"Yeah, don't play sly with us!" the Crustle interjected. "We didn't catch any _other_ troublemakers from your ranks here!"

"Come on, you jerks!" the frog huffed. " _This isn't funny!_ Misha and I have been stuck in this white glop for a day now!"

"Stop stalling and get these bugs to let us-!" the Ursaring began, before noticing something amiss with these 'rescuers' of theirs. "Wait… you're..."

The bear sized up the three lavender-scarved Pokémon on the edge of the illuminated circle, glaring once his eyes came across the short Druddigon among them. The Ursaring growled, realizing that the lizard was none other than...

"You're that brat from Tromba who snuck aboard our ship!"

"Er…"

Crom felt the color drain from his face as he saw Kiran and Captain Beatrix grimace. The Druddigon's mind recalled that dark moment of getting discovered aboard Lyn's ship, and he instinctively fell behind the Swellow and Illumise to try and hide.

"Yeah, you'd _better_ be scared!" the brown Pokémon snarled. "You're all _finished_ as soon as we get out of this-!"

"Send these two away for a moment," Maranda's voice chittered, the Leavanny pushing her way through the guards to take a place alongside the three Tromban Pokémon. "It sounds like things are a bit more complicated than we thought they would be."

"Yes, madam," the Crustle chittered.

The Ursaring and the Frogadier were unceremoniously dragged off shouting and struggling against their bonds, out of the illuminated circle and into the darkness. Some angry words continued to stream out, particularly from the Ursaring, until they were replaced by muffled noises (the gags around their muzzles had been tightened, it sounded). In their place, the Mairesse of Seahive Square stepped into the light and turned to the three now-shaken Pokémon in lavender scarves.

"Care to explain to me what's going on here?" she demanded. "Either the Company's been having more trouble in its lower ranks than I've heard of, or you three aren't quite what you seem."

Beatrix, Kiran, and Crom traded uneasy looks with each other. If they _were_ in trouble, there wouldn't be anything that this Leavanny wouldn't figure out soon enough. So then, for the sake of being able to get Pleo back...

Perhaps it was best to take a gamble.

"Not one word of this leaves your mandibles, alright?" the firefly finally answered.

"They're sealed," Maranda replied. "But I _do_ want an explanation."

"We're a team sent by Bluewhorl to look for our Protector, and some local kids who went off after him," Kiran explained. "You could say that we've had a little bit of trouble keeping him at home."

"They told us they were here in a letter!" Crom added "And we thought that the Pokemon you were talking about would have been Pleo... and Nida... and Elty… but…"

The Druddigon trailed off and began to droop his head and wings, leaving Maranda to pause and give a curious twitch of her antennae. After a long pause, the Leavanny's eyes softened, and she patted at the young Dragon's shoulder as she began to speak.

"Well, they _were_ here. But yesterday, one 'Commissioner Lyn' came by and claimed they were pirates," she responded. "Before we could act one way or the other, the three flew off and got past a pursuit with a little help from a concerned observer."

"Eh?! So then they left?!" Kiran squawked, beating out his wings in surprise. "Where'd they go?!"

"I'm afraid that I don't know myself," Maranda said, shaking her head. "I lost track of them fairly early on, and I don't know if the team changed course once they got out to sea."

Dejected looks passed among the three Pokémon. So here they were, out on Boisocéan, with even fewer leads as to where Pleo and the others could be than when they left Tromba! It was then that Maranda cleared her throat and began to speak again.

"It's a long shot, but... there _might_ be some Pokemon in town that overheard their plans. Spending some time asking around certainly couldn't hurt…" the Leavanny offered, before pausing and pointing a leafy tarsus at Crom's lavender-scarved neck.

"But _do_ wear something a bit more presentable than what's around your necks right now," she instructed. "You'll be hard-pressed to get anything out from the Pokémon here in _that_ attire!"

_**BOOM** _

Just then, the sound of a blast and crates crashing against the ground could be heard. A cry rang out among the guards that had drug the captured Company Pokémon away. Apparently the Ursaring had managed to shoot a Hyper Beam through his muzzle, punching a hole through a few crates and into the ceiling.

_**BOOOOM** _

The boom was followed by a fiery flash, several yelps and more crates crashing. As Crom squinted to see what was going on across the warehouse, he saw the Ursaring and Frogadier get blown back into a pile of ruined crates- now with their gags and most of their cords singed off, and copious burn marks.

"I thought we got _rid_ of all the Blast Seeds in this warehouse," Maranda sighed, burying her face in a leafy hand.

"Er… what do we do with those two again?" Kiran asked.

"Yeah, if they get back to their home base, we're in some serious hot water," the Illumise buzzed, shaking her head.

"Well, the official record shows that _you're_ the Company representatives who came here," Maranda explained. "If you for whatever reason wanted to keep them busy here, well… it would be hard to argue with Company orders, wouldn't it?"

The three thought about it, and as quickly as the question was raised, Crom, Kiran, and Beatrix knew _exactly_ how they wanted to keep the two Company lackeys from going anywhere quickly.

" _Community Service,_ " they collectively replied.

"Very well," Maranda answered, before turning to the guards behind her. "Help your colleagues with taking those two back to the cells, I'll hold a sentencing for Community Service for them later tonight!"

"Wait, what?!" the frog protested.

"You can't just-!" Misha began, before he was cut off by a swarm of guards. In the dim light, Crom could see the mob of guards unceremoniously burying the bear in sticky silk, hoisting him up, and carrying him on their backs; his partner met a similar fate as the two struggled futilely against their bonds.

As the… _colorful_ sailors' language of the duo faded away, the sound of a door opening and closing could be faintly heard. After the warehouse returned back to silence, Maranda turned back to the group, and cleared her throat to speak again.

"Is there anything _else_ I should know right now?" she asked.

"Actually… we have some posters with fake bounties on our Protector," Kiran explained, as he dug into his satchel and pulled out a stack of papers. Each one of them had a simple wanted notice with the depiction of Tromba's Protector, and a listed reward great enough to make a prince of a pauper. "Obviously, we don't want them up right now, but we need someone to keep them in the wings to go up if anything goes pear-shaped for us."

"Consider it done," Maranda answered. "And good luck with your search."

"Thank you…" Crom replied, lowering his head gratefully.

And with that, the three Pokémon of the Siglo Swellow headed back into the darkness towards the entrance of the warehouse. Back for the town, where hopefully they would be able to find some lead as to where the missing members of Team Traveller had gone to after changing out of Company Lavenders.

* * *

Not too long after leaving the bar, the red-scarved members of Team Taxonomy lead Team Traveller's members back up the winding path of the seaside bluff into the more reputable parts of Mossaisle Town. Now that they weren't darting down cluttered alleys, Nida began to see things that reminded her of home back on Tromba.

The crowded, but seemingly cheery town the team made their way through might as well have been an island apart from the scruffy scum-bucket they just left. Nida noticed the local Kecleon shop, as its proprietor cheerily passed an Apple "on the house!" to a Cleffa as her Noibat partner perched upside-down from the eave muttering something about "pre-dusk naps". A little further, there was a card shop lined with carefully-drawn slips of paper covered with all manner of images. A few young Pokémon and a few elder ones that were still young at heart played a prize-taking game on the counter. The streets were all filled with a warmth and vibrancy like the square back home, even if the colors were drabber than the buildings down at the Andaku Docks.

They passed a great wooden gate with tiled, square-eaved roofs in front of a taller building that loomed five or six stories tall in the background; after chancing to overhear a Beheeyem chattering with a Dugtrio about 'that new batch of Three-Star Missions' Nida realized that this must have been that 'second guild' Elty talked about. The lack of a mission board at the entrance struck Nida as strange, until she remembered that the 'guild' at Andaku had also hidden its mission board inside. Local custom, perhaps?

There were _other_ things that struck the Nidoran as strange about the town… Now that Team Traveller were on the main lanes and not preoccupied with watching out for pursuing Company grunts, they noticed that most of the windows were barred and reinforced. Most of the shops and houses appeared to have sturdily-built doors; the ones without seemed to always have a carefully-watching Pokémon not far from it. Even the passerbys looked more guarded, as Pokémon heading down more secluded lanes would always carefully look down and sniff or listen for unexpected presences. She hadn't seen these little tense and unsettled details in the town's atmosphere back at home, with the notable exception of when Lyn came to collect the Company's dues.

"Well look at it _this_ way, Wally. If we _have_ to redo all that work, then we'll at least have a place to start in _town._ "

As this 'Machalí' and 'Wally' from Team Taxonomy led the group past a mural with dot-like runes on it, Nida spotted a small square pavilion beside it and realized that the shack and wall must have been the town's shrine.

The strange glyphs carried transcriptions in runes underneath, done in the archaic footprint style that nowadays saw little use outside of seals on documents. It was a series of scenes depicting the local Protector moving about islands, its fate in the death of the old world, and its egg being carried to the local Mystery Dungeon…

Not unlike the paintings on the anima at home... was Tromba doing alright right now?

As the pair prattled happily along with each other about the mural and their research, it too brought back wistful memories of home and her father and the apple-farmer from the orchard next to the family's Leppa field. Growing feelings of homesickness began to gnaw at her, leaving Nida to drift further and further behind her teammates and their new guides.

"Something the matter?" the Marshtomp called 'Garth' interrupted from behind. "You've been looking kinda glum."

Nida looked back at Tropius and Nidorino and, after pausing, tried to throw on a brave face. The rabbit shook her head and turned back to the Marshtomp.

"It's nothing, really," she said, her tone still coming out with a plaintive tiredness that made the Marshtomp frown and twitch his antennae.

"You're not a very convincing liar, but I won't pry into it," he sighed. "Besides, the hostel's right here."

The Marshtomp pointed out an inn just up ahead built into an earthen slope. The structure's ground floor was formed from stacked earth and stone, while its second floor rested atop a layer of sod with the same spartan wood and thatch construction as the other buildings around it.

A short walk past its entrance revealed a room with exposed timber columns and supports hosting a small collection of low, square tables with stool-seats on a floor covered with reed mats. Towards the back, behind a counter next to a hallway heading further back and some stairs heading to the upper floor, there sat a Bellossom sipping at a cup full of steaming liquid. As the Grass-Type noticed the party entering, she gave an askew glance at the three strangers that Team Taxonomy drug in.

After a brief conversation with the receptionist, and convincing her that these three strangers would be out before the hour was over to avoid raising their room's rate, they navigated down a narrow, wooden hallway lined with strange wall partitions jutting out slightly. The partitions seemed to be made of paper over pieces of wood, and had runes for numbers written on them. Curiouser still, they also let in light from behind much like windows. After passing a few partitions, Garth stopped in front of one and pulled at the side…

_Pjaaaaaak_

Ah, they weren't walls at all! But a strange sort of door that slid open and shut! Once it was pushed aside, the contents of the room behind were revealed: the simple, mostly featureless room had straw beds laid out, a round table shoved in a corner with cross-segments of logs hacked into stools for seats, and an exposed rafter down the below the ceiling from which articles could be hung.

"Whelp, the roof leaks and the walls don't keep the sound out, but… this is it, our home away from home during our stint here," Garth said. "And it's a bit more private than the sleeping halls on the first floor."

The Marshtomp shook his whiskers before heading off to the corner to pull out the table and seats for the new guests. One by one, Team Traveller cautiously took their places about the low table as the mudskipper stretched out a kink in his body and his companions drew near to the table.

"It takes a bit more out of pocket than staying at guild accommodations," he added. "But in our line of work, sometimes the extra privacy is needed."

"Elty, why didn't we stay in this place?" Pleo asked, craning his head down to peck the Fire-Type's shoulder curiously.

"Oi! Just how are we supposed to pay for rooms when we don't have any money!" the Growlithe grumbled back. "And I _told_ you, we're in more danger of getting in trouble here!

"Relax," Wally answered. "As long as you three keep your end of the bargain, no one's getting in trouble."

"Right," Nida murmured to herself, before she tilted her head curiously at the Tropius. "So what's it that you need us to do?"

"Well, for starters… let's have you stand right there for a moment!" Scholls said, puffing his chest feathers out. "Need to take some measurements and samples…"

The Archen fished out some sticks and strings marked with lines and began to compare them against Pleo's body as Machalí grabbed a notebook with a worn, green cover, flipped it open, and began to sketch and doodle in it. The Flying-Type was surprisingly pushy, moving Pleo's head down, his wings out, and pulling out a loose feather, which made him fidget more and more uncomfortably until...

"E-Eh?! What are you doing?!" he cried.

"Observing you, of course!" the bird replied. "We've never seen a Pokémon like you before in any of our travels!"

Nida stared agape at the two bird Pokémon circling each other in that particular game the Archen was trying to get Pleo to join in. Her teeth showed, more out of incredulity than any sense of threat. She turned to ask Elty something, but instantly found her answer in how his baffled expression matched her own.

"You sure about that, Scholls? I could've sworn we've seen a Pokémon like him _somewhere_ before," Machalí mumbled, as he moved the charcoal nub from the journal to the corner of his mouth. "But it's eluding me… Maybe it was a picture back at that last library we visited?"

The Archen darted away from Pleo and, after looking over the scribbles and sketches his Nidorino teammate made, gave a satisfied grunt and returned the measuring tools back to the bag as Pleo tried to figure out why any of this was needed. Nida shook her head and now felt somewhat silly for feeling homesick from overhearing Machalí earlier. Papi and the Pokémon he knew weren't _this_ strange!

"Eh, but- Why is it that you want to do that?" Pleo asked.

"As we mentioned earlier, we're a team of researchers," Wally answered. "We go around from place to place in the Cradle, taking notes on the Pokemon there while financing our next leg from odd jobs in town."

"Huh? How come?"

"Well, back in the old world, it's said that humans had magical tablets with writing that would change in front of your very eyes," the sauropod continued. "In these tablets, they'd keep all the knowledge they knew about Pokémon gathered together so that anyone could see it for themselves as long as they had one of them."

"Now, we don't have a way to make any of those fancy tablets," Garth added. "But we _can_ get the information that was in it by putting it back together piece by piece and recording it."

"Eh? Can you narrow that down a bit?" Nida asked. "What kind of information about Pokemon?"

"Well, we decided to start with the basics," the Marshtomp said. "To record about how Pokemon like you and I live and behave. The moves they'd learn. Things like how your friend's belly fire reacts to different things that he'd eat or drink."

"We even tested out those rumors about some Pokémon having an easier time breaking out of Apricorns!" Scholls squawked. "Except we couldn't really find many volunteers other than ourselves…"

"Gee, I wonder _why?_ " Elty grumbled, rolling his eyes.

So Team Taxonomy went around studying all about Pokémon? Then, they must have learned all sorts of things about all the different kinds out there. Then maybe… they also knew the answer to something that he had been wondering about since Boisocéan...

"If you've been studying all about Pokémon," Pleo mumbled as he moved a wing under his chin quizzically. "Does that mean you also know what Pokemon the Prince of a Thousand Enemies was?"

"Heh," Machalí chuckled, casting a glance at the blue Nidoran in his midst. "You told him _una versión_ of that story, didn't you?"

"Just a little-" Nida sheepishly began, before she suddenly caught herself and shook her head as she realized something amiss with the Nidorino's question. "Wait, _**una version?**_ There's more than one?"

"Well, yes. Just about every island has a group of rabbit Pokémon that seem to remember details differently. Sometimes the Prince is a Nidorino, sometimes he's a Lopunny, sometimes he's a Diggersby, and so on," the Poison-Type explained. "The stories about him shift details in versions, but a few seem to have constants such as him tricking different foes like a "Prince of Rainbows" or some monster with a lettuce patch."

"The thing we were trying to observe here is actually something distantly related," Wally added.

"Hrm?" Pleo asked. "What is it?"

"Ancient writing!" Scholls cheered.

" _Ancient writing?!_ " Elty spluttered. "But what does _that_ have to do with Pokémon?!"

* * *

Much to Elty and his teammates' swift regret, Team Taxonomy's members were all too eager to indulge the Growlithe's curiosity. They went through the legends of how Arceus had passed on the skill of writing by teaching Pokémon to form runes with footprints to preserve what they remembered of human knowledge.

Things became foggier once Wally moved on to talking about how the contact between the Cradle's islands led to the creation of a common tongue for trade, and with it, a unified set of runes. Pleo nodded off entirely as Scholls explained how the various tongues used the same writing in spite of different grammars and conventions thanks to a standardization of readings. By the time the Flying-Type got to lecturing about how the current age's paw-stroked runes were simplification of those stamped runes of the past, the sun had dropped from the sky and the moon and stars were up.

Not that any of that seemed to weigh down on the bubbly Archen.

"Did you get all that?" Scholls cheerily asked.

"Zzz… Whuh?"

As Pleo stirred awake and pulled his head out from under his wing, Nida and Elty groaned tiredly, trying to remember _what_ they had done to bring this torment upon themselves in the first place.

"Uhh… _yo… creo?_ " Nida replied. "Was there anything after the 'common tongue' part?"

"Oh?" the Archen chirped. "Well, I suppose that I could give a bit of a refresher-"

" **NO.** "

Everyone jolted awake at the sound of a loud, growling refusal from Elty. The dog cast an agitated glance out the window at the night sky in the distance. His friends were surely at Ryūbokuya by now, and it wouldn't do any good to be any later than he absolutely needed to. The Growlithe shook his head and tried his best to re-rail the conversation.

" _What_ does this have to do with watching Pokémon here on Kenobi anyways?" the dog groaned.

"It's simple!" Wally exclaimed. "According to myth, Unown helped humans create their very first mystic scripts back in the old world, so we wanted to spend some time watching the Unown here in town and their feral counterparts in the Mystery Dungeon."

" _And_ the old counterpart to this island's Protector," Garth added.

"Wait, Unown?" Nida asked.

"You may have seen one or two before," Machalí responded while hastily scrawling out some shapes on a page of the notebook. "These look familiar at all?"

When the Nidorino passed the notebook over she saw the rough forms of strange, floating creatures with single eyes and several small appendages attached to them. Why, these were the Pokémon the team had seen playing cards while sneaking to the Andaku Docks!

"So as Machalí was saying," Wally explained. "If we learned from those Pokémon, we might be able to figure out how to read those mystic scripts that we Pokémon can't seem to decipher."

"Huh?" Pleo chirped, giving a curious tilt to his head. "Aren't they just like the writing that Pokémon use?"

"No, not at all!" Scholls interjected. "Some of their writing systems only have a handful of runes to work with, far too few to render any ideographic meanings to them like ours. They look like they convey a different concept instead- from the way they look, we think they were used _purely_ for rhythmic value."

"Eh?" Nida replied. "Runes that were used 'purely for rhythmic value'? As in each of these runes meaning something like 'Nee' or 'Dah'? But how would you understand anything that way?"

It would be a strange way of writing indeed. After all, how could anyone tell "Nee-dah" from "Dee-nah" when runes had no meaning beyond their rhythm? As Elty saw the Archen's beak began to move, his fur bristled, and the Growlithe swiftly interrupted what was surely another a long lecture in waiting with a bark.

"Okay, so back onto the _main_ topic… why can't you get these notes back _yourself?_ " Elty demanded.

"Er… we _kinda_ might have trespassed into a graveyard belonging to feral Cubone and Marowak while we were going through the Mystery Dungeon last time," Garth explained sheepishly, the mention of the incident making the Water-Type's partners fidget uncomfortably.

"For the record, I _told_ you guys it was a bad idea!" Scholls exclaimed.

"So… yeah. They kinda hate our guts right now, and the last time we tried to get our notes back, we were getting ambushed by Monster Houses on every floor," the Marshtomp murmured, before suddenly growing particularly cheery and gesturing at the three members of Team Traveller. "Which is where you three come in! They don't know that _you're_ with us yet, meaning that you'll have better luck than us at getting our notes back!"

There was a long silence as one by one, the three Pokémon traded uneasy looks with each other.

"Er… Nida?" Pleo asked.

"That… uhm… well, I'm not sure-" Nida began. The Nidoran folded her ears back and began to understand just _how_ different Machalí was from her father in spite of similar appearances, only for her train of thought to be cut off by a startled bark.

" _J-Jesteś szalona!_ How are we supposed to do that?!" Elty cried. The Growlithe fumed, and then shook his head and gave a frowning scowl. "I don't know about these two dweebs, but there's no way that I'm getting drug along for that!"

The Growlithe then got up and began to head for the door.

_Thu-Thump_

Only to see that a glaring red-scarved Marshtomp was now blocking it. And that behind him, a Nidorino was glowering and pawing at the ground. And an Archen. And a Tropius, too. And that they were all ready for battle...

* * *

About twenty minutes later, Mossaisle Town and the fields that stretched up the mountainside next to it were but an indistinct haze poking out from behind a heavily wooded peak. On the other side was the other arid peak of Kenobi Island, with its scraggly trees few and nestled in between dry, golden grasses under the moonlight. Behind them was the worn path that had taken them from the town up to this place, the trail's dirt occasionally flecked with the footprints of crossing ferals. And up ahead...

The familiar fog that separated a Mystery Dungeon from the outside world around it.

"'No way, I'm getting drug along for that', huh?" Nida scoffed.

"Oh, _shut up_ , spike ball," Elty growled. "You could have at least _tried_ to fight off the crazy Pokemon threatening to beat me up like a teammate's _supposed_ to instead of letting them march us out of town!"

The Growlithe shook his head, and stared off into the shifting mists ahead.

"Are we _sure_ that it's too late to go back to the angry bartender?" he asked. Nida and Pleo looked ahead and stared uneasily. Yes, they did owe Team Taxonomy a favor (one the researchers made clear they'd take out of their hides if they tried to bilk them), but even so…

That was still a completely unknown Mystery Dungeon ahead of them, with their hopes of escape hinging on the teleporters back at that shady guild by the sea...

"Well… if we work together, we can finish this mission, right?" Pleo chirped. "We've done scary-sounding missions before!"

"Let's hope," Nida mumbled to herself.

With that, the three set off, trudging away from the island and deeper into the fog shrouding the mysterious dungeon ahead of them.

* * *

After the sun dipped below the horizon at the Andaku Docks, Ryūbokuya was abuzz with activity, packed with patrons who overwhelmingly wore scarves bearing gray teardrop-like spikes on golden fabric.

"Bugh… what a day…"

Among the handful that didn't were three Company grunts: a Manectric, a Marowak, and a Yanmega, waiting on drinks from behind the counter. They had spent an unwanted portion of their day repairing a wall that they weren't even meant to touch in the first place! Really, the only way the night could become any worse was if the Aggron glaring and growling from a few tables over would act on his threats to claim his place at the bar. Fortunately for the three, the creature would curiously shrink and avert his gaze whenever the Ground-Type traded back a glare. Getting the cold shoulder out here while wearing Company scarves was to be expected, but this was just ridiculous!

"Seriously, getting forced to fix a wall _and_ getting stiffed out of pay by an angry overseer?" Nori whined. "What did we ever do to deserve this?"

"Well, I dunno about the past piracy, or the current shakedowns you three do every now and then," the Throh barkeep added from behind the counter. "But I _do_ know that you're behind on your tabs. And _last_ time I checked with one of your square-neck friends that passed through here, they said you weren't on theirs yet."

" _Thanks for the comfort_ , Shuho," Alvise grumbled. The sound of some excited chatter came from a nearby table between a Grotle, a Combusken, and a jittery-sounding Scraggy, the lot of them bearing lined blue scarves with red arrow designs and five-tailed blotches on their heads. The Scraggy continued on and on about a most peculiar topic, which drew stares from some of the nearby golden-scarved customers.

"I'm telling you guys, we need to get out of here!" the Dark-Type cried to the others. "I ran into one of the demons from the stories out in the alley across the lane! He even attacked me when I was trying to pick up some extra goods for our next job!"

"Oh, for crying out loud!" the Grotle growled back. " _You didn't find a mark tonight._ We _get_ it, Eric! You don't need to make up a story to try and cover your tail about it!"

"I'm not lying!" the orange and yellow lizard protested, before turning to the Fire-Type pleadingly. "Come on, Sela! You believe me, right?"

"Urgh… did you take him out drinking Lansat Syrup again, Hanuna?" the Combusken groaned, putting a claw over her beak. "I thought we agreed to stay away from that stuff after that one raid where tripping on those lousy berries made us get 'pillage and burn' _backwards_ with that Kecleon shop..."

"Oi, don't look at me! This is all _him_ here!" the tortoise shot back defensively. "Lansat Syrup's supposed to make you _happy_ , not a nervous wreck!"

"Mrph. As if that Iron Fleet captain's headache about some lackey of his who can't stick to a schedule wasn't enough," Shuho grunted, shaking his head as 'Eric' continued on in the background. "Ever since those three blotch-heads came in, that _Zuruggu_ just won't shut up about that deadbeat bird from earlier today."

"Deadbeat bird?" Valatos wondered, giving a reflexive beat to his wings.

"Well, I _think_ it must've been the same bird since the description matched up. It was a big old white and blue one, like some sort of mutant Swanna, or an overgrown _Camome_ ," the Throh replied as he slipped crude cups filled with strong-smelling liquids over the counter for the waiting Pokémon. "I thought he'd stop being a problem after his clients roped him and his buddies back into their job in the Dungeon, but apparently not..."

"Wait, Valatos," Nori asked. "Didn't we run into a _majū_ like that earlier?"

The Bug-Type lowered his head over one of the cups, and paused for a moment, before pulling it back. The Yanmega then shot up into the air, and pulled his compatriots along with him towards the door.

"Oi! Where are _you_ going?!" Shuho cried.

"Didn't touch our drinks yet, so don't need to pay!" Valatos shot back. The Fighting-Type was about to give chase after the three, until the Aggron from earlier got up and quickly claimed one of the freshly-vacated bar stools. After an offhand comment about "Thank gods that monster with them's finally gone," the Aggron's conversation turned to pushing aside a couple stools to sit on the floor before claiming the drinks for himself. The metal lizard shook his head and placed an order for a bowl of "those 'star bits" or "whatever that rock candy's called" to make up for a particularly dry and rough spell since their last haul. The sound of the Throh reciprocating in conversation, apparently satisfied enough that _someone_ was paying for the poured drinks, faded away as Valatos and his cohorts dashed out of the bar, and ducked down a nearby alley."

" _Ciò!_ Why did we just _leave?_ " Alvise growled.

"Yeah, I was looking forward to that drink!" Nori whined.

"Stop thinking with your stomachs and listen to me a moment!" the Yanmega snapped. "Don't you get it? That bird with the ugly mug. That's the Protector that Administrator Farn was going on about!"

"The one that they were going to go through all that trouble for? Rooting around the island and putting up those bounties and everything?" the Manectric asked.

"Exactly! So if _we_ got that bird and those dweebs with it…"

"We'd get their bounties!" Nori exclaimed, the Marowak's eyes lighting up in sudden realization that those little runts earlier _were_ worth getting to work late after all! "Heh heh! I like the way you think, Valat-"

_**SMACK** _

"OW!"

The Marowak rubbed his belly after being struck by a large, flying stone as Valatos settled over the gouge in the earth where the projectile had been called and torn out from. The dragonfly buzzed loudly and buried his face and compound eyes into one of his tarsi. Did he have to explain _everything_ to this bonehead?

" _Nee, **domkop!**_ " the Bug-Type growled. "The bounties aren't up until _tomorrow night!_ If we catch them _before_ then, we could name our price! And as long as it isn't _too_ insane, we could probably get it!"

"Oh! I get you!" the Ground-Type cried. "Like getting promoted out of crate work! Or getting our records cleared!"

"Or getting that petulant rhino demoted so _we_ can push him around!" Alvise added.

"Exactly!"

The Yanmega's thoughts turned to just what would be the best thing to try and trade in return for the runt and its buddies, when he suddenly noticed Nori growing uneasy.

"Eh? What's _that_ look for?"

" _Eto_... there's just one problem, Valatos," the bone lizard said. "Those runts are going into the Dungeon, right? How are we supposed to catch up with them?"

"What do you mean 'how are we supposed to catch up with them'?" Valatos huffed. "You've got family that's still feral out in the hinterlands! Don't _they_ know some shortcut in and around the place?"

"That's not the point!" the Marowak protested. "Say we set off for the Dungeon, we go through all that trouble of going through it… and they've already come and gone?"

The dragonfly blanched. That… was actually a really good point. There was nothing to keep their golden opportunity from just flying away from them! And if they _did_ waste a day in the dungeon without their overseer seeing them at work, they'd get even more of a chewout than they did earlier today for sure!

Alvise looked at the ground and paused. Everything seemed lost for sure... until he suddenly perked his head back up.

"Actually, Valatos… we _might_ have a way around that," he grunted. "You remember how that Drowzee on the teleporter team at the guild here in Andaku has a partner for his hobby selling Lansat Syrup?"

"Yeah?" the bug buzzed back. "What about it?"

"Well, that partner's a Beheeyem in the _clean_ districts of town. If he got _caught_ with that stuff past the barrier… well, a little favor sure sounds better than time in a cell or getting pushed around by the likes of that lunk-headed Rhydon, don't you think?" the Manectric explained. "And best of all, I _think_ I know how we can find him..."

* * *

"Oi, can we make this go any _faster?_ "

Elty's whining rang out along the corridors of the dungeon, much as it had in the two floors above. And as it had when the team found a second Oran Berry at the end of a corridor, and as it had for the Fresh Apple just by stairs on the first floor. Even as it had for the team's hasty dive for the set of stairs on the floor above, right after slipping past a charging Machop they had stirred awake.

"Well, if you keep bellyaching out loud like that, the ferals will find us and this will go even _slower!_ " a Nidoran's voice hissed back. The forms of Team Traveller rounded a sharp corner, with a round, broken-down stone pillar jutting out of the walls to the side.

Yes, while most of the floors they had encountered consisted of tawny-stoned chambers with the expected stalactites and stalagmites of a mountain cave. The Distortion here provided light through little tongues of wispy earth-fire flickering from holes along the ground providing hints of illumination… which every so often, allowed the team to notice that parts of their surroundings clearly _weren't_ just part of a cave system that the Distortion warped…

There were many pillars, some broken, some whole, but all clearly constructed by something other than natural forces. Every so often, portions of the floor or wall would be formed of flat, stone bricks. Though if the pillars' horizontal orientation on the current floor were anything to go by, the matter of whether the ground consisted of the ruins' flooring, its walls, or its ceiling seemed to vary with the whims of the distortion. Most curiously, some of these mysterious ruins sported drawings on them. There were strange, dotted runes much like the ones seen on the mural back in Mossaisle, but also a number of drawings depicting Unown in neat arrangements…

Ones that the Pokémon of Team Traveller would have sworn were watching them had they not thought better of it. Or at least they would have were they not preoccupied with their own disputes.

"I _knew_ we should have chanced it with Shuho," Elty grumbled to himself. The dog flattened out his ears at Nida's rebuke, as Pleo chirped quietly to himself and put a wondering wing to his beak.

"Didn't we need to get as many items we could anyways, Elty?" he asked. "All we had when we came in were a Pecha and an Oran Berry… and we _have_ been finding things here! Like that Apple and that _other_ Oran Berry!"

"Yeah, yeah, _to wspaniale_ ," the orange dog grunted back. "If we take too long, who knows what'll happen to that book!"

It was a half-truth. While it _was_ true that the longer they took, the more likely it would be that Team Taxonomy's journal would be lost to the Distortion or the dungeon's residents, it was at best a secondary priority to the Fire-Type's mind. After all, his ticket back onto the Iron Fleet could be at 'bokuya _right now_ , and here he was stuck in this hole in the ground!

"Alright, alright!" Nida hissed.

The spike ball thankfully didn't know about his reasons, and for the sake of not getting knocked into next week and dumped in this strange dungeon by the huffing Nidoran ahead of him, it would probably be better that it stayed that way… at least until this mission was done.

"We'll try and pick up the pace a little-" the Nidoran began, only for Pleo to cut her off with an abrupt cry.

"Nida, look! There's a strange stick here!"

Sure enough, there was indeed a stick ahead. As Pleo shuffled it with his beak, the three Pokémon noticed that on one end, there was a round glowing, yellow jewel embedded in a whorl of wood.

"But… what's this thing on the end of it?" Pleo wondered.

"Well first off, that's not a stick, that's a _wand_ ," Elty sighed.

"A wand?"

Pleo looked back at the jewel in the wood and noticed that the yellow color seemed to be coming from yellow orbs shifting around inside, much like the Totter Orb from the night the team escaped Lyn's ship. Were _wands_ also orbs? If so, they seemed to be awfully strange ones… The glassy surface felt thinner and easier to break, and upon closer inspection… there seemed to be a second layer of glass _inside_ , also enveloping yellowish orbs.

"They're formed when essences of the Distortion cling to sticks and twigs that get brought in here," Nida explained. "It might have once been someone's Stick that they brought in for a mission a long time ago."

The Nidoran darted ahead, and took the Wand from Pleo's beak with her forepaws, rearing up as she sniffed at the wooden article and its nested, glassy spheres .

"Looks like this one's a Confuse Wand. They're pretty fragile, even compared to orbs," she said, slipping the twiggy staff into the satchel on her back. "A hard swing's usually enough to break open one of the layers. Once it does, it'll make a Pokémon on the business end of that jewel see stars!"

"Yeah, yeah, great lesson there," Elty grumbled, flattening out his ears. "Can we _move on_ now-?"

The Growlithe suddenly paused at the faint sound of a pebble tumbling along and shot his ears up, Nida quickly following suit. Pleo blinked and watched uneasily as the two looked around and sniffed at the air uneasily, their noses and Nida's whiskers twitching in tense anticipation…

And then, there was a long silence, leaving the three casting leery glances at each other.

"Nida? Elty?" the little Lugia asked. "Did you hear something?"

After another wary sniff at the air, Elty shook his head and turned down the corridor.

"Whatever it was, it's gone. Probably a passing feral," he muttered. "So, are we _going_ , or what?"

"Fair enough," Nida sighed. "The faster we move, the better our odds of getting Team Taxonomy's journal back."

The three set off down the corridor, heading deeper down the floor as their paces grew fainter and fainter, leaving behind silence… But then, the sound of another pebble being disturbed, of shuffling feet, and finally...

" _Iku ze_ , they went that way."

The quiet murmur of small, raspy voices, and the sound of movement after Team Traveller's direction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _Calme-toi, mon fils_ \- French: "Calm down, my son."  
>  \- _una versión_ \- Spanish: "a version".  
>  \- _Zuruggu (ズルッグ)_ \- Japanese: "Scraggy". (Official Romanization)  
>  \- _Camome (キャモメ)_ \- Japanese: "Wingull". (Official Romanization)  
>  \- _majū (魔獣)_ \- Japanese: "Magical Beast", used in as a historical name to refer to Pokémon in M12 prior to creation of 'Pokémon'. (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _Ciò!_ \- Venetian: Interjection/Intensifier. Means roughly "Hey!" or "Oi!" in this context.  
>  \- _Nee, domkop!_ \- Dutch: "No, blockhead!" (lit. "No, dumb-head!")  
>  \- _Eto (えと)_ \- Japanese: Interjection. Roughly analogous to "Uh...", "Er...", or "Well, actually..." (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _to wspaniale_ \- Polish: Interjection. Roughly meaning "that's great", "that's wonderful"  
>  \- _Iku ze (行くぜ)_ \- Japanese: "Let's go", has 'commanding' connotations. (Hepburn Romanization)


	31. Press Gang

After a trip down the next set of stairs, the team's search came to a floor with more natural rock walls and stalagmites…

"Eh? Nida? Elty? Where's the ceiling?"

As Pleo craned his head up and squinted off into the distance, it became apparent that if there was one, it must be somewhere very far above. Beyond the lips of the walls, there was the dimly-lit shape of askew floors above stacked one atop the other, with features that seemed as far away as the journal Team Traveler had been fruitlessly searching for.

A fabric fragment the team mistook for part of one of Team Taxonomy's scarves had given them hope… until they realized it was merely a shredded and unusable fragment of a Power Band, whose fabric was still undyed beyond the faintly ruddy tinge the Distortion left while changing it. A book-like shadow against the wall had raised their hopes as well... only to turn out to be a stack of rocks in front of a hole with a wisp of earth-fire. And so it went, with every meager lead the team fumbled upon turning out to be naught but a dead end…

"Bah… how long is it going to take to find a stupid book?!"

Literally in the case of the first ruin-like portion the team had run across on this floor- much to Elty's growling consternation. The team found themselves in a square-ish chamber whose brick walls were engraved with strange, dot-like glyphs, offering nowhere to go but back down the passage from where they entered...

"Well, Wally said that he and the rest of Team Taxonomy dropped it while they were fleeing," Nida sighed. The Nidoran scratched a mark into the wall to make sure they didn't wander back into this room later, and shook her head. "And the Distortion shifts things around, so…"

"So we're searching for a needle in a haystack," Elty spat. " _Fantastic-_ "

_Pat-pat-pat_

Everyone looked around, hearing a small, pattering sound. It stopped, then after a moment of silence, kicked up again.

"Whuh- What's that noise?" Pleo asked. It didn't take long for it to become apparent the noise was of approaching footsteps. Worse, the sound of distant voices joined in, reverberating from further down the passage.

"Sounds like a dead end," one of the voices said. "You're sure the intruders went this way?"

"These are their tracks, and this is their scent! It has to be them!"

Team Traveller blanched as a creeping realization came over them that the Pokémon speaking were…

"It's ferals," Elty whispered. "And they're blocking the passage we came from!"

"Eh?!" Pleo squawked. "B-But there's no other way out of this chamber!"

Nida stood stunned for a moment, before shaking some sense back into her head, and fanning her barbs out from her pelt.

"Come on," she murmured. "Let's see if we can try and get out of here without a fight."

The Nidoran lead her teammates along, Elty walking beside her, Pleo behind her, only to come to an abrupt stop as a murky shape began to take form down the passage. The spike ball twitched her whiskers and flicked her ears, but couldn't seem to get a firm bead on what the approaching creatures might be.

"Hey! Are you friendly?!" she shouted. "We just want to head back out of this chamber!"

"Hrmph," a voice called back. "It's nice to _want_ things!"

The sound of footsteps approaching rang out and hushed whispers of "that way!" and "come on!", which made Nida fidget nervously. They needed to get through to these Pokémon somehow, but… how?

She cast a glance at her raised barbs, and the thought came to her. Maybe a warning spike would get the ferals to turn back?

"We're serious!" she cried. "If you keep coming at us, we will fight back!"

Nida flicked a barb down the corridor, and watched as it sailed out of sight into the darkness. After the expected faint _plink_ of a barb slowed by such range landing against the ground...

"Ow!"

...came the sound of a loud yelp, followed by the sounds of hurried footsteps, with a small, brown creature darting into the room. The Pokémon had a bony head with line-like markings under the eyes, but wait! Nida watched as the Pokémon tugged at the ossified snout and pulled it lower against her face. So it wasn't a head at all, but a helmet!

"Rrr!"

More importantly, there was a glaring scowl over her face, and a barb stuck in the side of her foot. The brown lizard plucked the spike out, shook some feeling back into her wounded foot, and shot a harsh leer in the direction of Team Traveller. Nida's ears drooped and her heart sank as she realized the creature was glaring at her precisely _because_ of her attempt to try and warn them off.

"Er… oops... I mean, I _did_ warn you- Agh!"

Before Nida, Elty, and Pleo could talk the creature down, the lined-skull Cubone charged ahead with three helmeted companions: a runty-looking Cubone whose gait betrayed a nervous unease, a larger Cubone with a reed in her mouth, and a final Cubone with a darker-colored helmet than the others. Then Lines, Reed-chewer, Dark-skull, and the runt split into two groups, charging in pairs at Nida and Elty. Nida yelped and hopped back as Lines swung at her head with a bone before running past her along with the reed-chewer. From the corner of her eye, she saw Elty weave out of the way of a club swing by the small Cubone at his leg.

" _Świetnie_ , it's _Cubone,_ " Elty snarled, before leaping back from the runt's swipe. "Just the ugly little faces that I needed to run into down here!"

Nida sprinted ahead to try and get some space from her attacker to mount a counterattack, and, after a harried sprint, whirled around to see the dark-skulled Cubone charging her.

"Stand your ground and fight, intruder!" the creature growled. Wait a minute, this was only one Cubone, and not even the one that she stung earlier! Then, where had the other-?

"Gyaaah!"

The creature lost his concentration at the sight of the reed-chewer pinwheeling in an overpowering gust of wind along the dungeon floor into an opposite wall. Without thinking, Nida shifted the bag on her back to the ground, and grabbed the long, wooden-feeling Confuse Wand inside while the dark-skull was still distracted by his teammate getting back onto her feet. The Nidoran pulled it out, almost tripping over in the process as the Cubone in front of her began to run at her...

And swung it.

_Tink_

The outermost layer of glass on the wand shattered into pieces, flinging a barrage of glowing yellow orbs at Nida's foe. The orbs dissipated, leaving the flinching Ground-Type to stagger disorientedly from their effect as the sound of a loud _smack_ rang out.

"Gwark!"

Nida turned, and saw that Lines had headbutted Pleo from his underbelly and sent him tumbling along. The little Lugia got back up with a panicked squawk and desperately attempted to break away from Lines and the reed-chewer's pursuit.

Elty still had the runty Cubone hounding him, the creature swinging wildly at the Growlithe's head to no avail as he weaved and sidestepped around the forceful, though slow swings.

"Yoink!"

Until during one of the swings, he grabbed his attacker's club and wrenched it free with his maw, pulling the Cubone into a stunned and wide-eyed pratfall.

"A-Aah! My bone!"

"Nyeh!" the Fire-Type taunted, his teeth clamped firmly down on the runt's club. "Not so tough without it, _are_ ya?"

"My bone- You- You stole my-" the creature stuttered, before it threw itself to its feet in a blind panic.

"A-Aah! G-Give it back! _Give it back!_ "

The Fire-Type turned and saw that the small Cubone was now charging him, head lowered, with the desperate, dangerous look of a cornered Pokémon in its eyes. Before Elty could react, he felt a sharp pain on his stomach and tumbled along the ground with a yelp. The bone fell out of his grasp and slid along in front of him as the Growlithe gasped for air, seeing the little Ground-Type running for his position.

"Ack! Alright, alright!" the Growlithe yipped. " _Take_ it back!"

Elty clamped his jaws back down onto the purloined club and flung it behind the Cubone. Without a further thought, the Ground-Type abandoned his pursuit of the little dog and beelined for the club as if it were his heart torn from his little body. During his reprieve, Elty staggered up and started to nurse his tender flank as the sound of a stick clattering to the ground, followed by a loud blow, rang out.

"Nrgh!"

The Growlithe whirled and saw that Dark-skull had knocked away the Confuse Wand from Nida's grasp, only for the Nidoran to counter with a stiff kick at the Cubone's belly. When the Poison-Type drew her leg back and reared up to attempt a second spinning kick to the Ground-Type's stomach, the creature to rolled to the side and left Nida to continue sailing on head over heels into the ground.

"Oof!"

The sound of the spike ball tumbling was followed by a flinch-worthy _thwack_ and the loud, shrieking cry of a distressed Nidoran. Elty saw Nida on the ground thrashing, club still pressed against the place where it struck her head, and without thinking further, darted for the poison rabbit. As he closed the gap, the Cubone lifted his club high, ready to bring back down on its foe.

There was no time to do anything… except act.

"Hey, _ugly!_ " he barked. "You've got this 'hothead' thing all wrong!"

Elty inhaled and spat a cone of cinders at the lizard, engulfing its back.

"Eyaaah!"

The Cubone flailed and staggered before it slumped over and fell on the ground, slipping out of consciousness as Nida panted on the ground, still jolted and wide-eyed from her encounter. For a moment, a feeling of pity swept over the Growlithe.

"O-Oi! Are you alright?!" he cried. Elty caught himself and shook his head, growling gruffly as he reminded himself that he just needed her to hang in until they could get back to Aisle Town. "G-Get it together, spike ball!"

"I- I'm fine," Nida said, getting back up to her feet as she eased back into a tensed stance. "I just got a little over- Eh?! You're on fire!"

Elty paused and chuckled a little. He knew that it was a timely save, but this rabbit sure was easy to impress.

"Heh, well, I mean I do-"

" _Literally_ , Elty!"

"Huh?!" he yelped. And sure enough, on his back were the lingering, smoldering remains of embers that flickered for a moment before finally dying, leaving the Growlithe to stare stupefied...

"I didn't know I could _do-_ Ack!"

Until he felt a sudden, dull pain against his hindquarters and tumbled to the ground, followed by the sudden weight of a creature pouncing on him from behind.

"You _stole_ my bone!"

Gah! Why couldn't the stupid lizard let him enjoy his moment a little?! Elty felt claws digging into his pelt, trying to hold him down in place. Without thinking, he jerked his head up, felt something brush against his muzzle and clamped down onto the runt for dear life.

A loud shriek filled his ears, and the Growlithe felt another blow against his head. And another- but he didn't dare let go… until suddenly, the shrieking stopped.

"N-Nrgh…"

The Cubone went limp and fell on his flank. Elty hastily unclenched his jaws and pulled himself free, his vision starting to blur as his head felt lighter…

"P-Pay more attention!"

He could see that Nida was standing in front of him, along with the groaning runt sprawled out behind with a spike lodged firmly in his back. Those lizards had done a number on the rabbit, with how ragged and worn down she looked, she _had_ to be feeling about as awful as he was...

"A-Ack! Nida! Elty! _H-Help!_ "

And the _mewa_ was still in trouble and need of help. The lined-eyed Cubone had clambered up his back and was alternately landing blows and hanging on as Pleo lurched wildly along the ground; meanwhile, the Cubone with the mouth-reed was chasing him from behind, and attempting to pounce and swat at him.

"I don't think I'll last much longer like this," Elty grunted. "If we're going to pull through, we need to make these next few moves count!"

The Growlithe then summoned a series of dancing blue sparks onto his body, and ran up and tagged Nida to let a blue aura pass onto her. As the Nidoran felt a surge of vigor through her body, the dog barrelled on towards Pleo to likewise tap him before the charge faded.

"I'll try and give Pleo a boost!" he cried. "Just don't let that other Cubone get to him!"

Nida turned to see the reed chewer, and saw that she was almost upon Pleo. She had to do something, but the Confuse Wand was all the way on the other side of the room! How was she ever supposed to catch up with it?! Unless…

Nida quickly dumped out the contents of the satchel, and without thinking, grabbed a big and bulky object in her paws…

"Oi! Bonehead!" she cried out. "Swat at this!"

And sent it flying at the Cubone's head. As she watched a red missile sail in an arc through the air, Nida realized… Wait a minute! That wasn't supposed to be an apple!

_Thwack_

"Ow!"

The Cubone stumbled for a moment and whirled to look at the apple next to her. It had clearly not been that great of a Gravelerock substitute, but at least it managed to distract her.

Nida sprinted for the Cubone, the creature hastily whirling around to try and brace herself for the Nidoran's charge, only for Nida to stop at a distance.

"Nr-hrk!"

Rather than rush headlong at the creature, she caught the Ground-Type in her stomach with a barb, sending the reptile bowling over in shock.

"Argh!"

The sound of a loud burst rang out from Pleo's direction, prompting Nida and Elty to whirl towards him. He had finally flung Lines off and hit her with a Weather Ball, one that looked a bit more forceful than normal thanks to Elty's Helping Hand. As the two remaining Cubone staggered back to their feet for battle, Nida noticed that they were in a rough line with one another…

And at one end, in the air above, was Pleo, bringing a burst of wind together between his wings.

_Whoosh_

Sending an overpowering wind at the lined-skull Cubone that had so harried him, sweeping her up and sending her tumbling along…

_Thwam_

Directly into her reed-chewing counterpart, bringing the two to a stop in a groaning pile atop each other as the room became quiet barring the sound of tired panting.

"Hahh… hahh…"

Although the Cubone had been defeated, the Ground-Types had left their mark on the team. Elty was visibly tottering; Nida winced at the tail end of hops forward; and Pleo's course through the air was as erratic and unsteady as his gait darting along the ground.

"Ugh… I really didn't want to use the Oran Berries this fast," she said, shaking her head. "Come on Elty, let's start with you."

The Nidoran went back over to the pile of items she dumped out of the team satchel, and fished out an Oran Berry that now looked about as bruised as the lot of them. She stripped away the rind as she and Pleo made their way over to the stricken Fire-Type as Pleo weakly chirped.

"I didn't think the little Pokémon would be so _strong_ ," he murmured

"Oh trust me, they're trouble. They hit way harder than they look, and you can't knock around their heads easily," Elty grunted, wincing from the juice of the berry as it seeped into a scrape on the back of his head. "That's something I've known even before I put my old scarf on and started sailing around."

" _Everything's_ trouble when you're trying to steal from other Pokémon, Elty," Nida grumbled. The Nidoran moved the crushed berry to a spot on Elty's flank, when she felt a nervous peck at her shoulder.

"E-Erm… Nida?" Pleo stammered.

The Nidoran's ears flicked as she heard the sound of groaning coming from the dark-skulled Cubone. The Ground-Type was starting to stir from the spot where he slumped over after Elty's Ember.

"Nrgh… is that tubby furball still there?"

"Oi!" Elty growled, folding his ears back irkedly. "It's _fur_ , not-"

"Not _now_ , Elty!" Nida quickly whispered before dropping the remains of the Oran Berry at Elty's feet. "Eat the rest, we'll worry about patching ourselves up when we're _away_ from here!"

Elty snatched up the partly-crushed berry and snarfed it down as Nida haphazardly shoveled the pile of objects on the floor back into her satchel. The three Pokémon hurried back down the corridor, as Dark-skull dragged himself back to his feet.

"Oi! Get back here!" he huffed at the corridor. "Wherever you are! Stay here and fi-!"

"Urgh, not so loud," a weak, but chastising voice groaned.

One after the other, the rest of the Cubone began to stumble to their feet. They inspected each other's wounds and picked at the spines that the little blue rodent left in them, all the while trying to piece together what had just happened.

"Argh, was _that_ also part of your lorekeeping, Shugodeshi?" Lines' pile companion grumbled, as she staggered up to feel for her missing chew-reed. "If I'd known you'd get me and my patrol beaten like this, I wouldn't have followed that bird!"

"Nrgh... it's not my fault, Machitabi!" Lines, evidently known as 'Shugodeshi' answered with a shake of her head. "That picture didn't say anything about it being so tough!"

"Th-This could be dangerous!" the small Cubone cried, clutching his bone anxiously against his chest. "Wh-What if it's a _y-yajū?!_ "

"Don't worry about it, we'll tell the colony," the line skulled Cubone said, as she glared down the corridor and grumbled under her breath.

"This _isn't_ over."

* * *

A little while after sunset, Pladur and Crom waved off a disappointed-looking Delibird at a Storage shop nestled among the treetops, much as they had done with all her neighbors along the riverside walkway. The two had begun their search shortly after Crom returned back to the Siglo Swello after Maranda's debrief. There, after informing the crew, a few small teams were instructed by Beatrix to change back into their more normal blue-and-whites, and snuck back off into the town when the guards were distracted.

Though with how unfruitful their circuit starting from the local Kecleon shop was, Crom couldn't help but wonder if the change of scarves even made a difference. Father and son carried along, mulling over what little they had managed to glean in this leg of their search for Team Traveller.

"Well, he definitely came along this river, at least… All of the shopkeepers on this path remember _seeing_ him," the Fraxure murmured to himself. "But it doesn't sound like any of them really met with him other than those Pokémon at the Kecleon shop. They were Bader, and… 'Alfonso', right?"

All of the places they had tried so far had proven to be dead ends for finding the Pokémon Maranda had said to have helped the team escape. Why would the Pokémon even want to keep it a secret? Wouldn't helping Pleo be something they were proud of, even if they didn't know he was a Protector?

Suddenly, the sound of some excited chattering came from up ahead. The Druddigon and his father peeked and saw that it came from a large-ish hut in the shape of a Drapion's head. Beyond its entrance, a handful of children darted about a colorfully decorated space in front of a counter, playing with Substitutes, stone blocks, and one another. Towards the front, one such group consisting of a Rattata and a Wingull were wrapped up in a simple game with a Bunnelby where they tried to guess what the rabbit was hiding under his small, gray paws, evidently expecting a stone or a stick. Why, this must be...

"A day care? What about this place, Crom?" Pladur asked. "You said the Protector was young, right? Maybe he'd want someone to play with?"

The Druddigon paused, and tilted his head skeptically at the sight of the Day Care. It wasn't what came to mind as a first place the team would have gone to, but...

"I guess it's something Nida and Elty _might_ have done," Crom murmured. The little dragon carried along with his father to the three young Pokémon in the midst of their guessing game, before interrupting with a wave behind the Rattata.

"Hey!" he cried. "Have you seen a white bird?"

The three turned their attention to the pair of larger, tough-looking Dragon Pokémon. The Bunnelby and the Wingull traded quizzical looks with each other, while the Rattata abruptly froze and went rigid; his red eyes widening and focusing on the tall blue-and-red reptile before it.

"A-Aah…"

"He's about as tall as me, and has wings that open out wide like this-" Crom began, spreading his arms and claws along with his wings. Unfortunately, it had the inadvertent effect of making the craggy, sharp-mawed creature seem even bigger than he had first appeared to the unnerved Rattata.

" **AAAAAAH!** "

The sight sent the small rat screaming and leaping to the surprised shock of his playmates, running deeper into the hut, crying out all the while:

"Auntie Paige! Auntie Paige! Th-There's a monster at the door!"

"H-Huh?!" Crom stammered. The racket was followed shortly afterwards by the sound of heavy, tapping footsteps as a looming Drapion scuttled over. As was her kind's practice, she carried a curiously watching party on her back consisting of three Skorupi, a Chingling, a Weedle, and a Budew, leaving the shivering Rattata to hide behind one of her forelegs.

"It's alright! It's alright!" she reassured, trying to nudge the rodent out with a pincer. "They won't hurt you! You see their scarves, don't you?"

"B-But they're big and have teeth and claws!" the violet rat squeaked. "And-! And-!"

"Eh?!" Crom protested. "But you just ran to hide behind a Pokémon with _bigger_ teeth and claws than us!"

The Rattata stubbornly refused to budge, and continued to shrink behind his caretaker's leg, poking his head out and twitching his whiskers warily. The Drapion sighed, and shook her head as she began to explain the reason for her charge's lack of nerves.

"Apologies for the wariness," the Poison-Type said. "He's still recently arrived from feral company and doesn't fully trust some Pokémon of our sort yet."

That… would actually explain a lot. Back home on Tromba, some ferals would bring their children over to the Day Care to be watched over for a part of their youth so they could grow a bit without the pressures of their lifestyle. When they came, they usually brought along some habits from feral life; sometimes these habits simply didn't go away, leading them to drift back to their old lives instead of staying in town after a few seasons (even if Crom had trouble envisioning the skittish little rat before him having the bravery to return to the wilds).

"Were you looking for a little brother of yours or something?" the Poison-Type chittered. "I don't believe anyone's brought in a Druddigon today."

"Oh, er… have you seen a white seabird come here?" Pladur asked. "About as tall as my son here, blue markings, accompanied by a Nidoran and Growlithe?"

"Sorry," the Drapion replied, shaking her head. "I've _seen_ the Pokémon you're talking about, but he only passed by. Wouldn't he be a bit old for my services, anyways?"

Crom reflexively opened his mouth to try and explain how Pleo was young enough to be here, only to catch himself after realizing that the explanation might let on a bit more than was wise. Disappointed frowns crept over the faces of the two Dragon-Types, as they realized that this place too was but another dead end.

"I see," the Fraxure answered, shaking his tusked head. "Well, thank you for the help anyways."

The two left the Day Care, and made their way back onto the path. As the chattering of the children faded into the background, Crom gave a low grunt and prodded at his father.

"Is there anywhere _else_ left to check, dad?"

The Fraxure looked ahead to see Bader and 'Alfonso's' shop from earlier, meaning that they'd seen everything in their search circuit. The Fraxure reluctantly turned back to his child.

"I don't think so, Crom... and it's getting late," Pladur sighed, shaking his head. "Let's head to that tavern we picked as a meeting place to see how everyone else is doing."

The two dragons turned and retraced the path, following the river's course past the lively, if peculiar, sensations of the town in the evening. Many of the shops they had passed were starting to shut for the night. A raft with crates that smelled of gummis floated lazily down the river, thanks to the efforts of a Volbeat pilot and a red and blue Basculin pushing from behind. A group consisting of a Venipede, Purrloin, and Tepig pressed a partly-obscured black form about 'can't you can tell us what happened?' on some docks near a tree trunk below.

Finally, the pair came to a wooden shack perched in a mangrove's branches overlooking the harbor, raucous chatter emanating from inside it. As they stepped in the open doorway, they saw a wooden hall with long, low tables, stump-seats, and clay cups set out for a motley gathering of sailors of all shapes and sizes. There were an Escavalier and Accelgor arguing in slurred tones over 'stolen armor' at a corner table. By the counter, a large and aged-looking Clawitzer with a white scarf with a red saltire wound around a belt under her head's exoskeleton perched on a stool with a clay cup full of drink and a rag in a bowl of water to stay hydrated set out in front of her, muttering something about 'sailors these days' under her breath...

"Crom! Pladur! Over here!"

And of course there were the Raichu, the Servine, the blotch-headed Scyther, and the waving Swellow, all perched around a table towards the back. The lot of them murmured among each other as they pecked at a crude map with little doodles spread out before them, moving their appendages over various points that were marked out.

"Hey!" Pladur cried. "Any luck?"

Crom and Pladur's companions lowered their heads, giving quiet shakes as one after the other, they delivered a disappointing chorus of "Nope"s and "Sorry"s.

"Yeah, I didn't think so," the Fraxure sighed, as he and his son joined their teammate at the table.

"We've gone through half the town by now!" Crom exclaimed. "Just how many places are there left that Pleo could have gone to?"

"Hrm? Looking for someone?"

The worn-shelled Clawitzer from the counter scuttled over to their table, she seemed to still be damp, as a moist on the floor following her course evidenced. For a sea creature, she seemed to have a remarkable sense of balance on land, steadying her unevenly-sized body by resting upon a curled tail. The shrimp peered at the group with a piercing, if curious, gaze.

"Oh! Er… yes, a friend of ours, actually," Crom explained, putting a claw to the back of his head. "He's a seabird. White feathers, about this tall, blue markings..."

"Hrm? If he's a seabird, couldn't you all just agree to meet up at the shrine or the docks if you got lost?" the crustacean questioned. "They wouldn't be _that_ hard to spot for a Pokémon that can fly."

Some uneasy glances went around the group. After a few mental fumbles, the Raichu from the Siglo Swellow hastily cleared his throat and offered up an explanation that would hopefully seem plausible to the inquisitive Water-Type.

"Uh, well… you see," the Raichu interrupted. "He kinda got here before us."

"Yeah, what Philips said! We got caught up in that storm a couple of days ago," the Servine added. "The kid got separated from our ship's aerial detail.

"A storm? Just where are you all from?"

" _No es obvio?_ " Kiran answered. "Tromba!"

"Oh, so like the Company crew at the docks right now, then," the Clawitzer nonchalantly replied. The Pokémon around the table froze and blanched at the shrimp's words. As some of the patrons began to cast wary glances at Crom and the others, the six searchers thought that they noticed a satisfied glint in their interrogator's eyes, only for her to shake her head and break the silence.

"Hrm, well, I can't say that I've seen any Pokémon that really fits your description but..." she trailed off. "If you happened to know your friend's _species_ …"

"Ah… er…" Pladur stammered.

"We don't know how to say it in common speak!" Kiran squawked. " _Solamente Trombense!_ So it's not like it would be a big help…"

"Yeah, we were just headed back out to search!" Ander hastily buzzed, as the six quickly dumped some coins on the table to cover a few drinks, and then got up and darted out of the tavern. The searchers ducked down a side passage, and only after putting a good enough distance between them and the shack, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Th-That was way too close," Pladur said.

"Isn't _she_ a nosy one?" the Servine spat. "For a second I thought she was going to just go ahead and ask why we weren't wearing lavender on our necks!"

"What should we do next? It's getting late and Kiran and I still haven't found any lead beyond a few sightings..." Ander buzzed. "Are we better off staying the course? Or try a different tactic here?"

"Well... we've been double-checking more than we'd like," Kiran sighed, shaking out his plumage. "Maybe if we went in bigger groups, we'd cover the places we searched more thoroughly."

"You might have a point there, Kiran," Philips murmured. "Natrix and I will take Pladur into our group, and his kid's your pupil normally right? We'll take the south side, and you take the north. We'll switch things up again if we haven't found anything by lunch tomorrow."

"Right!" Crom grunted. "We can do that!"

As the three parties of two became two parties of three, the Shuckle's Juice Bar they had left returned to its normal bustle, and the aged Clawitzer scuttled back to her place at the counter. On her way, she chanced to notice an indigo thread clinging to the hem of her scarf, and with a pluck from her smaller claw, snipped it and tossed it away.

"Hmph, I see courtesy's become a rarity in these times," she grumbled. "Hey, barkeep. Got a refill?"

"Oh? Coming right up!" the Shuckle replied. The bug grabbed a clay cup set aside under the counter and poured some fluid in a pitcher before passing it along to the shrimp. As the Water-Type nudged the cup towards herself with her smaller claw and returned to her drinking routine, the barkeep absent-mindedly turned the conversation to the abruptly departed customers.

"So what brought you up here out of the water anyways?" he asked while fetching a berry from the shelf on the back wall and throwing it into his shell. "You _do_ know that I take orders from the dock at the trunk outside, right?"

"Eh, I'm already used to spending a little time out of water here and there," the shrimp said, twitching her antennae as she nipped at the fresh cup. "Besides, I wanted to find out what was going on, and you only get half the picture of what's going on if you stay in the water."

"That's why you went over to that shifty group back there, huh?" he mulled. "You suppose they were trying to hide something?"

"Oh I'm sure they are, though it's probably just smuggling or something of that ilk," the shrimp answered. "Though, changing the subject a bit… There was a Company ship that came in and stirred up trouble _before_ the one in port now, right?"

"Yes…?"

"Mind telling me a bit about what happened back then?"

* * *

Like Mystery Dungeons, the one on Kenobi Island had its own stable zones. Most of the small ones were unclaimed by the locals, and provided pockets of shelter for Rescue Teams that had lost their way in the maze.

"You know, nothing is gonna appear out of that fog no matter how hard you stare at it, " a Marowak with a scar from a claw swipe on his back said. The scarred lizard shook his head before turning to his companion, a fellow Marowak with a bone club broken at one end.

"Bah, that's what an intruder would _want_ you to think!" she retorted. "You've gotta keep your eyes trained ahead, paying attention for any little disturbance..."

The larger stable zones, like the one these two Bone Keeper Pokémon defended, were usually occupied by the Pokémon of the dungeon. It had been a long, uneventful day for the pair watching over the small, but steep ledge emptying out into the fog ahead- until the sound of a faint shuffling suddenly reached their ears.

"Ah! Like that!" the broken club's wielder grunted, as she drew her club and braced herself for battle. Her partner did likewise, and cautiously rapped a few beats onto a rock by his feet.

The entrances to such claimed shelters were guarded, with sound and smell the key differentiators between friend and foe for the sentries. The noises and scent of the Pokémon ahead were usually enough to make weaker or more easily cowed intruders turn tail at once. And as for their friends…

_Tap tap tap-tap tap_

The sound and rhythm of a local's bone-message was enough to dissuade their unease. The two Marowak relaxed their stances, the Marowak with the broken club calling off into the fog...

"Come on through!"

...and watched the battered forms of four Cubone shuffle out of the fog and up the ledge, their condition immediately drawing cries of concern from the duo of guards.

"Ack! You all look terrible!" the scarred Marowak cried.

"Come on, quick!" his partner added. "We'll summon the healer!"

The four Pokémon limped along towards the light down the passage as a message was tapped into the rock behind them, signifying that wounded members of the colony had returned from the maze beyond the fog. As the four approached, it became evident that the light was from a fire at the center of a spacious chamber, started by a small vent of earth-fire and kept alive with a stream of sticks and other combustibles gathered from the Mystery Dungeon. The walls were marked with paintings and runes with eyes in them styled after the Unown that shared the dungeon, while a handful of holes in the cave roof let in foggy light from above. The sides had narrow, but tall dens bored into them where groups of Cubone and Marowak would sleep. In the back was a mound of dirt with a scavenged and beaten exposure chest on it where the colony's leader slept and perched. Finally, a collection of dot-like glyphs could be seen behind the chest.

Not that the four Cubone could really notice them. A crowd of concerned compatriots rapidly gathered around them, their concerned cries echoing off of the stone walls of the chamber..

"Machitabi?! What happened?!"

"We heard your patrol was wounded!"

A Marowak holding a clawful of Oran Berries darted out of a burrow, led along by an anxious-looking Cubone with rounded eye-holes in his helmet, and set about inspecting the four creatures' wounds. The healer peeled and squeezed the berry, revealing its contents to be unusually thick and syrupy with glimmering grains, and began dabbing the strange fluid on their wounds one after the other. The four Cubone traded looks with each other, before the reed-chewer known as 'Machitabi' spat out her chew-twig and grunted irkedly back at the voices in the crowd.

"Shugodeshi got us beaten up by an intruder," she winced, as the healer dabbed the thick, syrupy juice against some bruises and scrapes. " _What_ was your excuse again? 'Lore-gathering'?"

"How was _I_ supposed to know that would happen?" the line-skulled Cubone growled. "The picture that I saw this morning in that book the defilers dropped didn't say anything about that bird being so tough!"

"Well of course not!" the Cubone with rounded eye-holes interjected. "When Tetsuzui _-sama_ showed it to the two of us, we saw it was in town runes and not the sacred inscriptions that- Wait a minute… 'this morning'?"

"Your training's during the _evening_ , and I've been keeping that book in my perch when we're not looking at it," a gruff voice interrupted. Its owner, a Marowak with a femur club that had a gray, metallic tinge to its surface came to the fore, giving Shugodeshi a stern look. "Unless you'd care to _explain_ something that I, your tutor, and _Zokuchō_ of this colony don't already know of."

The gathering went silent as the crowd's eyes focused on the line-skulled student in the center. Acutely aware that she had been made the center of attention, the Ground-Type fidgeted and attempted to deflect an incoming earful about breaking colony propriety.

"I… er… overheard the intruders?" Shugodeshi sheepishly offered. "Th-They said that a 'Wally' set them up to coming here! Wasn't that what the leader of the defilers called himself?"

Some whispering went about the gathered bone lizards, as they realized… that was the name of the banana-saur and his cohorts who had disturbed the burial grounds just two days ago.

"That's right! It was!"

"Now that you mention it, one of the defilers _did_ call himself 'Wally!'"

As the colony's members murmured, a few voices started to become upset that these 'defilers' had dared to return to their territories, even by proxy. Others started to become anxious, as perhaps these others were a sign that the defilers turned the 'knot-necks' from the town below against them on false pretenses in order to do as they pleased to their sacred place.

But everything started to quiet down as it became apparent that the leader Marowak with the metallic club had started smirking, her elderly eyes alight with an impish, knowing expression.

"Tetsuzui _-sama_ , what's that look for?" the dark-skulled Cubone asked.

"I _think_ I have an idea of what these intruders are after," the Marowak answered, casting a glance back at the chest on the mound at the end of the chamber. "Perhaps we could use it to get an _explanation_ of what happened at our burial grounds."

Excited chattering began to fill the chamber. Their leader had something that the defilers wanted? Then… as long as she could lure their cohorts in, the colony had a way to exact justice on them! Then what were they waiting for? It was time to rush off and confront them right away! One voice after another volunteered themselves for the effort, as their leader turned back to the four wounded Cubone.

"Rest up, I'll go arrange for an _appropriate_ greeting for this group," she said. The Marowak turned to return to their chamber, when a young voice suddenly cried out.

"Wait!"

The Marowak paused, before turning towards the direction of Shugodeshi. The little Cubone had stepped forward, and was giving the same sort of awkward look that a prideful creature pleading for some favor might have.

"Tetsuzui _-sama_ , I know that I'm not in my best shape, yes… And, maybe I was a bit reckless earlier," the Ground-Type murmured. "But... if it's not too much trouble. May I join?"

"Huh?!" the runty Cubone squeaked in a start. "Sh-Shugodeshi!"

"Us too, _Zokuchō!_ " the patrol leader grunted.

"E-Eh?! Machitabi?! You too?! " the little Cubone protested. "But we're-!"

"Getting a chance to _get even_ , Keikaiashi!" the dark-skull explained. "Don't you see?"

The runty Cubone paused a moment. While the _yajū_ were tough and intimidating, that bone-thief was with them! And, well… even he had to admit that he wouldn't want to pass up a chance to give that thieving mutt a piece of his mind if it was safe...

"It's part of my duties as a lorekeeper-in-training to learn as much as I can for the colony," Shugodeshi responded, before shaking her head. "And besides… I want a _rematch._ "

The Marowak paused and pondered, before finally giving a smiling nod.

"Very well, then. Be prepared for battle," she answered. The elderly Marowak looked back at the chest on her mound, and then down the passage at the fog beyond. After this pause, the creature shook her head, and continued on confidently. "Though I don't think we'll need to resort to knocking heads around… beyond the fog, anyways."

* * *

After twilight gave way to the deeper parts of the night, the full array of stars filled in the heavens, and glass and paper lanterns started to get set out in front of the various abodes of Mossaisle Town. Against this backdrop, the bustle of the day began to simmer down as Pokémon started to retire for the night and trade places with a smaller cast of night owls. Among them was a Beheeyem, who tiredly chattered a Slowbro in front of the gate to the Kenobi Island Guild.

"I might be a little late coming in tomorrow," the Cerebral Pokémon sighed. "I've got business in the morning to tend to."

"It's alright," the Water-Type grunted back. "It's been a long day, just make sure not to burn yourself out, you hear?"

The Psychic-Type waved his counterpart off and began the weary telekinetic float along the way back home after a long day's work... The normal in-and-out pulling of teams was particularly taxing that day, no thanks to having to make an emergency extraction of that Tropius' team bright and early in the morning, or the _second_ emergency extraction after the Grass-Type and his companions went _back_ only a few hours later. After all that, any teleporter would've struggled to throw together the energy and focus to try and make another jump, let alone a jump into the cramped and obstruction-riddled second floor of a wooden shack.

The crescent moon in the sky glinted down on the Psychic-Type as he made his way down Aisle Town's narrow lanes and alleys. He passed a Gogoat and Piloswine arguing over a rough wooden cart laden with thatch blocking the normal path home with a snapped axle. The Beheeyem shook his head and proceeded down a detour past a low-roofed local eatery with a lavender-scarved Aerodactyl cheerily devouring a meal of soup and gummis.

At long last, the Psychic-Type's journey finally took him to one of the riotously-painted shacks that sat along one of Aisle Town's narrower streets. The shack had a gardening shop that sold flowers and sprouts on the ground floor, though its Sunflora proprietor had closed it an hour ago and retired to the burrow of a basement apartment next to the front entrance. More importantly, it also had a rickety wooden stairway up to the second floor that was the teleporter's home. As the Beheeyem floated sluggishly up the steps, beat from a long day's work, he fished out a small, ceramic key from a bag around his shoulder to undo the padlock he had bought for the door.

"Huh?!"

The creature noticed that the door was slightly ajar, and on closer inspection the padlock had been removed. It was common practice in many settlements in the Cradle for Pokémon that lived in buildings to not have locks (or for that matter, doors in many cases), and rely upon a rotating group of neighbors and particularly trusted local guards to perform watch duty (not that there were many of those in Aisle Town with the Company's hiring policies in more recent history)...

Those Pokémon however, usually did not have things to hide from others, and he _did_. The Beheeyem dashed forward and threw the door open in a panic, and after darting inside, saw that his abode had been untouched. The bedding was still undisturbed, the storage chests didn't appear to be tampered with, everything seemed to be together from a glance...

Except, on the low, circular table next to the window, there was a bag filled to the brim with spiky reddish berries. The Psychic-Type darted over, and bent down to pick up the satchel on the table.

"Oh for crying out loud, Eeden," he grumbled. "If you're gonna drop another shipment on me, don't-"

_**SLAM** _

The Beheeyem jumped with a start, and whirled around to see a Yanmega, a Manectric , and a Marowak at the door in lavender scarves. As the Psychic-Type blanched and tried to puzzle out why the three had come, the trio made their way over and ringed the creature beside the table.

"Hey, it's 'Zamora', right?" the Manectric of the group asked. "You don't mind if we have a little chat, hm?"

"Uhm… I… guess I can?" the Beheeyem uneasily began. "If there was something that you needed me for, we could have met at a Juice Bar or something…"

"Oh don't mind us, we'll be out soon enough," Valatos said. "We just had a little matter that we needed to be discussed behind closed doors."

"Deals with something Company calls 'proprietary secrets' or something like that," Nori added.

"Erm, well," Zamora stammered. The Psychic-Type instinctively floated back, only to feel the ledge of the table bump against his rump, leaving him to gulp and try and placate the square-necked strangers. "What do you need to talk about?"

"We're looking for some Pokémon from the Andaku Docks that have been involved in some serious trouble up here," Valatos replied. "We think that they might've taken a job from your guild."

"A female Nidoran, a _Gardie_ , and some strange white seabird with an ugly mug?" Nori questioned.

The Beheeyem stared for a moment, and after letting a brief flicker of relief cross his face, the creature shook his head.

"Sorry, haven't picked up a badge of any team that fits the description," he answered. "I _did_ see a team with a Nidorino, if that helps, though…"

The response made the Marowak frown and give a grumbling whisper to Alvise.  
"I _told_ you they wouldn't have taken a job from here-!" he growled, only for the Manectric to cut him off.

" _Cestìl_ , we're not done!" he piped, as the Yanmega ringleader of the group gave a loud buzz with his wings and cleared his throat.

"We figured. We were hoping that you could ask your buddy Eeden at the Andaku Guild for a bit of help. You know, your Drowzee friend? We need him to bend his guild's confidentiality rules and help us out a bit to track those runts down," Valatos grunted. "After all, the unofficial policy here might be to look the other way from what goes down down in Andaku, but there _are_ limits. Stirring up trouble in the rest of the town goes well beyond them!"

"Buddy at the Andaku Guild?" Zamora scoffed. " _Me?_ Hah! You're mistaken!"

"Explain the bag full of Lansat Berries, then," Alvise demanded, lowering his body into an expectant crouch. "Those aren't exactly cheap."

"S-So I like stocking up on fruit while it's in season!" the Beheeyem protested. "What's the big deal about that?"

"Hmm, really now…?" Valatos retorted.

The Yanmega nonchalantly dumped the bag out and a pile of red berries spilled onto the table along with a cloth pouch, a clay bowl, a pestle, and a pot with a spout. The Psychic-Type grimaced as the three Company Pokémon shot satisfied smirks at the now-paling creature.

"Care to explain where this junk comes from then?" Nori asked smugly. "Last _I_ checked, this sort of stuff was used by apothecaries to make vitamins. And you need berries like _Camula_ or _Yatapi_ for that, not _Sang._ "

"I- I've never seen any of that before in my life!" Zamora stammered. "Someone must have switched my bag!"

Alvise rolled its eyes and grabbed a scrap of paper lying amidst the pile of clutter from the bag. On it were some messy runes, which the Electric-Type unfolded and nonchalantly read aloud.

"'Zamora, meet me at _Ryūbokuya_ when the Continent Tower's Traveller crosses the moon for the next batch. Need you to make the syrup at your place this time. Eeden'," the Manectric said. The wolf crumped up and flicked away the slip.

"Got any _other_ explanations you'd like to try?"

The Beheeyem blanched, and looked around in a panic. The Pokémon closed his eyes and began to make the sweeping motions of a teleport…

"Argh!"

Only to be cut off by slashing gust of air and get launched against the wall with an audible crash, tumbling face-first to the ground. Before Zamora could get back up, he felt a pointed leg dig into his back, and turned his head to see Valatos smirking at him.

"Well now, I was going to say that we could _understand_ if you had something a little shady going on since we've gone down that road ourselves," the Yanmega said. "But since you _don't_ have anything going on, and that little stunt there _obviously_ wasn't you 'resisting arrest', I guess it wouldn't hurt for us to go and tell-"

"A-Aah! Wait! Alright, alright!" the Beheeyem cried. "I'll talk it over with Eeden! Just- Just what do you need us to do?"

"We need you and your buddy to help us get the drop on the dweebs we told you about earlier," the bug replied.

The Psychic-Type got up, and after an uneasy pause, relented and shook his head. There couldn't be _that_ much harm in playing along, could there?

"Alright, I think I can do tha-" Zamora began, only to come to abrupt, spluttering halt as he watched the Marowak of the group take out the cloth pouch from the pile, and rifle through a mix of gold and silver-colored coins.

"Wh-What are you doing?!"

"Oh, didn't we mention? We needed to cover a couple things for tomorrow," Nori explained. "Fair trade for the whole 'not ratting you out' bit, don't you think?"

The Psychic-Type froze, grimaced, and furrowed his eyes shut, burying his face into a hand. He could already tell, this was going to be an experience he'd be keen to forget about.

"Hey, don't worry about it, we know exactly what we're getting into," Alvise snickered. "Just play along, and this'll all be over before you know it."

* * *

Team Traveller continued on to the next floor after a long and circuitous search for the stairs. The Distortion shaped the floor they came upon into a maze of tight, twisty corridors composed of the same brickwork the ruinous sections of the last floors were. Interspersed among them were cavernous rooms, the only 'architecture' there to speak of consisting of speleothems and piles of stones. After their encounter with the Cubone, the three made a point of being more vigilant, stopping to sniff at the air, to listen for the paces of approaching ferals, to hop up onto rocks in order to gain a better vantage point…

"Yah!"

Including a couple that were a bit more alive than they first appeared and swung back at the team, only to be quelled by a pair of thumping kicks.

_Thump! Thump!_

"Gack!"

Much like the moody Geodude now splayed in a groaning heap against a nearby cave wall, leaving Nida to pant and shake her head.

"Okay, I should've been paying closer attention."

"No kidding!" Elty growled, casting a wary glance at the unconscious Rock-Type off by the wall. The Growlithe turned and began to continue down the ruin chamber the team came from.

"Look! Look! There's a shiny thing!"

Pleo suddenly turned and flitted off ahead towards a glistening green, teardrop-shaped jewel lying at a forking intersection. The little Protector alighted near the little bauble, noticing that it seemed to vibrate as he drew nearer, and craned his head down to peck at it with his beak...

_Tink_

...only for it to suddenly burst into pieces. Pleo screwed his eyes shut and flinched as he felt pointy shards glance off his body. After hearing the sound of small shards settling on the ground and Nida and Elty's rapidly approaching footsteps, he opened his eyes, and saw that in place of the jewel were glassy fragments scattered around his feet and a good distance ahead.

"A-Aah! It broke!" he cried.

"Well yeah, they're emeras. They break if they're disturbed too much or brought past the fog of a Mystery Dungeon," the Nidoran explained as she stooped to gather up some of the shards into the team satchel. "That's what you're supposed to do with them!"

"But why would they do that?" Pleo asked, as he watched Nida continue on collecting the little fragments on the ground.

"Well, it's said that their shards help the Distortion to change things inside them faster, so Pokémon like to put them in exposure chests to help give effects to things like scarves or the like," she answered. "Though, when you gather enough _inside_ Mystery Dungeons, sometimes they'll come together and make a brand-new emera. It makes you wonder if they have abilities when they're unbroken, and maybe we're just missing something to draw them out…"

"Oh? But if Pokémon like using their shards, why wouldn't they just break ones that are already there?" Pleo asked. "Like all those emeras and boxes over there!"

The young Lugia gestured with a wing down the passage to the right, and into an approaching cave chamber. Inside, various emeras and exposure chests were scattered all around, the glittering sight making Elty's eyes light up.

"Hey! Not a bad find!" he yipped excitedly. The Growlithe darted off ahead past a line of Unown-shaped runes on the wall, as Nida and Pleo cried for him to wait before following after him in a hurry. Why, with a nose for treasure like that, maybe he oughta offer them a place aboard the Iron Fleet! He was going to go back anyways, and they were on the wrong side of the law already… so why not make lemonade out of lemons-?

"There they are!"

As the three crossed into the chamber, it suddenly burst into growling activity with forms leaping down from clefts in the walls and from behind the chests. A Roggenrola, a Clefairy, a Baltoy, and six Cubone, four seeming rather familiar, were all rapidly approaching on the team's position...

"A-Ack!" Pleo squawked. "N-Nida! It's a Monster House!"

The Nidoran froze and tensed her barbs and in a startled panic. As she struggled to think of what the three of them could do against such a big crowd, she suddenly felt a jerking tug at her bag and something getting pulled from it.

"Don't just _stand_ there, spike ball!" Elty's voice barked.

"H-Huh?!"

Nida turned just in time to see the Growlithe pull out a glassy blue orb with his maw and fling it towards the center of the room where it dashed against the stony floor. Sparks and glass-like shards flew everywhere, as the Poison-Type realized it to be the Petrify Orb they took from Lyn's ship. One after the other, the mass of Pokémon froze in place and a few toppled over, able to do nothing but yelp and cry out in useless surprise as Elty stuck a tongue out at them.

"Nyeh!" he taunted. "How do you like _them_ apples-?"

Just as the sound of something panting running into the room interrupted him, the culprit quickly being revealed to be a Tyrogue popping in from a passage on the left side.

"I'm not too late for the amb- Eh? What's going on here?!" the creature cried.

Team Traveller's members quickly darted in and sent a gout of fire, a flying spike, and a glowing ball after the Fighting-Type to try and quickly overpower him. Unfortunately, the feral caught sight of the incoming attacks and rolled so that they did little more than graze his body. The three braced themselves, expecting the Tyrogue to rush at them at once...

"Wh-What are you all just doing standing here?!" he yelped. "Come on! _Help_ me!"

Only to kick up blue sparks on his body, and run about tagging and causing vaguely electric auras to settle upon the petrified Pokémon. The creatures wrenched themselves free, and much to Team Traveller's horror, stumbled back up to their feet and once again began to advance on the group. This time, appearing more energetic than they were before he threw the orb.

"... _K-Kurczę,_ " Elty gulped. "Forget this! We're getting out of here!"

The three Pokémon turned to bolt for the passage behind them...

"Not so fast!"

Only for four of the Unown-shaped runes they passed on the way into the chamber to shake off some dust, and reveal themselves to be actual Unown hiding among the strange script around them. The floating runes quickly interlocked with each other, forming a barricade in front of the way out with their bodies.

"You hut-dwellers aren't going anywhere!" one of the Unown hissed.

"Th-They're all around us!" Pleo cried.

And indeed they were. The three Pokémon backed into each other tighter and tighter as the Pokémon continued to advance on them. As their foes drew closer, it became evident why four of the Cubone seemed familiar...

"Well, I wasn't expecting the orb, but I _told_ you that putting all the _Lapis_ and intruder crates here as bait would work!"

It's because the four that ambushed them from the earlier floor had come back! The line-skulled Cubone was at the fore, leading her companions growling and glaring at her cornered quarry.

"Thanks a _lot_ , Elty!" Nida growled. Ten Pokémon, and no way around them. Even _with_ the items they had left in their bag, this was sure to be a hairy battle. Maybe… they could talk their way out of this one?

"Ehehe… if we let you keep this stuff, you'll let us go?" the Fire-Type offered. The Growlithe gave a nervous grin, folded his ears back, and even threw in a few tail wags to try and look endearing, but…

"You _stole_ my bone!" the runty Cubone shouted.

Rrr…

Yeah, he didn't think it would work either.

"Not likely, _Gardie!_ " the lined-skulled Cubone spat. "This time, _I'm_ gonna strike first-!"

"Hold your club!" a gruff, coarse voice suddenly barked.

The gathered Pokémon of the Monster House looked around, before they saw a Marowak with something tucked under her free arm, perching on a small stone plinth jutting out of the ground. From the deferential looks and bows the Cubone gave, it seemed this creature was their leader, which elicited some confused-sounding words from the other Pokémon.

"Eh? What's she going on about?" the Clefairy asked.

"Yeah! They're intruders!" the Roggenrola cried. "So let's drive them out alrea-!"

The two abruptly shut up after the Marowak with the metal-looking club shot a withering glare at them. She _was_ a fellow resident of the dungeon, and much stronger than them, no point in cutting her off, they supposed. The bone lizard cleared her throat and shifted her piercing gaze over to Nida, Elty, and Pleo, all of them moving heads and limbs near to their badges to try and slip away.

"Gyah!"

Which was quickly thwarted by the Marowak's metal bone sailing overhead, prompting the three to duck and hit the ground. The club arced and returned to its thrower's arm, who caught it and slung it across her shoulder.

" _Going_ somehere so soon?" she huffed. The creature then grabbed at a red, bulky item under her arm, and let it flop open dangling from her free claw. "You three sure seem to be willing to go through an awful lot of trouble for intruders. You wouldn't happen to be _looking_ for something, would you?"

As the three got back up, they warily began to inspect the object in the Marowak's claw. It seemed that it was a red-covered book, now dangling with its spine splayed along some pages filled with messy-looking script. Wait a minute...

"A-Ah!" Pleo squawked. "Is that Team Taxonomy's journal?!"

"Team Taxonomy? Oh, you mean the flying tree and his friends who _defiled_ the burial grounds my colony watches over," the Marowak answered as she shifted her grasp on the ruddy tome and clamped it shut along its spine. "Yes, it's theirs."

"Wait, then just give it to us!" Nida squeaked, hopping up and down, flailing her paws. "That's what we need to complete our mission!"

"Yeah! We'll get out of here like you want and everything!" Elty added.

"Hrmph. I, Tetsuzui, _Zokuchō_ of the Dungeon Colony and Slayer of the _Kodora_ , don't just give away anything! Especially not to intruders like you," the Marowak scoffed. "Why don't you three come along and we'll have a talk at our colony's grounds, hmm? _If_ I'm satisfied afterwards, I'll give it to you."

"Wait, this story about the _Kodora_ again?" the Tyrogue groaned. "Didn't she just steal it from some town grave?"

"I'm pretty sure she did," one of the fresh Cubone grunted. "What kind of 'Slayer of the Kodora' only has a single bone to show for i-?"

The Cubone quickly caught his tongue and clamped his mouth shut, after noticing that Tetsuzui was now glaring at him, her bone slightly raised. As the Cubone nervously put some space between himself and the Marowak, Nida and Elty screwed their eyes shut in frustration, leaving Pleo to wonder aloud what had come over the two.

"Um… Nida? Elty? Why are you two frowning like that?" he asked. With a growling shake of his head, Elty leered back at the Marowak dangling the team's prize in front of their eyes.

"Grr… you're trying to _blackmail_ us!" he spat. "Well, you've got another thing coming! There's no way that I'd _ever-!_ "

"Oi! Tell your leader to butt out!" the Baltoy huffed impatiently at a smaller helmet clad lizard beside it. "I want to tan these three's hides already for that orb they threw at us!"

Elty bit his tongue as he noticed that the Pokémon around Team Traveller still appeared restless and aggressive, clearly itching for the chance to pounce upon them. The Marowak gave a small smirk before shaking her head.

" _Or_ I can let you enjoy your company here and try to flee with one of your wall-talking friends while I give this 'journal' over to the colony's younglings," the Marowak on the plinth continued, pointing with her club at the still-leering Monster House ringing the team. "The pages with pictures can be pressed up on their den walls for decorations, and I'm pretty sure the rest would serve well as bedding or kindling for our fires. Your choice."

Team Traveller paused, and stared blankly for a moment. Pleo watched as Nida and Elty's ears drooped, the Growlithe seeming particularly unpleased with the turn of events things had taken.

"Urgh…" Elty growled.

"Er… Nida?" Pleo whispered uneasily. "What should we do?"

"I don't think we _have_ many options here," the Nidoran reluctantly said. She shook her head before meeting the Marowak's gaze. "Fine. We accept."

The Pokémon of the Monster House looked at one another, and then at the Marowak perched on the plinth. After realizing that they were serious, the different Pokémon went off their ways, leaving the intruders to the Cubone to deal with, if none too eagerly.

"Some ambush this was!" the Clefairy growled.

"You boneheads better punish them good!" the Roggenrola grumbled.

The Monster House dispersed, leaving behind six Cubone who rapidly circled around the members of Team Traveller, lest they had any second thoughts about the spike-ball's acquiescing to their leader's demands. The Marowak leapt off the plinth and made her way over to the group, giving a wary, inspecting stare at the three.

"Come along now," she demanded. "I'd prefer to ask my questions on some more stable ground. There's a few shortcuts we know for getting around this place, stick close and we'll arrive at our destination soon enough."

The Marowak turned and began to make her way off deeper in the dungeon. With a prodding shove, Nida, Pleo, and Elty were made to follow suit by their captors. Their instincts screamed to fight back or flee, only to remember that they'd go through the same fate again were they to return to Aisle Town without Team Taxonomy's journal.

For now then, perhaps it was best to play along… and to keep their paws and wings ready to go for their badges at a moment's notice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _Świetnie_ \- Polish: Interjection, roughly meaning "(Oh) Great"  
>  \- _yajū (_ _野獣_ _)_ \- Japanese: "beast" (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _(¿)No es obvio?_ \- Spanish: "Isn't it obvious?"  
>  \- _Solamente Trombense_ \- Spanish: "Only Tromban"  
>  \- _Zokuchō (_ _族長_ _)_ \- Japanese: Title, roughly meaning "clan/family head", used here for name of leader position. (Hepburn Romanization)  
> \- _-sama (_ _-様_ _)_ \- Japanese: Honorific, roughly analogous to "Lord/Lady" or "Sir/Ma'am" depending on context of usage. (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _Cestìl_ \- Venetian: Interjection meaning "Shut up" or "Be quiet"  
>  \- _Camula( no mi) (_ _カムラのみ_ _)_ \- Japanese: "Camula (Fruit/Berry)". Language version name for "Salac Berry". (Official Romanization)  
>  \- _Yatapi (no mi) (_ _ヤタピのみ_ _)_ \- Japanese: "Yatapi (Fruit/Berry)". Language version name for "Petaya Berry". (Official Romanization)  
>  \- _Lapis (_ _ラピス_ _)_ \- Japenese: Language version name for "Emera(s)" (Official Romanization)  
>  \- _Kodora (_ _コドラ_ _)_ \- Japanese: "Lairon" (Official Romanization)


	32. Culture Shock

As the sound of a heavy, almost metal-sounding club rang out from the distance, the two Marowak guarding the bluff overlooking the fog of the Mystery Dungeon relaxed their stance. The form of an elderly Marowak emerged from the fog, followed closely by those of three strangers: a dog, a spike lump, and a large awkward-looking bird, all flanked and closely watched by six Cubone.

The pair gave a small bow to the Marowak and waved the group along, as Team Traveller shuffled along down a passage with a light at the end. Their escorts had lead them through maze-like floors, and, on two occasions, in and out of stable zones that had multiple exits- ostensibly 'shortcuts' (though Nida and Elty were half-convinced that the Ground-Types had brought them there to disorient them).

At the very least, the encounters with other ferals in the dungeon hadn't led to a fight… so far. While the run-ins on the way to the chamber often led to their share of growls and snarls, the guarding Ground-Types were quick to keep them from developing into anything further. Even so, the lingering uncertainty of what the team would face at these "colony grounds" remained at the back of the team's minds, leaving the three to look about anxiously for any sign of what the Cubone might be planning.

"So… not talkative much?" Elty asked the lined-skull Cubone, attempting to take his mind off of the predicament they had all gotten themselves into.

"Hrmph," the Ground-Type snapped. "I don't see any reason to talk with you."

"Oh come on, not even a little question and answer session? I mean, Mystery Dungeon ferals have to all be in cahoots with one another to get by in this constantly shifting terrain anyways," he scoffed, rolling his eyes. "It's not like anything's going to overhear you and ambush you here with all your buddies around, right?"

"Fine, what is your question?" the Cubone grunted back.

"Well, I noticed that your helmet smelled an awful lot like clay even though it looks like bone," the Growlithe murmured. "Your kind sure go through an awful lot of trouble for keeping up appearances..."

"That's _not_ a question, and there _is_ bone mixed in there from our dead!" the Ground-Type growled. "Even helmets that start out as whole skulls get clay added to them with time to patch defects, and patching them up and dying them over allows for more than one generation to pass them on to the next!"

"Which brings me to my real question: Why do you even _wear_ the mask?" Elty asked, stopping to poke at the Cubone's skull helmet. "If I pull that off, will you die?"

The Cubone shot a piercing glare back at the Growlithe, and shoved him along down the passageway.

"It would be excruciatingly painful," she snarled. "For _you._ "

"Elty!" Nida hissed. "Not. Helping."

The brewing confrontation was cut short by the reed-chewer tapping Lines on the shoulder with a "Stay focused, Shugodeshi", leaving Elty to mutter something under his breath about "Well aren't you two testy today?" as the group continued on. The light was now clearer and Pleo could begin to make out a room up ahead. He began to wonder aloud.

"Erm… what are we going to talk about?"

"All in due time, _Camome_ ," the Marowak sternly answered. "First, you should take a little time to get to know the _majū_ that your friends have so wronged."

The three Pokémon were lead into the chamber, where there was a veritable wall of glowering reptilian Ground-Types. Nida and Elty instinctively began to backpedal from the angry glares and growling shouts, only for the Cubone behind them to shove them ahead.

"So _these_ are the _majū_ in cahoots with the defilers!" a Cubone with rounder eye-holes cried out.

"Just where do you get off disturbing our dead, huh?!" demanded a Marowak with yellow dye on his claws.

"Yeah, we take the bones from our prey!" a Cubone with a faint, but noticeable spot on its helmet said. "Don't think that we wouldn't do the same to you!"

Elty flinched at the spotted-skull's words and shot a glare at Nida. It was all _her_ fault that he was here instead of rejoining his crew like he ought to be!

"I _really_ don't like where this is going," he growled. " _Great idea_ you had there for playing along with the feral lizards, spike ball."

"And another thing-!" the spotted Cubone began, only to be cut off by the sound of fluttering as Pleo hopped up and flitted over the heads of the gathered Pokémon.

"Eh?!"

"Wait! Stop right there!"

The crowd chased after the flighty bird, as Shugodeshi and her companions dragged Nida and Elty along flailing. Though before any could club him out of the air… he came back down on his own, staring fixedly at some glittering emeras that were piled up in a small clump near a rough cave painting of Cubone and Marowak looking up at the moon and stars in the sky.

"Oh! There's more emeras here too!" he cried. The little Lugia stared into his reflection shining off their surfaces before turning back to the Pokémon around him. "Do you also break them for exposure chests?"

"What? Our _Lapis?_ " the yellow-stained Marowak asked, putting a claw to his mouth. The creature then shook his head and hardened his eyes into a glare at the strange bird. "No! We use them to make pigments! And don't think that you can get out of-"

"What's a pigment?" Pleo wondered, putting a wing to his beak as puzzled stares went about the group.

"It's a kind of paint!" the Bone Keeper curtly huffed, waving his stained claws. "I was even using it earlier, see!"

"What's a paint?"

"Oh, for crying out- It's this stuff!" the artist Marowak spluttered, before dashing off to grab a crude clay bowl filled with bright, yellow liquid that sloshed about in it. "See? Paint! Now stop distracting us from-"

The Cubone was interrupted by the Lugia dabbling his beak with an exploratory peck into the bowl. He drew his beak back, now covered in the cool, thick fluid, dribbling little bright yellow blotches onto the ground below much to the young Protector's fascinated interest.

"Ooh! It feels like water!" Pleo cheered. "And it leaves colors when it drips!"

"Just what sort of company do these defilers keep?" Dark-skull whispered to Reed-chewer. The female Cubone shook her head and attempted to rope this most… _curious_ of defilers back onto topic.

"Yes, yes, we use it to make cave drawings," she answered, flippantly waving a claw. "Now-"

"Oh! You draw _here_ too?" Pleo chirped. "I like drawings! Show me! Show me!"

"Er… well, here's one that I made over by the training grounds of one of the times when I snuck over to the town's shrine," the reed-chewer answered, pointing at the entrance to a chamber with stacks of rocks visible in the distance. On the walls beside the passage's mouth, there was a crude depiction of a Cubone amid huts with creatures wearing purple scarves with fangs and claws bared in the opposite direction, leaving Pleo to wonder aloud...

"Really? _You_ made that? It looks so pretty!"

"You think so?" Reed-chewer asked, before shaking her head and slinging her club over her shoulder proudly. "I mean, of course! I'm a _natural_ at painting for the colony!"

"Eh? What are you going on about, Machitabi?" Dark-skull protested, pointing his club at a painting on the other side of the chamber depicting a large group of Cubone and Marowak pursuing a Tropius, a Nidorino, a Marshtomp, and an Archen. " _I've_ made better drawings than that!"

"Me too! Me too! It's not just Machitabi and Kuraikamen!" the runty Cubone interjected. "Look at mine over there!"

One after the other, the gathered Cubone and Marowak began to latch onto their strange visitor's new topic, and gleefully pointed out their claw-work dotting the walls to the white bird. As the bone lizards grew more amicable and less focused on Team Traveller's status as "defilers," Nida shot a smirk at Elty.

"Looks like things worked out a bit better than you thought," she chuckled, only to be answered with a frowning grumble from the Growlithe.

"Oh _shut up_ , spike ball."

"Aherm," the leader Marowak interrupted. Her voice caught the attention of the gathered Pokémon, drawing their questions to a stammering halt. "About those questions-"

"About painting?" Pleo wondered, tilting his head curiously.

"Yes-" the elderly Marowak began, only to catch herself and shoot a glare at the impudent bird. " _No!_ About our _graveyard!_ "

_Yaa-aaaaaah_

"What's... a graveyard?" Pleo asked, his voice yawning and drowsy. Pleo's tone made Nida and Elty realize that they too felt tired- after all, they had travelled all this way through the Mystery Dungeon at night, through battles and near battles. Their sudden exhaustion, though predictable, proved frustrating to Tetsuzui.

"I was _going_ to say that we would get to them first thing in the morning," she growled. "You're tired. Let's get you three to sleep and continue in the morning. It's far too late to be dealing with this numbskullery."

The Marowak turned to the round-eyed Cubone and gestured at the three strangers from outside.

"Mojisenshi, take these three to our _shizoku_ 's den for the night," she said. "Keep guards posted, too. These three may be guests, but I'm not sure if they're _welcome_ ones yet."

"Wait, are you sending us to _bed?_ " Elty protested. "But we're old enough to-!"

_Thump... thump... thump…_

The Fire-Type bit his tongue and looked over in the direction of the Marowak with the metal club. There, the elderly reptile was letting her bone bat against her free claw, leveling a glare at the little dog that made one thing clear…

If there was any funny business, the club would find its target on Team Traveller's bodies soon enough, and with much greater force.

"On second thought, bed's not such a bad idea," he gulped.

"Come on," Round-eyes prodded. "This way."

The three strangers shuffled off for a tall passage in the wall that stretched to the ceiling. It had evidently been hewn from the stone, though the surprising straightness and height suggested that it hadn't been made by burrowing. Nida, Elty, and Pleo were fatigued enough to not particularly question the matter, and did not need much more than a loose presence at their backs to herd them along. As Team Traveller slipped into the den in the wall's cleft, the rest of the gathering began to drift back to their own dens for the night, leaving Tetsuzui to make her way back to her mound at the end of the chamber- burying her ossified head in a claw.

"I can already tell this is going to be an interesting interrogation tomorrow..."

* * *

"Huh?! Why are there so many nettles?!"

After resuming their search for the team in the morning, Crom, Kiran, and Ander's trek took them to a place where the treehuts of Seahive Square abruptly stopped at a field with a creek running through it. The trees on the other side were thick, but stripped of their lower branches. From his place on the wooden platform on the edge of the mangroves Seahive was built on, Crom had a bird's-eye view of the entire clearing, and of each and every last of the green, spiny plants below.

"And why would the Pokémon here only have this rickety bridge over them?" he asked, poking at the bridge's rope. He could see it move, meaning that _someone_ was on it right now, but who would be daring enough to do so? It already hurt enough to be stung by _a_ nettle, but if the unsafe-looking bridge were to ever go out...

"Just what sort of neighborhood _is_ this?" he cried.

"One meant to keep unwanted Pokémon _out,_ " Ander sighed, shaking his head.

"Cómo?" Kiran replied, tilting his head puzzledly. "What do you mean by that?"

"Yeah, why would any neighborhood need something like this?" Crom murmured, putting a claw to his mouth.

The Scyther paused uneasily before reflexively beating his wings and looking down at the swift-winged bird and his charge.

"Because not every neighborhood of Pokémon gains from being open," the Bug-Type said, a hint of bitterness leaking into his voice. "Surely you two would know that by now."

"What are you implying there, Ander?" Kiran demanded. The Swellow gave a flustered ruffle to his feathers, before training a wary look at the Bug-Type. "What kind of Pokémon gains by shutting themselves in like thi-? **OW!** "

As the Swellow talked, he was abruptly knocked back by a smaller, but still heavy Pokémon running into him. The bird let out a startled squawk and fell back as everyone's eyes settled upon a little blue dragon with black feathers, and a gray five-tailed comet- three long tails in the center, with two short ones on the sides- running along his head.

This Deino, he was one of the Marked? On closer inspection, the little Dragon-Type's plumes on his face were damp and sullied, and the creature was sniffling...

"Are you hurt?!" Ander exclaimed, as he helped the Dragon-Type back up to his feet. "You should be more careful about where you're going!"

"Is something wrong?" Kiran asked, going over and helping dust the creature off from his crash. "You're crying… You don't look hurt..."

"I-I'm running away from home!" the creature cried, his voice hitching between words. "I-I can't leave Boisocéan! I w-won't!"

"Run- _Running away?!_ " Kiran squawked. "What are you-?!"

" _Daraen!_ "

The sound of a panicked roar and the woosh of a large creature flying by made Kiran, Crom, and Ander stumble back. When they looked up, they saw a great three-headed dragon flitting over the end of the bridge, anxiety etched into every line of her heads and beat of her six wings.

"Wh-What are you thinking running off like that?!" she demanded, scooping the flailing creature up off the platform. "You had me worried sick! We need to leave from here before-!"

" _Maman,_ I don't _want_ to go!" the little creature's pleading voice interrupted as he struggled against his mother's embrace. "I don't _want_ to leave all my friends here in Seahive!"

The Hydreigon's face fell, and she lowered her heads before meeting her child's face, with the widened eyes and tensely drawn-in limbs of a creature expecting a sudden ambush by a foe at any moment.

"Daraen, _please,_ don't do this to me!" she begged. "You know we don't have a choice about-!"

"Margi! Wait!"

More voices were coming now from the bridge. A small line of Pokémon headed by a Croconaw and a Forretress made their way down the span in spaced intervals as quickly as its construction allowed, their eyes and voices filled with the same pleading tone that the dragon and her child had with each other.

"Don't take off so quickly!" a Hoppip pleaded. "Th-There might be another solution!"

"And you left your belongings strewn all over your doorstep!" a Croconaw cried. "You wouldn't just suddenly fly away from home like that, would you?"

"E-Eh?! What's going on here?! Why were you running away?!" Kiran squawked, gesturing at the Deino before turning his focus to the creature's mother. "And why are you also running away?!"

The Hydreigon looked away from the Swellow. Whatever had compelled her to act this way was something that she stubbornly refused to give up. Her still sniffling and shaken child cried out, desperately trying to dissuade his mother from taking him from this town.

" _M-Maman_ , the Company doesn't even _run_ this island!" Daraen pleaded.

"Yeah, we can defend you here!" the Forretress cut in.

"And the neighborhood will be able to better fend them off if they come if you stay!" the Croconaw insisted, waving his claws desperately to try and draw Margi's attention. "You're the strongest out of any of us!"

The Hydreigon gave a stubborn growl for silence, which made the alligator and tree bug inch away uneasily, before whirling back to her child.

"Daraen, there's a ship with Company sails in the harbor _right now._ Their lackeys are here _this moment_ and they won't hesitate to hurt you!"

"Huh?!" Crom exclaimed. The Druddigon beat his wings out in a shock. This Hydreigon… was in trouble with the Company? "But why would the Company do that? Wh-What did you do?"

"Because they helped a sea god that the Company is after get away, and the Nidoran and _Caninos_ with him," a voice explain from behind. Margi dropped Daraen out of surprise with a yelp against the wood of the platform. Everyone turned, and saw a Venipede, a Tepig, and a Purrloin in black scarves with white snowflake designs on them drawing near. The Hydreigon flinched from the Bug-Type's words, and shot a venomous, anxious glare at the magenta bug.

" _V-Venner!_ " she growled. "Sh-Shut your mouth! You're supposed to be the leader of Team Chasseur, not Team _Cafteur!_ "

"Oi! Why are you getting so huffy?" the Purrloin added. "That's what happened!"

"Ah!" Crom cried, jumping up in a start. "H-How'd you know about him being a sea god?!"

"We met him and his friends and they told us about it," the Tepig explained. "When we thought things through after we first met each other... it all just seemed to add up."

The three Tromban Pokémon whirled back at the black dragon, wide-eyed. This was the Pokémon that Maranda had been hinting at? The one they had been looking for all day?

"Is- Is that who you helped get away?!" Kiran squawked. "Do you know where they went?!"

The Hydreigon froze blankly at the Swellow's words, before gritting her teeth and narrowing her eyes back at the bird.

"I… I don't need to answer you," she mumbled.

"Please," Ander interjected. "If you know anything-"

"I said I wouldn't answer!" she snarled. "Don't think that just because you're also Marked that I'll make an exception for you!"

Crom's stomach churned. Here was the Pokémon that had seen his friends last, who helped them evade Lyn, and they would lose their trail just because she refused to tell them anything! Without thinking, the Druddigon shook his head and let forth the emotions that he couldn't keep bottled up anymore.

"W-Why are you _doing_ this to us?!" he shouted. "Why won't you just tell us where Pleo and the others went?!"

The gathering went dead quiet, as all eyes turned to stare uneasily at the young Druddigon. Crom's wings drooped and he hung his head, trailing off weakly.

The platform went silent, before a quiet, chittering voice suddenly spoke up.

"We're from that 'Company' ship you're so worried about."

Crom and Kiran went wide-eyed, and they whirled to see Ander glancing at Margi.

" _Ander?!_ What are you doing?!" Kiran cried. The other Pokémon similarly went wide-eyed, and everyone who could adopted tense stances, poised for sudden battle.

"You- You really _are_ out to get them!" the Forretress hissed. The bug chittered angrily and began to spin, trying to build up momentum to ram the ne'er-do-wells off the ledge.

"If you think we're just going to let you get Margi and Daraen like that, you're-!"

"No! No! That's not it at all! It's all some insane scheme that Bluewhorl's leader came up with!" the Scyther hastily corrected, attempting to make himself look small and unthreatening. "Just- Hear us out! Please!"

There was an uneasy pause as the gathered Marked and Team Chasseur's members looked at each other, before looking back at the three cornered strangers. They seemed earnest enough… if they really were out to get Margi, why give themselves away?

"If you're not from the Company, then who _are_ you?" Margi demanded. "And why would you fly their sails?"

"We're Pokémon who are trying to get back what's ours," Kiran explained. "No dirty tricks, no ulterior motives…"

The Hydreigon hesitated, before hardening her eyes into a glare and began to reply with careful, measured words.

"Well, truthful or not, you're certainly _audacious,_ " she huffed. "Storming along into port in Company colors like that."

"Look, we have a lot to lose… kinda like you, it sounds," the Swellow insisted. "So please… if you know anything at all, if you could tell us, it would mean the world to our town."

"Hrmph, you have a talent for eavesdropping, I'm sure you could have figured it out on your own!" the Hydreigon growled. "How much stays hidden when a stranger flees in front of the entire town-?!"

"Margi," Venner interrupted. "No one in town's been able to figure it out. Even if they _were_ eavesdropping, how would they find out anything we haven't been able to?"

The Hydreigon shifted her gaze over to the young Druddigon, who had folded his wings back, and was still downcast. The creature shook his head, and finally managed a weak entreaty to the larger Dragon-Type.

"Please," the Druddigon begged. "They're our friends, we just want them back…"

There was a long, tense silence. The three seemed awfully distraught for Pokémon who were told that their target was already being chased by their peers...

Perhaps... they really _were_ telling the truth...

"... The ship that came for them sailed off in the direction of Kenobi after they left," the Hydreigon finally said. "Unless if the bird and his friends moved on, that's where they would also be."

"K-Kenobi?!" Kiran squawked. "But that's a Company shipyard!"

"The _Caninos insisted_ that he had some way of lying low there. The alternative was flying back to your island, and they thought it was too risky," the Hydreigon grunted. She shook her heads, and then turned her body to begin to fly off. "And there you have it. Now with that out of the way, my son and I really must-"

" _No!_ "

Daraen recoiled back and hid behind Ander, the creature stubbornly refusing to come out from behind the mantis.

"W-We shouldn't _have_ to run away because you helped some Pokémon!" the Deino sniffled "And you _said_ yourself afterwards that you helped Pleo because it would've been horrible if the Company captured him! It's not right for this to happen!"

"I know it isn't, _ma petite_ … but sometimes the right thing doesn't always happen, just like it's been for our kind all this time," she explained. "Maranda herself said that the Commissioner who came here promised vengeance, specifically on me… and we can't afford to see if he will break that promise or not."

The dragon sighed and shook her heads, before continuing on in a small voice.

"I don't want you to get hurt, Daraen."

The gathered Pokémon paused and uncomfortably began to look away from Margi. One after the other they slowly began to realize to realize that the Dragon-Types might had to leave after all.

"There isn't going to be a way to get around this, is there?" Francoeur murmured.

"Unfortunately, I don't think there is," Actor sighed, shaking his head. "I mean, those _are_ some solid points she raised.

"Then… let us help you two," the Venipede said.

"Wh-What do you mean?" Daraen asked.

"To give you a helping claw until we know for sure that it's safe for you and your _maman_ here. If you need to run, you still have some time to prepare for it," he explained. "Time to put your things together... Time to say goodbyes… Time for other Pokémon to help you..."

"Just what can you do?" Margi muttered.

"We can help you with your job at the fab!" a Sliggoo cried.

"And pack up your house better!" the Hoppip added.

"Getting Daraen a checkup from Maranda either," Actor chimed in. "After all, travel's never easy on looks _or_ health."

"And letting the town know _why_ you're gone," Francoeur snorted, which drew a startled cry from the Hydreigon.

"Huh?!"

"Daraen's right, Margi. This really _isn't_ right, even if we don't have a way to do anything about it right now," he explained. "Then maybe the next best thing we can do is to help the town understand what happened. This isn't something that deserves to be forgotten!"

"And we'll do our part to try and make sure that Lyn won't be able to keep hounding you forever! So that way you can come back here when this all blows over!" Crom chimed in, before catching himself. _Could_ he really promise that? "I… I mean, I don't know if it'll work… but… officially we're Company Pokémon, right? There has to be something we could do…"

Daraen finally calmed down, reluctantly realizing that perhaps there really wasn't any choice but to run. Even so, everyone here promised they would help them while they were gone, but… something still bothered him.

" _Maman,_ will- will we come back here someday?" the Deino asked in a small voice. "Do you promise?"

"We'll find a way, _ma petite_... we always have," she reassured. The two drew each other into a nuzzle, before Margi let go, looking at the Pokémon around her. "We should get back to preparing, but... thank you all, for everything..."

"It's us that should be thanking you, really," Kiran answered, bowing his head.

"I do have one favor to ask, though," the Hydreigon said.

"What- What's that?" Crom replied.

"If you run into this 'Pleo' again, let him know about what happened," she insisted. "For a demon, his heart isn't where I expected it to be, but what happened to me and my son is something that I feel he needs to understand. For the sake of our world."

The Druddigon's head and wings drooped. She- She wanted to tell him that it was his fault that Margi had to fly away from her home? B-But he didn't do this on purpose! And-

"And tell him that if I had to make the choice again," she added. "That I'd choose the same in a heartbeat."

"Eh?!" Ander cried. "You would?!"

Crom looked back up at the black dragon as she met Ander's befuddled stare. She- She would still want to help him afterwards? Then, maybe she wanted something more than just telling Pleo about how things had gone wrong because of him. It seemed to him that, in her own, still doubtful way…

That this Pokémon wanted to tell him that she hoped that he would turn out to be the Protector he said he was.

"R-Right!" Crom exclaimed. "We will!"

The Hydreigon swooped down and scooped up her child as the Marked Pokémon began to make their way back over the ropeway, while Team Chasseur made their way back for Seahive. Crom, Kiran, and Ander paused for a moment, watching wistfully as the two Dragon-Types headed off into an uncertain future. In spite of all that, it seemed that Margi and Daraen had allies to fall upon in their storm, and now that they knew where Pleo and his friends were…

Perhaps they too, would be able to help when everything had returned to the way things were meant to be.

* * *

After cleaning up Pleo's beak, Team Traveller spent the night in a cleft that had been hewn from stone by "sticks with glowy jewels at their ends", as one of the Cubone there put it. There were tight burrows further down the cleft dug into some of the walls, stacked two or three deep in some places, and a set of subchambers separated by dirt and stone walls where the local Ground-Types slept.

"Nngh."

Not that the locals would have deigned to give up such comfortable places to the three suspicious outsiders, cute bird or not. Nida, Pleo, and Elty had to make do with the dead-end cleft in the rock- apparently part of an in-progress expansion. The tight quarters didn't offer much space, leaving the three to sleep in a rough line one behind the other, with Nida at the head of the group. Still, the spartan accommodations sufficed for a long night's rest, leaving the three to murmur dreamy nothings about 'Come on, it's just another floor, Crom...', '"Kun-pay-toh"? What a funny name for sweet seeds...', and 'Oi, one of those shares of loot is _mine_...' as they dozed.

But the night came to an end, as Shugodeshi and Mojisenshi looked over the three dozing figures. The colony's resting hours were over, and it was now time to get to the bottom of why Team Traveller had come here.

"Hey, wake up," the line-skulled Cubone grunted, poking at the blue spike ball's head with her club. "The _Zokuchō_ wants to see you."

The Nidoran twitched and grunted 'five more minutes' as she shifted and continued to sleep. The Cubone narrowed her eyes and poked again, this time drawing a 'Nrgh… _mami_ , por favor… not right now,' a sleepy swat, and making the creature raise some dribbling spikes for a passing moment.

"Maybe you need to be just a little more forceful?" the rounded-eyed Cubone suggested. The Ground-Type shook her head, tightened her grip, drew her arm backwards, and swung her club...

_**THWACK** _

" **YEOW!** "

"Er, I was thinking more 'tugging her whiskers'."

That woke Nida up, and the racket she made similarly dragged Pleo and Elty out of slumber with a sleepy-sounding 'Nngh, are we waking up already?' and 'Bogowie, why couldn't this be the dream instead?' respectively. After a few rubs at her head, the Nidoran locked glaring red eyes with the lizard before her.

"What was that for?!" Nida hissed. "Clubbing hurts the Nidoran!"

"You're wasting the _Zokuchō_ 's time," Shugodeshi grumbled. "Besides, I never _did_ get a chance to repay you for that _spike_ you left in my foot yesterday."

The two Cubone watched as the dog and rabbit lowered their ears and scowled, as the bird looked around uneasily.

"Let's… leave the rest of the restitution-settling until after Tetsuzui _-sama_ gets the trial underway, Shugodeshi," Mojisenshi said, shifting his attention to Team Traveller. "Come along, you _have_ been keeping us waiting, and the colony _does_ have business with you beyond letting you gawk at our claw-work."

"Oi! Business?!" Elty cried. "We just came here for that book, and you know it!"

"So then, you'll come along?" Guardia asked.

"Urgh… fine," Nida growled.

The round-eyed Cubone motioned for the three to come forward, and before long the five Pokémon were making their way past the features of the den on their way back out to the main chamber.

There were the curiously gawking Cubone and the occasional Marowak, a few of whom followed along eagerly to see what would become of these three strange defilers. All along the route, there were drawings of Unown intermingled with sketches of Cubone and Marowak pursuing various Pokémon, some with scarves, some without. A little ways along, an older Marowak was inspecting some white objects heaped up in a shallow pit-room, carefully laid out in neat rows on the ground and propped up against the pit walls.

"Nida?" Pleo murmured. "Where do they get all the bones from? Some place called a 'pray'?"

"Eh?" the line-skulled Cubone replied. "'Prey' isn't a place, it's other-"

"Oh hey, look at the painting there!" Nida hastily interjected.

As the team passed back into the main chamber, they passed a young Cubone getting white-dyed clay daubed on a crack in its helmet by a peer. A little further on, they saw the artist Marowak from the night before dip his claws into a bowl of orange pigment. After getting a small dabbing of the paint on his digits, he turned to add the finishing touches to a tubby fuzzball in a rough depiction of Team Traveller's arrival to the grounds the night before. As Pleo's mind shifted to cheerfully babbling about the picture, the two Cubone, and Elty shot skeptical glances at the Nidoran.

"What was that all about?" Shugodeshi grumbled. "It was a simple explanation."

"Look, Pleo's still _un polluelo_ ," Nida explained. "I don't think it would do any of us good if he felt threatened here."

"Spike ball, what are you _talking_ about?" Elty whispered back. "If Pleo felt threatened, he might actually _blow away_ these lousy- Ow!"

The Growlithe swiftly shut up after a swat to his hindquarters from the lined-skull's club to prompt him to keep moving, leaving the group to continue on as Shugodeshi mumbled something about 'no wonder why the Pact makes these Pokémon keep to their towns'. The team went down the length of the passage, past the sounds of Cubone sparring in a long, adjacent room, and to the mound with the two strips of eye-shaped and dot-like runes behind them. There, Tetsuzui was waiting for them with her metal club, perched on the battered remains of an exposure chest. As the colony's residents began to gather around at the base of the mound, Pleo was still in his happy world of colorful lines and smudges.

"Your drawings all look so pretty!" he chirped. "But… what exactly are they all supposed to be?"

"It's a tradition of ours, as being _late_ seems to be one of your 'civilization'," the elderly Marowak growled. Nida, Pleo, and Elty looked hesitantly at each other before the still-glaring Ground-Type cleared her throat and carried on. "I'm not in much of a mood to go on tangents like last night, so let me keep this interrogation simple and direct…"

The Marowak grabbed Team Taxonomy's red notebook from behind her chest, and dropped it on the ground in front of everyone.

"You're in league with this 'Team Taxonomy', are you not?" she demanded. "Care to explain _why_ they felt a need to defile the place where our dead slumber?"

"E-Eh?! How would _we_ know that?!" Nida protested. "They just hired us to get this book back!"

"Bah, a likely story," the Marowak answered dismissively. "I know enough about how your 'civilization' works to understand that Pokémon help each other when they have a _common cause._ "

"Not getting the tar beaten out of you is _not_ a common cause-" Elty grumbled, only to be cut off with a stern growl.

"Silence!"

"Uhm, well," Nida began. "Maybe if you _told_ us what they defiled, we might be able to have some idea?"

"They callously knocked over our colony's gravebones, and damaged the wall with the sacred inscriptions about our Protector!" Mojisenshi exclaimed. "One of them was even a grave that was less than a moon old!"

"And then, on their way _out_ , they disturbed even _more_ graves trying to fend off the Spirit Watch on duty at the time!" Shugodeshi growled.

Some raucous jeers and shouts rung out from the gathered colony members, leaving Nida and Elty to grimace and fold their ears back unnervingly. Suddenly, the din was pierced by a cry from a young bird's voice.

"Wait! Wait! Sacred inscriptions?" Pleo asked. "You mean, like the funny writing behind you?"

Pleo pointed to the wall behind Tetsuzui, where neat lines of dot-like glyphs with Unown runes underneath formed an orderly block. The gathered audience seemed to be taken aback at Pleo's description of the runes as 'funny writing', which drew a frustrated huff from the line-skulled Cubone.

"That's _not_ 'funny writing'!" she snapped back. "That's the system the Unown use to help the Pokémon that live in this dungeon record this island's history and understand the writing of our Protector!"

"The two appear to be fairly closely related to each other, so we have maintained a passage from the holy writings on the walls of our graveyard to act as a guide for our colony's lorekeepers to use in their training," Tetsuzui answered.

'Holy writings on the walls'? Nida's mind turned to the lecture Team Taxonomy gave about writing in the Cradle, and how this Mystery Dungeon was riddled with passages in runes older than even the humans' mystic scripts… when suddenly a perfectly good explanation came to mind.

"Wait a minute!" Nida cried. "I know why they disturbed your graveyard!"

"Oh, do go on," the leader Marowak responded.

"Well, Wally- Er… the Tropius told us that they came to this Mystery Dungeon in order to study the writings here," the Nidoran began. "And, well, he's kinda a big and bulky Pokémon, so if he wanted to inspect a patch of writing on the walls… it's entirely possible that he could have accidentally disturbed those gravebones of yours without really meaning to!"

"Hrmph, I suppose that ignorance would buy him _some_ respite at his judgement, but just how do you intend to prove their defilement wasn't out of malice?" the Bone Keeper demanded. "The 'Aisle Town' on the other side of the mountains has become arrogant and callous to the _majū_ that don't live in its territory, and they have allowed _past_ defilers to come and steal from our graves while daring to hide behind the Pact to deflect rightful judgement!"

" _Chyba żartujesz!_ " Elty growled. "Look, I know that town Pokémon can be awful snots sometimes, but those Taxonomy dweebs wouldn't want your bones when there's writing for them to jot down into that stupid journal of theirs!"

"Wait a minute… Elty, you're a genius!" Nida exclaimed.

"What, about Team Taxonomy being a bunch of dwee-?"

"No, think about it!" Nida said. "The proof of their intentions! They'd have made field drawings of the writing they came to study, and it would be right there in that journal!"

"Very well then," the Marowak replied. " _Show_ it to me."

Nida flipped the tome open and leafed through the first few pages. She looked around and saw that the writing there had small eye-like runes written under the normal writing.

"A-ha! See!" she cried. "They _were_ studying them, and these copies prove it!"

"Hrmph, nice try, but those Unown Runes are _my_ transcriptions of _their_ writing," Tetsuzui glowered. "I may not be of your civilization, but I wasn't hatched yesterday!"

The team´s heads and ears drooped upon hearing the Marowak´s words, and a sinking feeling began to rise in their stomachs. As Team Traveller collectively fumbled for words, the Growlithe of the group finally managed to speak up.

"Your… transcriptions?" Elty asked. "You can _read?_ But _how?_ You're a feral still!"

"My mother sent me into the care of _majū_ in the town during a season of my youth. It was there that I understood the fate of the 'swallowed colonies' of yore," the Marowak answered. "The town promised them safety from _yajū_ and food in their stomachs, and they came and forgot their ties to the departed and their histories."

Pleo started to interrupt, only to be met by a hardened glare from the Marowak's eyes. After quickly clamping his beak shut, the Ground-Type tightened her grip on her metallic club, and continued on in a bitter tone.

"Before long, their temperament changed entirely, their ranks were turning around and dragging off Cubone from other colonies into the town over a few berries, and leading defilers to this island's graveyard like the rest of that arrogant lot," she growled. "To top it all off, they surrounded the Protector's shrine with their huts and shut _majū_ like us out from visiting it!"

Nida and Pleo paused and traded uncomfortable looks with each other. Even if ferals had a tendency to ambush Pokémon like them, if what Tetsuzui was saying was true, it was hardly fair of the town to treat them this way. Curiously, Elty didn't seem particularly fazed by the Marowak's testimony beyond giving a grunt and shake of his head.

"So then why are you _here_ instead of moving onto an island that will treat you right?" the dog pressed, as he bent down and began to paw at the pages of the journal.

"Because, _Gardie,_ " the Marowak retorted. "When I realized what was happening, I came _back_ and swore upon my ancestors that I would _never_ live as one of those knot-necks, nor allow them to bully and swallow up this colony!"

"But-" Pleo began. "But that- That's not what Bluewhorl did back on Tromba! They weren't mean to ferals! They even helped to give them food! And Team Taxonomy didn't seem to be mean like that either!"

"Not that this isn't an interesting history lesson, but I believe you asked for proof," the dog harrumphed. Everyone looked down and saw that Elty had flipped through the pages of the notebook up towards the end, where a page full of eye-shaped runes and runes of arranged dots came into view. "How about these? Are _these_ also your transcriptions?"

More murmuring went out throughout the gathered Cubone and Marowak. This time, the voices sounded more subdued, and even a little satisfied. Could it be that Elty's argument had finally swayed the stubborn creatures?

"I will admit, it's _something_ ," the leader Marowak murmured to herself. "If still circumstantial-"

"So then did they study _you_ too?" Shugodeshi demanded gruffly as she pointed her bone towards Pleo. The Cubone saw Tetsuzui shoot a withering glare, and after giving a sheepish smile, carried on in a warier tone. "Er… as I meant to say, _Zokuchō_. We know from that book that these _majū_ met this 'Team Taxonomy' before they even came to our graveyard."

"H-Huh?!" Nida cried. "No we haven't!"

"All we've been doing is telling you this truth all this time!" Pleo interjected.

"You're insane!" Elty growled. "We got drug into their stupid book hunt just yesterday, and there's no proof you could point to otherwise!"

"Oh yes there _is,_ " the lined-skulled Cubone shot back. The Ground-Type flipped through the book, until coming to a page with a drawing depicting a white and blue seabird with a long neck and a tapering tail, rising from the ocean.

"Ah!" Mojisenshi cried. "That looks just like the bird with them!"

A wave of glares went around the gathering upon seeing the drawing, leaving Pleo, Nida, and Elty to gulp and fidget uncomfortably.

"So, if you two really haven't met before… how do you explain this picture?" Shugodeshi asked.

"But- But they _didn't_ meet us until yesterday," Pleo weakly protested. "They even said that I looked like a picture they once saw before…"

"Wait a minute, this _is_ a picture! It's one of the ones from our town's _ánima_ , Pleo!" Nida exclaimed. "And if you read the writing they wrote on the sides-!"

"That _Camome_ is the Guardian of the Seas?!" Tetsuzui cried out.

The Marowak hastily re-read the passage, a short snippet describing a great white bird taller than a house with the power to beckon the winds, which sure enough was indeed identified as the Legendary 'Guardian of the Seas', the Protector of an island of waterspouts. Startled cries went out amongst the gathered Cubone and Marowak as they enormity of their elder's outburst began to down on them. The creature in front of them- could it really have been a _Protector_ all this time?!

"H-Huh?!"

"But how is that possible?!"

"Wow, and you didn't even have to say it aloud this time, _mewa,_ " Elty chuckled.

"Wanna run that bit about us 'knowing Wally' by us again, bonehead?" Nida smugly asked Shugodeshi. The Cubone for her part seemed startled, why if this was a _god,_ then…

"B-But if that 'Pleo' with you is a _god,_ what would you be doing with defilers?!" she demanded. "And why would you attack us like that yesterday?!"

"Oi, attack _you?_ " Elty growled. "You swung at us first!"

" _Yamero!_ " the elder Marowak snapped, pounding her club against the ground for attention.

"Mojisenshi, has the graveyard's place shifted since yesterday?"

"Nope, still four floors below our place like yesterday, why?"

"Grab a few fellow-bones and send word to the colonies beyond the Dungeon," Tetsuzui ordered. "Inform them to send emissaries from my _shizoku_. We will be consulting our ancestral forebears together with what could be the most important trial we've held since the dawn of the Cradle!"

"Right away!" the round-eyed Cubone answered. The creature darted off into the crowd, where after a few calls and gestures with his bone, a few of his peers were quickly selected before the lot of them made their way for the chamber's exit, leaving Team Traveller to blink curiously and turn to Shugodeshi.

"A ' _shizoku_ ''?" Nida murmured. "What did she mean by that?"

"They're other Pokémon like us who come from the group of families that Tetsuzui is a part of," the Cubone explained. "For instance, hers is the _Taiyō-shi_ , and mine's the _Taiin-shi_."

Elty furrowed his brow and shook his head before coming to a seat on the ground, giving an askew glance at the lined-skulled speaker.

"And this is becoming a family matter for your leader _why?_ " he demanded.

"Because whenever one of us in the colony needs to do something important that requires other colonies knowing about it, it's usually easiest to ask other from your _shizoku_ from them to be there," the Ground-Type said. "Like for that trial you're all about to go through in a bit."

The three paused, and looked at each other puzzledly. Pleo bobbed his head and ruffled out his feathers before asking absentmindedly...

"Eh? How does this trial work?"

* * *

" _ **WHAT?!**_ "

Pleo's startled cry echoed from inside a shallow 'defendant's hollow', off the walls of a chamber four dungeon floors below the colony's grounds. The spacious cavern was riddled with other earthen mounds, some topped with bone clubs planted in them, a few here and there showing signs of having been dug up recently. The walls were composed of a ruinous brickwork, with one portion covered in long passages of a dot-like script, along with a few cracks left by a large creature that had bumped up against it in a hurry.

It had been a long walk, and then a longer wait for the the arrival of the 'emissaries' Tetsuzui spoke of. The group consisted of three Marowak who loomed over the sides of the shallow depression; one with a darker skull and blood-red eyes, one with a bone that been broken and tapered at the bottom, and one that had green scales. The lot of them stood at the head of a crowd of peering colony members along with Tetsuzui, idly chattering among themselves about their sudden summons. But now, everything was in place for this trial to take place, except for one minor problem…

"You said that we'd have a 'trial' thingy!" the young Lugia exclaimed. "Not that you'd throw a bone at us!"

"Throwing a bone at you _is_ the trial, young one," the elderly Marowak scoffed. "Every colony on this island knows that consultation of the dead is done through the arc of a flying _Honebūmeran_. The verdict is handed down based off how they guide the blows, as interpreted by observers."

"That's why we're here," the blood-eyed Marowak explained.

"B-But that's _crazy!_ " Elty yelped. "You can't honestly believe that dead Pokémon seriously guide how flying bones land!"

The Growlithe´s words drew a sea of glares from the gathered Cubone and Marowak, prompting the little dog to nervously take a step back and hastily amend his words.

"O-Or maybe they can," he gulped, folding his ears and tail back. " _B-Bogowie_ … Why couldn't we have just stuck with the angry bartender?"

"Well they're certainly an _uncouth_ lot," Green-scale grumbled. "Who do we start with first?"

"I'd have half a mind to start with the _Gardie_ there for that disgraceful comment," the Marowak with the tapered club grunted. "But let's get down to business here... Is there any of them that we can judge that will potentially get to the bottom of this sooner?"

"Well, there is the white bird…"

"Um… N-Nida?" Pleo stammered. The bird nervously pulled his head in and attempted to waddle behind Elty, casting an unnerved glance back at Nida after discovering the pudgy Fire-Type was too small to hide behind. "Are they really going to throw a bone at me?"

Nervous laughter and looks started going about the gathered bone lizards. While the creature _was_ with the defilers who disrupted their graveyard… if it really was a _god_ , would it be wise to get on its bad side?

"Erm, isn't that the _majū_ that you suspect to be a _god?_ " the dark-skulled Marowak asked. "Shouldn't we be trying to _avoid_ potentially inflicting injury on him?"

"Oh come now, I'm sure it'll understand," the shiny snorted, from behind the others. "It's a _god_ , and it's just a little bonk!"

"Why don't you come to the front instead of hiding behind the rest of us when you say that?" the tapered-clubbed Marowak growled.

"Hrm… actually, there is a step that we could take even before the team," Tetsuzui offered. "Recall that it's not just these three that are on trial, but also the book they're after."

"Nida, Elty, and Pleo paused and blinked. Had they misheard something? Surely Tetsuzui had made some sort of slip of the tongue…

"Wait, what?" Nida asked, her whiskers twitching tensely as her mind attempted to make sense of the Marowak's words.

"You're going to judge… the book?" Pleo murmured, putting a wondering wing to his mouth.

"Okay, I figured they'd be superstitious," Elty grumbled. "But now I know they're all _insane._ "

One after the other, the emissaries agreed that starting with the book was the most sensible course of action. After all, if its words were true, it would exonerate this 'Team Traveller' of any of 'Team Taxonomy's' wrongdoing… Surely a god would know best for how to deal with the defilers' sins of ignorance.

It was settled then. The journal was brought out onto a raised mound of dirt in the center of the room, and Tetsuzui approached a line of stones placed in the dirt facing it. She stood at the end, and firmly gripped her metallic club.

"Throw!" Tapered-bone shouted.

The Marowak drew her arm back and hurled it forward, sending her club in a twirling sail through the air towards the book on the mound. On its pass over, the club knocked the journal over, causing it to tumble open along its spine revealing some notes about different colors of Apricorns and lists of 'breakout times', with a scribbled 'need volunteers besides ourselves' in the margin.

The bone then arced around, came flying back, and was caught with a timely claw before being brought back to the elderly Marowak's side as murmuring carried on among the three emissaries.

"Blow along the belly! And the defendant fell onto its back!" the blood-eyed Marowak announced. Cries of "Oh, so _that's_ the verdict!" and "That's a good sign… I think," went about the Pokémon in the chamber, leaving Team Traveller to tilt their heads curiously at the Marowak with the metallic club.

"Er… what does that mean?" Nida asked.

"That they're all out of their mind and this is a ridiculous farce-?" Elty muttered, only to be cut off by a rough growl.

"It _means_ you should wait for a verdict, mutt," the leader Marowak snapped. "The dead speak differently for the blows of each colony, so the final interpretation is left up to me."

The Ground-Type paused, and looked up, running a claw under her ossified chin deep in thought.

"Hrm... based off of the verdict the dead handed down that time we broke up that knot-neck 'tea party' here…" Tetsuzui mumbled to herself. "They seem to have ruled that the judged is honest in _intent_ , so it would appear that this 'Pleo' is indeed a Protector and trying the rest of this group is moot."

Some excited murmurs went out throughout the gathered colony members. The bird in front of them really _was_ a god! Why, then this meant that they ought to gather all the lore they could about the creature! One by one, the members of the audience began to dart forward, only to abruptly stop after hearing the stiff thumping of Tetsuzui's club against the earth.

"But! Intents can be misguided," the Marowak continued. "And unless your 'Tromba' is inhabited by midgets who would find creatures just barely taller than me 'great', this book and its writer are _also_ misguided. While the dead will certainly be more merciful than I had anticipated, this Team Taxonomy _must_ have their characters scrutinized to see if they ought to stand trial."

"Right, that can happen when spike ball here gets the paperwork filled out," Elty overhastily answered. " _Nie ma sprawy-_ "

"I wasn't finished, _Gardie,_ " the Marowak interrupted, glowering at the small dog. "The dead also ruled that it was a great error to leave such a young and vulnerable god with such scant protection, and _additionally_ …"

The Marowak paused a moment, before turning in the direction of the escorting Cubone from yesterday, and continued on with her verdict.

"Our own colony has sworn to help protect our own Protector when he awakes," the Ground-Type said. "Learning what will be needed to defend a Protector, should our own turn out to be as… underdeveloped as the one with you, is something that is in the best interests of this colony. Isn't that right… Shugodeshi?"

"Huh?!" Pleo squawked. "She's the one that you want protecting me?!"

"Wh-What?!" the lined-skulled stammered.

"Now _hold on here!_ " Nida protested. "She just beat me upside the head this morning! Why on earth would I want _her_ as a teammate?"

"You're going to force us to take _that_ thing with us?!" Elty barked. "You can't be serious!"

"Oh no, I'm serious. That _is_ what the dead have ruled, to the best that I can interpret it," Tetsuzui insisted. "And this is something that will help the lot of you."

" _How?_ " Nida demanded.

"Well, first off, from _your_ side," the Marowak began. "By your own admission, you're a travelling team, and a very inexperienced one at that. Do you mean to say that you've _never_ run into any trouble so far that an extra club wouldn't have helped with?"

As Tetsuzui's question echoed in the chamber, memories rushed into the Nidoran's mind. She remembered the team's fight with Hess back in Bluewhorl and how quickly the team other than Pleo was overpowered. Then the harrowing infiltration and flight from Lyn's ship came to mind, along with the subsequent bind the team found themselves in after Pleo and Elty got poisoned in Boisocéan's Mystery Dungeon...

Now that the Marowak mentioned it...

"Well, I suppose that's _true_..." Nida murmured.

"When we got in trouble before, we usually _did_ have another Pokémon helping us out…" Pleo admitted.

Elty furrowed his brow in disgust at the idea of the bonehead that clubbed him around earlier joining the team. Then again... he would soon go back to the Iron Fleet. The _mewa_ and the spike ball could use the extra help then, and she'd be _their_ problem and not his.

"Mrgh, fine," Elty grumbled.

"But _Zokuchō!_ " Lines protested. "I have no idea where they're going to take me!"

"But don't you see? That's the point, Shugodeshi!" Mojisenshi interjected.

"It… is?" she wondered.

"Yeah, it's a chance to hugely expand the lore that our colony knows!" he explained.

"And they don't _seem_ like the sort of town _majū_ that have been giving our colony and the others trouble," the reed-chewer added. "Even if they _are_ kinda pushy."

"If we learn from them what their town has that 'Mossaisle Town' doesn't," Dark-skull chimed in. "Maybe we'd be able to help change that, and work with _majū_ like the ones where these strangers come from to make it a friendly place again like it was in the old days!"

"And, well… they certainly seem fierce enough," the runt said. "Maybe they'd be able to teach you something you could bring back for us!"

The lined-skulled Cubone paused and ran a claw under her chin as she batted her tail back and forth deep in thought. This _was_ still a lot to ask, but...

"Well, when you put it like that," the Cubone murmured to herself.

"Er… Tetsu… zui, right?" Nida began. "I'm not so sure that's a good idea."

The Marowak scowled a bit at the Poison-Type's lack of propriety, but brushed the matter aside and decided to pry at the creature's obvious uncertainty.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Well, we're kinda in major trouble," Nida explained. "The Company found out about Pleo and they've been chasing us around to try and get him. I mean, our plan is to toughen up a little and try to find a way to sneak back home, but… I'm not sure when we'll be able to _do_ that, or what will happen afterwards."

The gathered Cubone and Marowak traded uneasy looks with one another. One of their ranks would not only leave the island but also be hounded by the same group that turned the town against them?!

"I see," Tetsuzui answered. "Well, Shugodeshi. I leave the choice to you. You know the opportunity at hand, and these three have laid out the risks. All that's left is for your decision."

The Cubone faltered, lowered her head, and pondered deeply as she weighed the words she had heard. She thought about the chance for glory and lore to gather, as well as the risks and dangerous foes that would surely be involved. After a long pause, the creature raised her head, and gave a nod that was filled with determination.

"I'll do it," the lined-skull replied. "You said once that the dead reward those who seek out the best for the colony, and… well, I'm not sure how many more times we're going to have a _god_ come by our grounds."

"Very well, then," the Marowak responded, the creature giving a solemn nod as she passed the journal over to the Cubone. "May the moon and stars be with you."

The small Ground-Type gave a small bow in return before she turned her attention to Nida, Pleo and Elty, and made her way over to her new teammates.

"Well then, I believe that you have a journal to return," Shugodeshi said. The creature handed the red-covered notebook over to the Nidoran, before slinging her club over a shoulder and striking a more curious tone. "So how's this 'being a town _majū_ ' thing work?"

"Mah-juu'?" Pleo asked. "You and the other Pokémon kept saying that here, but I don't know what you mean by it."

"It means 'magical beast', it's how we refer to what you call a 'Pokémon'..." the Cubone explained, before pausing uncertainly. "Or… at least I _think_ it refers to the same thing."

"Uhm," Nida mumbled to herself. There would be a _lot_ to teach, and Kiran hadn't recruited a feral onto Traveller while she was around, so she'd have to rely on what she remembered of other teams' experiences. Perhaps, for now…

"I'll explain as things come along, though… why are you called 'Shugodeshi'? It's well... kinda long."

"Eh? It's no longer than the other ones in the colony, but it's because of my role in it," she elaborated. "It's a way of saying 'Guarding Student', because I'm a lorekeeper that's still in training. I mean, I suppose that it's a little out of date _now_... Why? Where are you going with this?"

"It means _you're_ gonna get a stupid name too!" Elty jeered, only to be cut off with a Nidoran's hiss.

"Something a bit _shorter_ would just be a bit easier, that's all," she explained. "Hrm, you're around to help protect us, or at least partially... What about 'Guardia'? In the island I come from, it's what we'd call a Pokémon that does that sort of thing."

"Guardia does sound nice," Pleo added.

"Eh?" Elty protested. " _That's_ what you were going to give her? I was thinking more 'Bonehead' or- Gark!"

_Thwack_

The Growlithe pitched forward with a yelp and flopped on the ground stunned, pawing at a fresh welt on his head. As the world continued to spin around in the little dog's vision, his assailant brought her bone back to her side and shot a glare.

"Shut your trap, mutt," the lizard growled. The Cubone shook her head and flicked her tail a little, before turning her attention back to Nida and Pleo. "As I was saying... while 'Guardia' kinda sounds a little bland… I guess it's fine for now."

The three welcomed their new teammate along, and stuffed Team Taxonomy's notebook into the satchel on Nida's back. After noticing that the audience in the graveyard was beginning to make their way for the exit, the three began to set off, only for Pleo to pause and catch himself after mulling over Guardia's answer.

"Why 'for now' though?" he asked, which drew a chuckle and slight shake of the Cubone's head.

"Well, if getting you back turns out to be a big adventure, I might be able to _earn_ a better name later on!"

* * *

One hour and a circuitous route through a 'shortcut' that lead a few floors up later, Team Traveller found themselves back at the colony's grounds. There were a few things left to be tended to before they left: the newly-named 'Guardia' had her club inspected for defects, and she was presented a pair of Oran Berries, an Aspear Berry, and a Lum Berry for her journey, the lot of them touched by the Distortion...

"You know, you're not half-bad at tying a scarf."

And, after being given the honors by Nida, Mojisenshi fitted a burnt and tattered lavender scarf provided by her new teammates over her neck. The creature tied a simple knot at the back, before pulling his counterpart into an embrace.

"Take care of yourself out there, Shugodeshi."

This was the last of farewells to her companions among the colony, the final thing to be done before this long lore gathering mission away from home.

"That goes double for you too, Mojisenshi!" Guardia shot back. "I wanna be able to kick your tail at loregathering around here the first thing once I get back!"

As the Cubone prattled on and engaged in some parting farewell teasing with the round-eyed Cubone and her companions from Machitabi's patrol, the rest of Team Traveller tilted their heads as they tried to make sense of their new teammate.

"Nida, is she going to kick _our_ tails, too?" Pleo whispered uneasily. "Won't that hurt?"

"She's using it as a figure of speech," Nida murmured back. "… I hope."

"Well, regardless, you need _help_ getting back, don't you?" Elty added. "I wouldn't have recommended a _Cubone,_ but she'd still work, wouldn't she?"

"One thing's for sure," Nida replied. "It seems like she's going to be a handful-"

"So are we going, or what?" Guardia's voice interrupted.

"E-Eh?!" Nida squeaked. "What are you-?!"

"My farewells are done," the Cubone responded. "If I'm going to be going off on a mission for the colony, no sense dawdling around, right?"

"It would be nice to get back to the town sometime _this season,_ " Elty grumbled.

"We should be ready..." Pleo muttered. "Right, Nida? We'd just need to find an open space and then call the teleporter Elty met with with our badges."

"Right," Nida grunted back. "So then let's get going."

The four Pokémon formed a chain of tails and appendages with each other, and slowly began trekking off into the fog. As the forms of the team slipped from view, Tetsuzui turned, and gestured at Mojisenshi, and the members of the patrol Guardia accompanied.

"Keep an eye on them until they reach the surface," she said.

"H-Huh?!" the runt stammered. "Why, they weren't planning anything, were they?"

"Erm… Tetsuzui _-sama_ ," the round-eyed Cubone began. "I'm not sure if I understand why this is needed."

"Yeah, it's not like those two would try anything funny in the presence of a _god_ ," Dark-skull added.

"Even so, it is the wisdom of our forebears to not trust blindly, no matter how honest-seeming the stranger might be," she lectured. "Call it the intuition of an old _Garagara._ "

"Hmm, right!" the reed-chewer answered. "We'll be sure to keep an eye on them!"

And with that, unbeknownst to the scarved Pokémon ahead of them in the fog, four additional Cubone set off after their tracks, into the mist and the maze beyond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _(¿)Cómo?_ \- Spanish: (Interjection) "What?"  
>  \- _Cafteur_ \- French: "Tattletale"  
>  \- _por favor_ \- Spanish: "please"  
>  \- _un polluelo_ \- Spanish: "chick", same meaning as " _pollito_ " though with more endearing connotations  
> \- _Yamero! (_ _止める_ _!)_ \- Japanese: (Interjection) "Stop!", "Enough!" (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _shizoku (_ _氏族_ _)_ \- Japanese: "clan" (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _Taiyō-shi (_ _太陽氏_ _)_ \- Japanese: "Sun Clan" (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _Taiin-shi (_ _太陰氏_ _)_ \- Japanese: "Moon Clan" (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _Honebūmeran (_ _ホネブーメラン_ _)_ \- Japanese: lit. "Bone Boomerang", referring to the move that we would know as "Bonemerang" (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _Nie ma sprawy_ \- Polish: "No problem"  
>  \- _Garagara (ガラガラ)_ \- Japanese: "Marowak"


	33. Gate Crashers

Back out in the maze, the Distortion spawned a level with a tightly-knit web of passages, the lot of them possessing ground that was composed of ceiling tiles broken by occasional arches. Up above, the ceiling consisted of the cave earth that formed the ground on most of the prior floors that Nida and her teammates encountered, complete with faint light coming from blinking wisps of earth-fire. Team Traveller's members, now four heads strong, made their way down the narrow and winding passages, searching for a suitably spacious chamber to call the teleporter in…

"… and there's places like Crom's bakery where they sell yummy bread made from these seeds called 'grain'!"

...all while indulging Guardia's curiosity of the world outside. Pleo's response to Guardia's question about how Pokémon got food in Bluewhorl Town rambled on much like the paths they travelled, with descriptions of great dining huts where seeds were ground into dust to make 'bread'. The bird's chatter provided a strange and incongruous picture to the Cubone, filling her mind with visions of a colony where Pokémon of every stripe worked together to make strange-sounding food out of equally strange-sounding ingredients.

"Wait, wait, wait," she interrupted, giving a puzzled tilt of her head. "Who's this ´Crom´? Some sort of seed-eater, I presume?"

"Hrm?" Nida murmured, flicking her ears curiously. "He´s a Druddigon and a good friend of ours."

"Yeah! He´s our teammate!" Pleo chirped.

"Er… what do you mean by 'Druddigon'?" Guardia wondered. "And if he's your teammate, where's he now?"

"Well…" Pleo began. "He's big like me, and has wings, but also arms like Nida… and-"

Pleo continued on with the description of this 'Druddigon', evidently a thorny blue and red _yajū_ which sounded a lot like one of those _'Crimgan'_ creatures that Tetsuzui spoke of in a lore session some moons ago. The conversation continued to branch from there, swinging wildly from subject to subject. Except… the team noticed that something seemed to be missing from all these exchanges.

Or more accurately, _someone_.

"Elty?" Pleo asked as he turned his head towards the Growlithe at the back of the group. "Why have you been so quiet all this time?"

"Actually, now that you mention it..." Nida said. "You've been going on and on about wanting to get out since we set foot in here last night, Elty. What gives?"

Elty flattened out his ears and looked down at the ground for a brief moment. Then, with a shake of his head, the little Fire-Type snorted and turned his attention back to Nida with a grunt.

"I just don't have much to say right now," the Growlithe huffed.

It was hardly a truthful answer, and the skeptical looks that Nida and Elty traded each other before shrugging the matter off seemed to indicate the spike ball was aware of it. The Fire-Type could have talked about plenty, such as how Hess and the Iron Fleet were surely waiting for him back in Andaku right now, where he should be reclaiming his bag and heading back off to the sea where he belonged. But as pointless beatings were not his idea of a good time, there was no point in bringing that up right now.

Nevermind the topics that even the Growlithe himself was loath to dwell on. Like how the spike ball and the _mewa_ had needed his help to get by in the past, or how there were even times when he had needed their help in return too…

They'd be able to get back to their island without him, right? After all, they had that bonehead to take his place now. And if they _wanted_ to stick around him, they could always learn how to hold their own as fellow pirates... Why was he so concerned about them anyways? It was _their_ fault he was in this mess to begin with!

"Oh! I see a chamber!" Pleo chirped.

Thankfully, those nagging, strange thoughts wouldn't need to be dealt with for too much longer. A cavernous chamber with a second exit along one of its sides came into view up ahead, past a three-way intersection. All that was left now was to step in, call the teleporter back at Andaku's guild, return to the company of his old peers, and let the cards fall where they may. _Co ma być, to będzie._

"I'll do the honors," he grunted. The Growlithe nipped at the side of his scarf and pulled the glinting, dented egg of a badge pinned on it towards his shoulder. After moving it into place, he nuzzled it with his chin...

And began to speak.

"Oi, anyone on the other end?" he barked. "Hurry up and get me out of here!"

* * *

" _Hurry up and get me out of here!_ "

The Teleport Pad at Andaku's guild was nestled in a stilted, low-roofed warehouse next to the canvas roof over the central courtyard. Inside the half-rotted wood structure, crates blocked dingy windows and ringed a cleared circle painted onto the floor, while meager spots of light from the late afternoon sun filtered through a few skylights that had been cut into the ceiling above.

There, the disembodied voice of an impatient Growlithe floated around the mind of a Drowzee known to his peers as 'Eeden'. The voice distracted him from the conversation about some "idiot cheapskates" that needed to be bailed earlier after trying to substitute Apples for _Golone_ Rocks between his Exeggutor and Clefable colleagues on the other side of the teleportation circle, leaving the Psychic to shake his head, and grunt to himself.

"You really do know how to put your foot in it, Zamora," he sighed. Yes, it was time to carry out the 'favor' that the Beeheyem owed to Valatos and his friends, lest they run their mouths off. The Psychic-Type focused, and let the sounds of his Exeggutor and Clefable colleagues fade out as he extended his mind towards his partner in Mossaisle Town's higher districts.

" _I've got them, Zamora. Now hurry it up on your end and get to that atoll,_ " Eeden said telepathically, his words drawing a swift and flustered response from his distant counterpart.

" _Ack! Right!_ "

"Hey, Eeden," the Exeggutor prodded. "What was that you were going on about?"

Ah, yes. Such was the cost of being in the same room as a bunch of other telepaths. Even if they _weren't_ paying attention, they were bound to pick up parts of one's unguarded thoughts. The Drowzee shifted his mind to some other skeleton in the closet his colleagues already knew about and offered an explanation.

"Just need to run a little errand," the Drowzee answered. "I'll be back on the beat in a couple minutes."

The Clefable and Exeggutor looked at each other and shrugged as Eeden made his way onto the teleporting platform. As their tapir counterpart began to focus in preparation of a Teleport, the Clefable chimed in with an impatient grunt.

"Whatever, just don't leave us hanging to go and check up on your _Sang_ shipments again," the Fairy-Type snapped. The Hypnosis Pokémon abruptly stopped, distracted from his Teleport, and shot an irked scowl back at the Clefable.

"Don't worry about it, I'll be in a hurry to get through with _this_ one," the Drowzee snorted. "I'm not getting paid for it!"

Eeden refocused his thoughts and his body, and before his colleagues could get in a final word of protest, left the warehouse in a blipping flash of light.

* * *

In Kenobi's shipyard, the form of a Drowzee materialized with a flash of light among barrels and wooden crates. As the Psychic-Type looked about, he could see a Yanmega, a Manectric, and a Marowak setting up several Substitutes similarly shaped to themselves to throw off cursory examiners. A little ways off was a floating Beheeyem who absentmindedly stared to the ground, grumbling to himself.

"Heh, heh, the substitutes are great!" Nori exclaimed.

"Thanks Zamora! We _really_ owe you one," Alvise snickered.

The Beheeyem buried his face in one of his hands as his grumbling intensified. Eeden sighed after taking in the scene and his partner's visible frustration, but approached the group to finish things up as soon as possible.

"Ahem," the Drowzee coughed. "I assume everyone is rea-"

"There you are!" a voice suddenly bellowed.

Valatos, Alvise, and Nori froze as they looked around in panic, expecting their angry Rhydon overseer to pounce on them at any moment. The two Psychic-Types seemed similarly distressed, and braced themselves for Company guards to swarm them for trespassing into the compound.

"You were _assigned_ to one of the search groups in the interior!"

The gathered Pokémon stopped and blinked as they realized the shouting was coming past the crates. Valatos, Alvise, and Nori snuck over and peeked through gaps between the stacks of crates to see a Krokorok trembling in front of a livid Samurott.

"B-But Captain Lyn, I r-really do have a stomachache!" the Dark-Type squeaked. "I-I'm not trying to-"

_**THWACK** _

The hapless Krokorok was cut off by a smack across the face with the flat of one of Lyn's seamitars, sending him flying back along the path with a yelp.

"I don't want to _hear_ it!" the Water-Type roared. "Get _moving!_ "

The crocodile hastily righted himself and bolted up the path, the sound of the Water-Type stomping off following shortly after. As Lyn's presence slipped from the group's sensory range, Valatos, Alvise, and Nori traded looks with each other as they realized...

"Wasn't that that 'Commissioner Lyn' Farn was talking to yesterday?" Nori asked. "What a total grouch!"

"Yeah, glad he's not _our_ supervisor!" Alvise exclaimed. The three pondered among each other what the point of joining a Commissioner's crew was when they'd get pushed around even worse than under their Rhydon supervisor; leaving Eeden and Zamora to grumble to themselves.

"What a bunch of overgrown whelps," the Beheeyem grunted.

"And yet, _you_ managed to get blackmailed by them," Eeden shot back, giving an unimpressed glare. Before Zamora could protest, the two Psychic's minds were filled with a barking voice.

" _Hello! Hurry up over there!_ "

The Beheeyem jolted and turned to the still-arguing Company grunts, waving his hands.

"Oi! Shut it already!" he hissed. "Eeden needs to speak back to your 'friends' without you giving us away!"

The three grunts quickly simmered down as the Drowzee rolled his eyes, paused, and focused on the little team far away in the dungeon.

" _We'll be right in, just stay where you are._ "

With a shake of his head, the Psychic-Type shifted his focus back to his surroundings. After scanning the environment and double-checking for eavesdroppers, he gave a wary scowl at the lavender-scarved Pokémon with them.

"Are you _sure_ that there's nothing that you're overlooking here?" Eeden demanded. "Be aware that we're _not_ sticking around for your battle, and we're _not_ coming back until you _tell_ us to."

"Nope, it's showtime!" Valatos grinned.

The five Pokémon interlocked their limbs with each other in a rough circle, as Eeden began to regulate his breathing and focus. In the blink of an eye, the five Pokémon vanished with a flash of light, with Eeden, Zamora, and the square-necks departing for the shifting maze beyond the fog.

* * *

From behind a small pile of rocks next to the chamber's other exit, four Cubone watched silently as their companion and her new Nidoran, Growlithe, and Lugia allies waited expectantly in the cave-like room. The Fire-Type seemed particularly agitated, pacing around restlessly after nosing the metal bauble on his scarf, before flattening out his ears and pressing it once more.

"Hello! Hurry up over there!" Elty barked, prompting the spying Cubone to murmur among themselves.

"Huh? It hasn't been that long though... has it, Machitabi?" the runty Cubone of the group asked.

"Nah, somebody's just impatient," the reed-chewing Cubone muttered.

" _We'll be right in, just stay where you are,_ " a brusque-sounding voice finally answered, reverberating in the minds of the room's Pokémon. Much like her hiding counterparts, Guardia was puzzled by this 'teleporter'. She looked around and sniffed at the air, before turning warily to the Nidoran beside her.

"So, I presume that's your 'teleporter'?" she prodded, tilting her head curiously at Nida. "Tetsuzui _-sama_ and the others always said that your type usually don't try and leave the dungeon through exits like we do."

"That's right, it's the Pokémon that'll get us out of here thanks to these badges," the spike ball replied. "They let them know where to find us in Mystery Dungeons like these."

Guardia paused, and tilted her helmeted head curiously. It was an explanation that matched the rumors she had heard, but something was amiss about what the voice had said.

"Wait, ' _we'll_ be right in'?" the Ground-Type asked. "But from what I've heard from the colony's scouts, they normally send one without escorts."

Nida blinked and twitched her whiskers uneasily. Now that Guardia mentioned it, why _did_ the teleporter say that? Pataki and her companions never seemed to have trouble handling parties of four on their own back at home...

"Well… I mean… there are times where more than one teleporter comes in," she answered, flicking her ears uneasily. "It _does_ feel a little late in the day. Maybe the teleporters are starting to get tired?"

A flash of light suddenly filled the room ahead of the team. As they blinked away the effects of the light, they saw that instead of just the two teleporters they were expecting, there were three others present as well...

"Naw, they just needed some extra help today!" a yipping, canid voice sneered.

"Yeah," a rough, reptilian voice added. "For taking _care_ of you!"

…with clearly malevolent intentions.

From their vantage point, the colony's scouting party flinched and ducked further back against their stony cover at the sight of the large strangers. After peeking back over their rocks, they saw that the group that arrived included a large flying bug, a wolf with cyan and yellow fur that stood on end, and… a Marowak with a burlap satchel? Something wasn't adding up... Marowak certainly didn't teleport, and judging from the increasingly pallid appearance of Team Traveller's members, they clearly knew that.

Guardia tensely jolted upright with her claws wrapped tightly around her club. "Wait a minute, since when do Marowak teleport?!" she cried. The party of Cubone in the shadows looked up and saw that a Drowzee and a Beheeyem accompanying a Marowak, a Manectric, and a Yanmega with lavender scarves had slipped into the room past them, mercifully overlooking the four sentries' presence.

"Since _never,_ " Alvise sneered. "Congratulations for putting it together, kids! We're _not_ here to teleport you!"

"Yeah, we're what you'd call a 'welcoming committee'!" Nori snickered.

"I don't like where this is going," Guardia growled as she raised her bone defensively. "Do your badges also attract _majū_ like this?"

"E-Eh?!" Pleo squawked. "Y-You're those mean Pokémon who took our berries earlier!"

"Well, you obviously all know each other," the Beheeyem murmured. "So we'll just let you get reacquainted a bit."

"Give us a call when you three are done with them," the Drowzee added. He and his partner vanished with a blipping flash, leaving Team Traveller behind with the three Company grunts.

"Er… s-so you came to us for more berries?" Nida stammered.

"Pfft, please," Valatos spat as he pointed one of his legs at Pleo. "We're here for your friend with the ugly mug there."

"Yeah, a little bird told us that you and your not-so-little bird friend there are wanted by the Board," Alvise grinned. "And _we're_ going to cash in your bounties!"

Machitabi and her fellow sentries traded uneasy looks with each other as they sized up the fierce, lavender-scarved strangers in the room. The purple knot-necked Pokémon clearly weren't who this Nida, Pleo, or Elty were expecting, and the predatory gazes they sported were similarly unreassuring.

"This isn't looking good at all," the reed-chewer muttered.

"Psst! Keikaiashi!" the round-eyed Cubone whispered. "You've got the fastest legs out of us, right? Tell the colony about this! Machitabi, Kamekurai, and I will get some help from the other _majū_ here for Shugodeshi!"

"Right! I'll be right back, Mojisenshi!" the runty Cubone piped back. The four creatures quietly crept from their hiding places towards the exit of the room, as Team Traveller continued to backpedal away from the encroaching Company grunts towards a rapidly approaching wall.

"N-Nida?" Pleo stammered. "What do we do?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Valatos buzzed as he homed in on Pleo, darting in erratic starts that frustrated the bird Protector's attempts to track him.

The Yanmega took then the time to dart over to Nida as his teammates seized the chance to move in tighter around Team Traveller. " _Geef op._ You're way out of your league here!" The dragonfly hovered menacingly above Nida for a moment and turned to Guardia to approach her. "How long do the likes of you expect to hold out aga-"

Before the Yanmega could finish his gloating, he was cut off by a stiff smack from underneath that sent him flopping back onto the ground. The dragonfly shook his head and dusted himself off, coming face to face with a scowling Cubone.

"Shut your yap, bug!"

"Grr! I'll make you eat those words, brat!" Valatos hissed. Guardia hastily fell back in anticipation of the Bug-Type's retaliation, and bolted only to feel a cutting gust of wind glance her flank and send her tumbling forward.

"Gah!"

It was only a glance, but still strong enough to stun her for a moment as the room spun. Guardia felt one of Nida's paws yank her up and drag her along running for the corridor they came from, only for a Marowak and Manectric to block the way.

"This has gone on long enough," Nori growled. "Light them up, Alvise!"

"On it!" the wolf barked. Static began to dance on the Electric-Type's blue and yellow pelt, before thick, cracking bolts shot out in all directions. Pleo flinched as he waited for the hot current to flow through his body, only for the noise to die down and to see their ambushers staring with their mouths hanging limply open.

"I-It didn't affect them at all!" Alvise whined.

On closer inspection, none of Pleo's feathers had been so much as ruffled by the Manetric's Discharge! And Nida and Elty looked similarly untouched too! Except, for some reason, there seemed to be static crackling on Guardia's scales.

"What's the matter?" Guardia taunted back. "You don't sound so confident anymore!"

"She must be of _Hiraishin_ stock!" Nori cried, as he dug in his feet and prepared to charge the electrically-attractive pest. "Stay on your toes, I'll take care of her-!"

Valatos and Alvise fumed and growled and hastily began to assume battle stances as Nori charged ahead, only for a sudden cry to catch them off-guard.

"Leave us alone!"

As Nida's squeak filled the air, she yanked the Confuse Wand from the satchel on her shoulder, and swung it at the Manectric and Marowak before her. A torrent of yellow, glowing spheres came flying out and enveloped Nori mid-lunge, leaving him to stumble and teeter dizzily. Alvise came running for her, but as Nida raised the wand to try and swing it at the Manectric, she saw that much to her horror, the wand's last orb was already shattered along with a now-mangled knot of wood at the end.

Nida's eyes went wide and she hastily rolled out of the way of a lunge as the Electric-Type carried on past her with a maw filled with sharp teeth shrouded with flickering embers. She flicked a barb at the Manectric and took off running for the opposite side of the room after hearing his yelp, expecting to be run down in a matter of moments.

"Hey, hothead!" a smaller dog's voice spat. "Don't think we'll be going down so fast!"

"Gah!"

Nida looked back and saw the Manectric roll along the ground, desperately trying to smother smoldering patches of fur. Between her and the Electric-Type was now a Growlithe, smoke still curling from his muzzle.

"I'll take this one, spike ball!" Elty cried. "Just make sure that Marowak's down for the count before he gets his senses back! We're _finished_ if he gets a chance to smack us around!"

Nida looked around and saw that Pleo and Guardia were preoccupied with trying to keep Valatos at bay, trading potshots as the Yanmega zipped from one end to the other. Splitting up like this was dangerous, but with Elty's warning in mind...

"Right!" she grunted back. The Nidoran bolted for the dazed Marowak still blocking the exit, and charged him with her spikes raised. She slammed into the lizard's side, felt a couple barbs get plucked from her pelt, and heard the lizard cry out.

"Yeow!"

Nida ducked a clumsy swat from the Marowak and saw that her barbs had sunk deep into Nori's flank. From the fluid dribbling out the end, she guessed that it had to be enough to have poisoned her attacker.

"Gwuh? Stay still, Nidoran! All of you!"

Not that the dazed creature had really begun to register it. Nida ducked around the lumbering Ground-Type, and darted in to deliver a pair of spinning kicks at the Marowak's stomach.

"Maybe next time, you should pick on- Agh!"

Before Nida could slip away, she was caught by a swat from Nori's bone. She felt a heavy, crushing blow shoot through her hindquarters and went tumbling along the floor into a heap.  
As Nida tottered up, she heard Elty yelp and roll to a stop not too far from her after a Bite at his shoulder. A distressed squawk filled the air, and Nida turned just in time to see Pleo tumble to the ground after being struck out of the sky by a flying rock.

The young Protector hastily picked himself back up, dashed off with flapping hops in a blind panic, a winded and scuffed Guardia following closely behind.

The three were now in just about the same situation they had been at the start of the battle, and even if they had managed to get out of worse before…

"Grr… those little punks hit harder than they look," Alvise glowered.

"They won´t be for long," Nori panted, as he woozily dug a Pecha Berry from a bag slung over his shoulder and gobbled it up. "Not when I'm seeing straight again!"

…this time Nida and the other three were flanked on all sides by stronger foes. Worse, they were tired out by the ambush and their new teammate was still unused to fighting as part of their team. To top it all off, there was no sign of a sudden glow from Pleo's plumes to come to their rescue. The pressure heaped upon Team Traveller etched itself into their worn, tired faces, which was not lost to Valatos.

"See, little twerps?" the Yanmega boasted as he hovered a bit closer. "You'll make a nice ticket for us out of this dump-!"

Pleo stepped a bit closer to his teammates, suddenly weighed down by the tiredness and a memory.

"I'm not... not a ticket..." the young Lugia ventured between gasps for air.

"You're nothing," Valatos angrily chittered. "This is the end of the line for you!"

Just then, a sprinting body rammed into the Bug-Type from below, knocking the wind out of the creature and dropping him out of the air like a stone. Valatos tumbled onto his back against the tiled floor, the Yanmega hastily righting himself with some agitated beating from his wings.

"Ow!" Valatos hissed. "Who was-?!"

"Shut your yap, bug!"

All eyes in the room turned to see another Cubone with rounded eye-holes on his helmet glaring and standing with a drawn club in front of Team Traveller's incredulous members. Back at the passage at the far end of the room, there were four Cubone, three Unown, a Geodude, a Machop, and a Roggenrola at the exit. The reed-chewing Cubone stood at the head of the motley assortment of ferals, glaring defiantly at the three lavender-scarved Pokémon.

"Nobody pushes around one of our own like that!" Mojisenshi growled. "Not without answering to the rest of us!"

"Yeah, we dungeon _majū_ protect our own!" Kuraikamen added. "Go push others around on your _own_ territory!"

The Manectric and Marowak traded nervous looks with each other. Each of the ferals on their own would be no problem, but… there were so _many_ of them.

"Er, Valatos?" Nori gulped.

"Just saying, but we might want to speed up that whole 'collecting the bounty' thing," Alvise whispered. The three Pokémon fell close to each other and brace themselves, growling and attempting to intimidate their unwelcome interlopers.

"Grr… you- you'll regret this!" Valatos hissed.

But in spite of their best efforts, the Pokémon of the Monster House could not be swayed, and dug their feet in to prepare for battle.

"No, it's _you_ who will regret this!" Machitabi added. "Charge!"

Valatos watched as the massed ferals charged ahead at him and his companions, his attempts to counterattack thwarted by a burning clump of cinders that flew at his face and sent him shooting up into the air a start. When the Bug-Type cleared his vision, he saw that Pleo, Nida, and Elty had fallen back towards the entrance while the ferals had surged on ahead.

The dragonfly hissed and flitted back, sending a sharp gust which caught the Machop at the front with a loud yelp. The Fighting-Type slumped over into an unconscious heap, but the Monster House's momentum was unbroken as the three Unown pressed on towards their Bug-Type target. Nori blanched as he saw the reed-chewer and the dark-skulled Cubone leading the Rock-Types in a hurry for his position. The Marowak swung and slammed his club against the Roggenrola, sending it flying into a wall out cold and prompting the Geodude to hastily roll out of the way of another swat.

Alvise was less fortunate, as the wolf lunged to clamp down on a charging Cubone with a pointed-snouted helmet, only for the lizard to duck out of the way. The Electric-Type went wide-eyed and hastily tried to correct course, only for another Cubone with a crack over its left eyehole to join in along with Mojisenshi and Guardia, surrounding the hapless Manectric. The wolf nervously looked around and tried to keep his assailants at bay with his jaws, but with attacks coming from four directions, it was to no avail.

"You're too slow!" the pointed-snouted Cubone jeered, before broadsiding Alvise with her club along his back. The Manectric whirled around with bared fangs to try and retaliate, only for a blow against one of his forelegs to cut him off.

"Take that, knot-neck!" the cracked-helmeted Cubone added. The Manectric started to grow unnerved and hunched back, only to feel a sharp jabbing pain in his hindquarters, the culprit being none other than Mojisenshi yanking back the pointed end of his club.

"You should bone up on your strategies!" he snorted. By this time, the Manectric had begun to panic, and charged blindly to try and break free of the ring of Cubone...

_**THWACK** _

" **AAAAGH!** "

...straight into a swat from Guardia's bone club that caught the Electric-Type caught across the head. The Manectric tottered briefly, before his legs gave way and the wolf collapsed onto the ground, twitching.

"U-Urgh…"

The Cubone hoisted her club over her shoulder and gave a soft, probing kick at the prone and groaning Manectric as the other Cubone crowded around, taking no small satisfaction in his fate.

"Not so tough now, _are_ ya-?"

"Shugodeshi, look out!" Mojisenshi shouted. The round-eyed Cubone shoved Guardia out of the way as a slashing gust of air struck him and the cracked-helmeted Cubone dead on, and sent them flopping to the ground out cold with ruddy scrapes on their hide.

"A-Aah!" Guardia cried. "Moji-!"

Guardia then felt a woosh overhead, and dove out of the way as a chitinous tail knocked against her. For a fleeting second, she noticed that the Unown who accompanied Mojisenshi were all lying uselessly on the ground, only to whirl around after a loud shriek rang out. Behind her was Valatos, the pointed-snouted Cubone going limp in his jaws. The bug let the Ground-Type go, shoved the weakly-breathing creature aside, and whirled to Guardia, hate burning in his eyes.

"Grr, you should've stayed out of our business, lousy lizard!" he spat. "It's time that I taught you and your miserable friends a lesson-!"

"Guardia! _Duck!_ " Pleo's voice suddenly squawked.

"Eh-?!"

Without thinking, Guardia dropped to the ground as a cutting gust of wind sailed overhead and drew a pained screech from the Bug-Type ahead. Soon, a fiery gout of cinders followed that sent the bug tumbling, and finally…

_Thwip!_

… a Nidoran's barb, which caught the dragonfly in-between the segments of his exoskeleton on his head, sending him plummeting out of the air with a crash.

"O-Ouch…"

The Yanmega didn't get up that time, and from the other side of the room, a Marowak's yelp and the sound of a jeering "got your bone!" rang out. Back at Nori's end of the battlefield, Machitabi managed to knock the lizard's club out of the air mid-Bonemerang before tossing it away over to Kamenkurai. A wave of panic washed over the creature's face, and after seeing his unconscious companions and most of the Monster House still standing...

"F-Forget this!" he squeaked. "You two can _keep_ the bounties!"

The Marowak leapfrogged the Geodude charging towards him, and ran for the exit as fast as his legs could carry him. Being without a bone for defense was a frightening and disorienting experience, but that could be replaced as long as he got out of this job gone bad. The corridor was just ahead now, just a few more steps, and-

"Going somewhere?!" a voice barked from up ahead. Nori froze and looked ahead to see an elderly Marowak blocking his path, her metallic club raised for the attack.

"Oh cr-"

The bone caught the disarmed Marowak in his stomach, bowling him over. Another blow to the back of his head soon followed, sending him slumping over onto the ground, groaning.

"Gurgh…"

"Zokuchō!" Guardia cried. "What are you doing here?!"

"Keikaiashi here told me there was trouble," Tetsuzui answered. The elder shook her head with a displeased grunt, before trodding over the fallen Marowak to make her way further into the chamber. "I see he understated things."

Even with the strength of numbers, the battle had taken its toll on Team Traveller and their Monster House allies. The only Pokémon who still were well enough to stand consisting of Nida, her companions, Machitabi, Kamenkurai, and a lone Geodude. Between them and the sprawled and groaning Pokémon about the room, there were ugly bites, fresh lacerations, and darkening bruises from the Company Pokémon's furious blows.

The Elderly Marowak shook her head before she noticed a burlap satchel on Nori's shoulder, and pointed it out with her club.

"Go through their stuff and take what you need to heal," she said to the gathered Pokémon. "Let the _majū_ outside our colony have priority for healing, they don't have grounds on this floor to retreat to."

As the reed-chewer, the dark-skull, and the Geodude began picking through the satchel, some of the Cubone accompanying Tetsuzui went over and helped to pull the wounded Pokémon up and haul their fallen colony-mates back to the grounds. Guardia shrank away as her brethren were dragged by, weakly breathing from their ordeal.

"I- I shouldn't have let my guard down to gloat like tha-" she muttered to herself, only to be cut off by Mojisenshi's unexpected, if weak voice.

"Enough, Shugodeshi. We've both been through worse," he grunted as Keikaiashi helped him limp along, having returned to some semblance of lucidity. "I was actually worried that it would be me having to drag you off. Looks like your new teammates aren't half bad at protecting you."

The two Cubone continued down along the path and vanished, leaving Guardia to turn as Team Traveller drew near to her.

"Should we have given them some of our items?" Pleo asked.

"They'll be fine, the colony has more between its members than that bag of yours could ever hold," Guardia answered, involuntarily glancing back at the passage her colony peers had disappeared down. "You… all fight a lot better than I thought you would."

"Er… _gracías?_ " Nida replied.

"Hm? But I didn't think we were all that tough," Pleo said. "We just worked together!"

The four flinched as the sound of Valatos getting up groggily reverberated in the chamber. Sure enough, over by the wall, the Yanmega was getting back up, tired, but still hostile.

"Hey! This- This isn't ove-!"

_Thwack_

Only to be cut off with a cry as Tetsuzui bopped him over his head with her club, sending the dragonfly back into an unconscious stupor.

"Uhm… what do we do with those guys anyways?" Nida asked.

"Maybe you're best off trying to find out what it is they wanted from you," the elder Marowak suggested. "You _did_ seem to be caught off guard by them coming here…"

"Well, they got our teleporter on our side," Elty growled. "So we're not going anywhere fast…"

"I suppose that it couldn't hurt," Pleo murmured. "But what exactly would they tell us?"

"Oh don't worry about that, we'll just take them back towards our grounds," Tetsuzui responded. "Our Colony has _ways_ of making such _majū_ talk."

"Uhm… wait," Nida replied, flattening out her ears. "You're going to take them back to your home?"

"But what about when they leave the dungeon later?" Pleo wondered.

"And you _will_ have to let them go unless if you want to stir up trouble with the town," Elty added. "You know how the Pact works."

"Oh, we weren't going to _keep_ them here," Guardia began to explain. "It's just that we have a place near our grounds specifically for interrogations such as these."

* * *

When the sun finally began to set over the waters of Seahive's harbor, the docks were a bit less busy than they had been earlier in the day. Some of the shops nearby had begun to close for the evening, and the last few ships of daylight pulled in as others left for parts elsewhere in the Cradle.

Still, flecks of activity could be spotted here and there, including on and around a two-masted schooner flying lavender sails with purple squares on them. As a team of Pokémon headed by Philips was checking the ship's rigging, the Illumise captain slipped a letter to a waiting Unfezant on the deck. The Flying-Type twittered an affirmation, and flew toward for the horizon as a young Druddigon and his Fraxure father lugged a wooden barrel filled with fresh water up the dock towards the gangplank.

"Looks like Beatrix picked the right 'mon to deliver those updates," the Fraxure chuckled. Thankfully, Calino's provisions had been enough to cover more than just the hop over to Boisocéan. After parting with a couple cases of health drinks from the trade fodder packed back at home, the cost of fresh food and water for an extra leg of the Siglo Swellow's search was swiftly covered…

All that was left now was to _bring_ the fresh food and water aboard the ship, and then afterwards they could set off for this 'Kenobi Island'. Margi said it was the place where Pleo had sought refuge, but… something about it gnawed at Crom's mind.

"Dad?" he asked. "What's Kenobi like?"

Pladur shifted uneasily after his son's question, his gait and eyes betraying a lingering unease. After inhaling, the Dragon-Type shook his head and began to answer.

"Er, well… it's an island with an atoll around it," the Fraxure began hesitantly. "If you know where to go it's not so bad, but…"

"But what?" Crom wondered.

"Well, as that 'Margi' Pokémon said, there's a lot of Company Pokémon around, and… there's some really rough places there, including a district where the local Pokémon turn a blind eye to pirates," Pladur reluctantly explained. "To top it off, the Siglo Swellow's never docked at the yards on the atoll before. And considering the local Company types there... I'm not sure if we would've even if we had the chance."

Crom's eyes widened and his wings beat reflexively with a start. Pleo had been chased to an island where pirates skulked about? An island where the local Company Pokémon were known for being unfriendly?

Pladur faltered a moment while watching his child's react to his words. It was far from a promising development, yes, but even so… it was probably best to try and put a brave face on, or at least as much of one Pladur could muster.

"But- But don't worry about that for now!" he insisted. "If the Protector had someplace to lay low in that hive, I'm sure that we can pull through!"

"I... guess that's true-" Crom murmured, only to be cut off by a cry from further up the dock.

" _Attendez!_ "

"H-Huh?!"

As the sound of footsteps reverberated on the timbers of the rough dock, Crom and Pladur whirled around, and saw the Venipede, Tepig, and Purrloin from earlier that day darting up to them.

"Thank goodness we caught up with you!" Venner sighed. "We were worried you'd sail out of port before we found you again!"

"Oh! You're that team we met earlier!" Crom exclaimed. " _'Cafteur,'_ right?"

The team of black-scarved Pokémon paused before collectively rolling their eyes at the Druddigon's mangling of their team name. The Purrloin among them shook his head, and swiftly corrected the little Dragon-Type's mistake with a huff.

" _Chasseur,_ " Actor said. "It may be a lame name but there _is_ a difference!"

"Oh! Er... right..." Crom answered, moving a claw against the back of his head crest sheepishly. Before the Druddigon could amend his words, he was interrupted by the sound of his Fraxure father clearing his throat.

"Hrm? What are you all doing?" Pladur asked, tilting his tusked head curiously. "I didn't think that Beatrix hired any hunters to help us out…"

"Well, we just got back from taking Daraen and Margi over to Maranda's for a pre-departure checkup," Venner said. "And, we figured that since _you_ also know Team Traveller…"

"If you ever caught up..." Francoeur said. "Perhaps you could pass this along to them?"

The Tepig shuffled through a bag slung over Venner's carapace, and pulled a slip of paper out with his mouth. After passing it along to Crom, the Druddigon unfolded it and discovered that much to his surprise...

"Oh! It's a mission receipt!" he cried. After looking a bit closer at the writing on the paper, the Druddigon's excited expression fell and flattened out into an unamused look as he buried his face into one of his claws.

"Uhm… this is for five points," he groaned.

"Well, it wasn't a big mission that they did, but every little bit counts, _non?_ " the Tepig offered. "But good luck out there, we'll be rooting for you!"

"Yeah, your friends promised us a tour of your 'Tromba' next time we'd meet!" Venner chittered happily.

"A tour of Tromba-?" Pladur began.

"Aherm, not to be the one to rain on your parade," Actor interrupted, clearing his throat. "But if you're in a hurry after Pleo and the others, shouldn't you be loading your ship?"

The two Dragon-Types cast a glance at the water barrels still waiting along the docks, and over at the gangplank ahead, before both trading sheepish looks.

"Ahehe, right," the Fraxure replied. "Come on Crom, let's finish up with loading in the rest of this water here."

The five Pokémon traded goodbyes and waved each other off, as Pladur and Crom returned to chattering about how it was that the 'coopers' that made the barrels they were using to lug the ship's water aboard. Had they been more attentive, they might have noticed the blue shell of a shrimp lazily bobbing under the docks and shifting between the pilings. There, wound around a belt just behind the crustacean's head carapace, was a white scarf with a red saltire.

"I _knew_ they were hiding something from me back at the bar…" she murmured.

As the sun slowly set below the horizon, the Clawitzer ducked down under the water and slipped off into the deeper waters of the sea. For a fleeting moment, the shrimp's trail was visible before the lolling waves obscured it, bearing towards the hazy sight of a ship with indigo sails on the horizon.

* * *

As the sensations of the world slowly returned to Valatos, the bug groaned and weakly buzzed. His joints ached and felt as if they were about to fall apart, his wings felt scuffed and moist from hemolymph oozing from scrapes, and the smell of singed chitin hung in the air as his sight foggily returned to him.

"Grah… lousy ferals," he grunted. The bug chittered and pawed at a sloping rock wall behind him, when he noticed something amiss. His vision wasn't getting any less foggy, even though the rest of his senses had definitely returned.

"Um… V-Valatos?" Nori's voice nervously stammered. "We're kinda in trouble right now."

The Yanmega looked around and saw his Marowak and Manectric teammates beside him, defeat etched into their tired faces. Just ahead of them, he could see the form of a scowling Marowak with a metallic club, who was beating it against her free claw.

"Oh good, you've finally woken up," she said. "We need to have a _talk._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _Crimgan (_ _クリムガン_ _)_ \- Japanese: "Druddigon" (Official Romanization)  
>  \- _Co ma być, to będzie_ \- Polish: "Whatever will be, will be"  
>  \- _Golone (no ishi) (_ _ゴローンのいし_ _)_ \- Japanese: lit. "Graveler('s Rock)", referring to what we would know as a "Gravelerock". (Official Romanization)  
>  \- _Geef op_ \- Dutch: "Give up"  
>  \- _Hiraishin (_ _ひらいしん_ _)_ \- Japanese: "Lightning Rod", referring to ability we would call "Lightningrod". (Official Romanization)  
>  \- _Attendez!_ \- French: "Wait!"  
>  \- _non?_ \- French: "no?", used in context as akin to "right?"


	34. Changing Course

"We need to have a _talk._ "

The weakened form of a Yanmega hesitated as he took in the scene around him deep in Kenobi's Mystery Dungeon. To the left and right of Valatos' team were the mists of the Distortion- a careful examination of its churning suggesting the sudden drops of chasms not too far away, their bottom obscured by the haze. Behind them, a steep slope led up- perhaps to safety, though its top was likewise not visible in the fog. Blindly flying up the scarp would be a fool's errand, and _climbing_ it would require all a Pokémon's limbs...

" _Well?_ "

… which made it an unlikely escape route from the assembly of Cubone and Marowak just ahead. The mob from the Dungeon's colony had cut off the remaining exit, which- judging from their tight positioning- was the path from where they brought them to this place. As the dragonfly looked more carefully into the watching crowd, he saw the uneasy forms of a familiar white bird and his friends watching…

"Keep your talk!" the dragonfly hissed. "It's not over until we get that bird- **AGH!** "

The Yanmega felt a heavy swat against his back, crumpling against the ground as Tetsuzui pulled her metallic bone back. The Bug-Type twitched and fluttered his wings to try and take off, only to discover they hurt from every little movement he made. He could barely even _hold_ his four wings up, robbed of any energy to carry him off to safety.

"Oh no, it's over," Tetsuzui corrected. "And I'm more than ready to beat it into your head if you insist on being stubborn about it."

The Bug-Type relented and resigned himself to remaining in place; not that the fog leading into the Distortion would have been a great environment to fly or scuttle around in.

"You've committed a great transgression against our colony and against a _god_ ," she declared. "For that, I ought to have the lot of you subjected to a trial at our graveyard to receive the sentence the dead have pronounced on you."

"A 'trial' at your what now?" the Manectric gulped.

"H-Hey wait! L-Let's be reasonable here!" Nori stammered, clearly unnerved by the suggestion of holding a "trial". "The dead wouldn't know anything about the Pact!"

"I'm aware of that, and the potential consequences of violating the Pact," Tetsuzui growled. "That's why I already conducted the trial while you were unconscious, and modified their sentence a little."

The three lavender-scarved Pokémon looked around and noticed that there were some welts that looked unusually fresh on each other's bodies. Nori began to shiver as his companions traded blank looks with each other.

"And just what does that mean?" Valatos demanded.

"It means that we had you stripped of everything other than the scarves on your necks in order to make restitution," the Elder Marowak answered, as she twiddled with a little bauble in her free claw. The Yanmega chanced to catch a glint of light- wait a minute, that was one of their burner badges! Behind the Marowak were two other badges, Nori's club, and the contents of the trio's burlap satchel dumped out onto the ground.

"W-Wait, that's my bone!" Nori cried. "I need that to defend myself!"

"A-And our badges!" Alvise protested. "You can't take those! We need those to get out of here!"

"I believe that it is custom among 'civilized' _majū_ to send searchers after their own lost ones," Tetsuzui chastised. "It's _completely_ within my rights under the Pact to rob you of your time, either from finding your way out of this maze, or waiting on others to help you."

The three square-necks blanched. Having to get rescued would mean missing days of work at the docks- and worse still, having to explain why they had gotten stuck in the dungeon. There were only a few possible ways things could turn out afterwards, with one possibility particularly sticking out in their minds...

"Th-That'll get us exiled!" the Manectric whined.

" _M-Matte!_ " the disarmed Marowak begged. "We weren't doing anything to disturb the dead's resting place or anything like that!"

The Marowak with the metal bone gave a dismissive bat of her free claw and shook her head with an unamused glare.

"Pah!" she scoffed. "You're in _no_ position to be bargaining here."

"D-Don't you get it?!" Valatos buzzed. "We don't have that kind of time to wait on getting out!"

"They don't, actually," Nida explained, folding her ears back with a sigh.

"How so?" Tetsuzui asked, tilting her head quizzically.

"They're former pirates who were press-ganged into the Company," she answered. "Back home, pirates on Community Service would get into really deep trouble if they continued to cause mischief afterwards. I don't think their bosses would go any easier on them… isn't that right Elty?"

The little Fire-Type rolled his eyes and grumbled loudly at the spike ball's verbal barbs. Tetsuzui looked back at the three lavender knot-necks before shutting her eyes and shaking her head. While she wasn't in any particular mood to _care_ about their fates… perhaps their shortage of time could be worth something.

"Well then, maybe it's best that you three do something to _earn_ your prompt return home," the elder Marowak demanded, pointing her club at the Yanmega. "Answer this 'Team Traveller's' questions truthfully and earnestly, and I will give you enough of your belongings to ensure your safe return."

The three Company Pokémon looked at each other uneasily, before the Bug-Type begrudgingly growled an affirmation.

"Grr… fine. What do you brats want to know?"

"Well first off, where did you hear about these bounties on us?" Nida demanded. "We didn't see anything of the sort when we were in town at all!"

"That's because the bounties haven't been listed yet," Valatos spat back. "We overheard that they were going to be put up around Aisle Town, and we wanted to capture you before that happened and everyone in the ranks would start looking for you!"

"Huh? Someone _told_ you this?" Guardia asked. "But who?"

The three Pokémon blinked and clamped their mouths shut. Finally, the Manectric shook his head and began to growl back.

"That's not relevant to the-"

Only to have his words die in his mouth upon seeing Tetsuzui take the badge in her claws and mime a throw off into the distance.

"Ack! _Okay! Okay!_ Just don't throw that away!" he yelped. "We overheard Administrators Farn and Elilan talking with some Commissioner 'Lyn' guy!"

Elty twitched and froze at the mention of the names the dragonfly brought up, particularly 'Elilan' and 'Lyn'. The Fire-Type lowered his body and arched his back as an awful realization crept in amidst the tension. He had been so close to getting back into his old crew. If only that stupid bartender hadn't insisted on them paying a tab so soon! But, based off of the Manectric's words, there was only one logical conclusion to draw.

"We can't go back to Aisle Town," the dog muttered, hanging his head dejectedly.

"Eh?!" Pleo squawked. "What do you mean?!"

"You heard them," the dog growled, shaking his head bitterly. "Lyn's in port and there's bounties about to be posted with our faces on it! There's no way Lyn and his crew aren't already looking for us!"

Pleo beat out his wings with a start and jerked his head back. They couldn't go back? But- But-

"What about our mission?!" Pleo protested. "We were supposed to get Team Taxonomy their field notes back!"

"Oh, if you need to complete your mission, there shouldn't be a problem with that," the leader Marowak explained, gesturing at the lavender-scarved Pokémon ahead with her bone. "He'll deliver your notes to this 'Team Taxonomy'."

Her words immediately drew derisive scorn from the Yanmega and Manectric.

"What, me?" the wolf scoffed. "Dream on, jerk!"

"Yeah, how do you plan on enforcing that, huh?" Valatos buzzed dismissively.

"Not you two," Tetsuzui scowled, before prodding her club against the belly of the Marowak against the ledge. "You, the one who still has fear for the dead and their dealings with this world."

"M-Me?" Nori squeaked.

"Did I misspeak?" the wizened Ground-Type demanded. "Tell me, what Colony do you come from?"

"Uh… the Green Hill Colony?" he answered.

"Well, I don't know how the Green Hill Colony has been raising its young if it's been spawning disgraces like you," the elder Marowak said. "Given your offense, I don't see why our colony would be willing to have your blood spoil our grounds where better _majū_ have earned their rest. Or that of any young you may have, for that matter."

"G-Gih! Pl-Please don't do that!" the Company grunt pleaded. "A-All my ancestors are buried there!"

"Wait, Nori. You actually believe in this mumbo jumbo?" Alvise demanded. The wolf opened his mouth to continue, only to bite his tongue and flinch after hearing a growl come from the Marowak with the metallic club, her grip visibly tightened around it. After the Electric-Type was suitably cowed into silence to her liking, she scowled and turned her attention back to her disarmed counterpart.

"Well now, fortunately for you the dead do have a precedent for making things right," Tetsuzui continued. "Namely to come back to this colony with proof-in-claw that someone worthy can vouch for your right to be buried in the graveyard we defend."

Tetsuzui gave a look over her shoulder back at Pleo, who was nervously preening some wing feathers. The aged Ground-Type paused for a moment before turning back to her disarmed counterpart with a gruff grunt.

"Since we're on the topic," the elder Marowak pressed. "Need I remind you that there is a god who needs this book delivered? How many better opportunities to find that worthy soul do you think you'll get?"

"R-Right, it's just delivering a book… I can do that!" Nori overeagerly answered, leaving his companions to shoot unimpressed glares at their companion.

"My gods, you really are pathetic," Valatos buzzed. As the three continued to argue among each other, Nida suddenly broke the squabble with a cry.

" _Alto!_ "

All eyes turned on the little spike ball who was hopping and waving for attention. After stopping for a moment, the Nidoran flicked her ears and cleared her throat.

"If he's delivering the journal anyways," she began. "Could I add a couple instructions?"

"Oh?" the elder Marowak asked. "By all means, go ahead. Though what were you going to request?"

"Just to take care of some paperworks so my team actually gets _credit_ for this mission," Nida explained. The Nidoran pulled out Team Taxonomy's journal from her satchel, along with a scrap of paper, and doodled out a message requesting that her mission's receipt be mailed to the Tromba Island Guild. When she was done, she passed the two articles along to Tetsuzui, as everyone turned their attention back to the lavender-scarved Pokémon.

"There, we've told you everything we know," the Bug-Type growled. The Yanmega's wings were still too weak to support his weight in his winded state, leaving him to glower and scuttle about on the ground. "Can we get our stuff and go now?"

"Fine," the Colony leader grunted. The Marowak kicked the three badges along with Nori's club over to the captive grunts, before slipping the book and the note into the Company lackeys' now-emptied satchel, and tossing it their way. The three eagerly scooped up and repinned their badges as the lavender-scarved Marowak returned his club back to the tight grip of his claws. Valatos poked his head into the satchel, and noticed something deeply amiss.

"Hey! You just gave us this stupid book and our badges!" he buzzed angrily. "Where's our items and our money?!"

"Bring it up with your 'teleporter' friends after your trip!" Tetsuzui growled.

"Our tri-?"

Tetsuzui gave a nod and charged forward with a pair of Marowak from the front. In a swift motion, the three Bone Keepers clubbed the Company Pokémon from the side and sent them tumbling along deeper into the mist. Quickly, the three forms fell from view as the sounds of falling screams rang out, growing fainter and fainter until they faded away entirely.

"Er," Pleo murmured uneasily. "Were they supposed to go that way in the fog?"

Guardia gave a troubled-sounding shudder as the racket seemed to stir up unwelcome memories, before shaking her head and giving a grunt.

"They'll wind up scattered among the floors much as any _majū_ that attempts to enter the Distortion off its set paths would," she explained. "They have their badges, so from there, it's merely a matter of them calling for help."

Tetsuzui stopped to rap a series of beats onto a nearby stone, and was swiftly answered by the sound of a "Come on through!" from the voice of the elder of the two guards at the colony's entrance from up the unseen ledge. The assembly of Ground-Types began to gather up the pilfered belongings of the three square-necks and make their way up the ledge with their three guests.

After heading down the entrance, Team Traveller was led through the main chamber en route for a short bedrest. Along the way, a few of the Colony's members passed Team Traveller some items left over from the loot. The Ground-Types parted with an Oran and a Pecha Berry, along with several other objects they had less use for. Some of the objects seemed to have obvious uses, such as the Poké and silver-colored Thalers Nori and his companions kept in the bag, and a small map depicting a patch of islands in the Cradle's sea. There were also objects whose purpose seemed a mystery to most of the team, which consisted of a wooden disc with an asymmetrical ellipse cut into it, and a wooden wheel with two cross-spokes and a rotating straight-edge at the center.

"So now what?" Nida asked as they shuffled along tiredly towards the mouth of a familiar den. "We can't go back to town, but we can't just hang around here waiting for Lyn to find us!"

Before Nida could trudge another step forward, she saw her front paw was blocked by a metal club being moved in her way. The Poison-Type looked up and saw that Tetsuzui had come to meet them before they slipped past the entrance to the den.

"If you have someplace in mind to go, we have a way for you to leave," the elderly Marowak answered.

"Wait," the Nidoran murmured. "You _do?_ "

* * *

As the team laid down for rest, Team Traveller had their wounds treated by the colony's healer. The berries were applied without bandages, and their pulp seemed thicker and more filling than normal- like the berry Margi had passed Pleo before leaving Boisocéan. Evidently, they healed a bit better as well, as Guardia's friends were able to stagger along tiredly after being treated.

Team Traveller's rest proved to be more fleeting than any of them desired, as before they knew it, the lot of them were awake and waiting tensely in the main chamber for a time that felt like an eternity. Every so often, a scout would return with information, though barring a fleeting sighting of Valatos and his companions squabbling with some manner of distant Psychic, there were no square-necks to be found. Unfortunately, that changed around the time the central chamber's fire-pit was being cleared out, when the scout came back wide-eyed and nervously whispered a report into Tetsuzui's ear.

"… I was hoping that we could wait until the sea fog was at its thickest, but it appears that we cannot wait any longer. One of our scouts spotted square-necks entering the dungeon, and it will not end well for anyone if they were to find you here," she told the fugitives. "Come along, I will show you the way I spoke of."

"Eh?" Nida asked, flicking her ears curiously. "But where _is_ it?"

The elder Marowak made her way to the back end of the room where her chest throne sat, tugged at some bricks, and set them aside. As the stones came out, they revealed a passage behind with a thick fog swirling deeper within.

"Ah!" Elty yelped. "That's a path-!"

"... to our sacred observatory," Tetsuzui answered sternly. "Now come along, we don't have much time to waste."

The three locked their limbs along with Tetsuzui in front of a sea of curiously watching eyes and slipped down the misty trail, Mojisenshi and Machitabi's patrol following closely behind in a chain of their own. The elderly Marowak guided the three along a tight stone corridor, which rapidly filled with fog as they progressed. Eventually, Team Traveller came to a tall cave with scattered skylights, where light shone murkily through a faint mist. There in the center was one particularly large skylight… large enough to let a creature about the size of a Marowak out, assuming it could get up there…

An exit that was perfectly sized for the little Protector who now curiously stared up at it into the night sky.

"This is where our tribe comes to watch the spirits of our departed make their customary approach to our world from the realm of the departed gods each month," Tetsuzui explained, casting a quick glance up at the night sky above. "For you, it's a way out of here."

Elty looked instinctively up at the hole in the ceiling and gave a surprised yip. After following his gaze and straining her eyes a bit to account for the lack of light, Nida noticed that the lights cutting through the haze, were none other than the stars and a fattened crescent moon approaching its first quarter in the night sky!

"Why didn't you all tell us about this earlier?" Nida wondered, turning back to Guardia with lowered ears.

"Well, it is a special place for the tribe," Guardia answered. "Besides, you didn't ask."

Elty briefly cast a wary leer over at the lined-skulled Cubone, before giving a skeptical look at Pleo as he preened one of his wings.

"Er… will the _mewa_ even be able to take a third Pokémon?" he muttered, flattening out his ears.

"Oh?" Pleo replied, poking his head back up. "I don't think it should be a problem..."

The little Lugia waddled over and lowered his body to the ground. One after the other, Nida, Elty, and Guardia clambered atop the creature. After some scooting, scrunching, and locking limbs around Pleo's back plates, the three managed to secure positions along his back.

The bird flapped his wings, hopped up, and much to Guardia's squeaking surprise, circled around the room a couple times before coming back down to the ground. As the young Protector came to a flapping stop, the Cubone caught her breath and began to speak to her carrier.

"T-That didn't seem so bad!" she insisted, a nervous smile cracking below her helmeted snout. "What about you, Pleo?"

"I mean, it's a little heavier than normal," Pleo murmured, putting a wing to his mouth. "I think I can still fly everyone, but... where will we go?"

"Eh?" Guardia asked. "Shouldn't you be more worried about how you're going to give the slip to those purple-necked yajū?"

"That's the _idea_ , bonehead," Elty growled. "We're not exactly planning on sticking around to wait for Lyn to find us!"

"And what about the _next_ island?" she retorted. "Even an incompetent hunter knows that prey can't run _forever._ "

Nida cringed. With their luck so far, they wouldn't be able to stay at the next island for long. As Guardia said, they'd have to move on to another... then another... then another.

"... She's right," Nida sighed. "The only way this will end is when we can finally go home to Tromba."

"B-But Nida! My power doesn't come out when I need it to!" Pleo squawked. "It didn't come out back at Boisocéan, and it didn't come out when we were fighting those mean Pokémon earlier-!"

"So perhaps your escape route ought to be one that would give you enough time to try and find out how this Protector's powers work," Tetsuzui offered. "After all, once your god is able to tap his strength, surely even those lavender knot-necks would be no match for him."

Nida paused and twitched her whiskers at the Marowak's words. She remembered her _mamí_ 's tale of how Pleo had drawn out his power with shining wings, sending Hess flying head over heels all the way from the fringes of town into his ship's mast. Her mind then projected Tromba's hated Commissioner into the scene, imagining Lyn flying further and further over the horizon… as an entire fleet of lavender ships and their lackeys scurried away in a panicked retreat from the warm glow of the island's Protector's plumes.

She blinked and returned back to reality, as she realized… _If_ Pleo could figure out how to bring out his powers when he really needed it, no force in all the Cradle would be able to pry him away from the home where he belonged.

"Right, that settles it then! We'll just have to run somewhere where Pleo can practice his powers!" Nida cried, only to catch herself and let her ears droop sheepishly. "Except… where exactly do we go to do that?"

"Hrm… let's take a look," Elty mulled. The Growlithe stuck his head in the satchel on Nida's back, pulled out a folded-up piece of cloth, and hopped down to the ground. There he unfolded and spread out the sheet to reveal a brown-colored cloth. On it, there was a map of the nearby islands of the Cradle with a compass in an empty patch at the very bottom, the top proudly labeled 'Anyilla' in runes. The cloth was flecked with colored islands set against the backdrop of an uncolored sea. In between the lonely patches of land, light and dark blue lines crisscrossed the undyed patches between islands, going in graceful straight and slightly curved routes in parts and twisting awkwardly around patches of fog in the sea in others.

Each island had little flourishes of art to it- there was Tromba with some whirlpools offshore and fog hanging from the mountain, Boisocéan with its tree-village and the dungeon on its eastern coast, and Kenobi with its twin sets of peaks and a colorful town along the greener of the two. In the center of the map, there was a big, blood-red splotch labeled 'Dead Zone' with an island barely visible underneath a scratched-out 'X' in charcoal over it that obscured the label for the island's name.

"We should avoid the sea routes if we can, but there's a star chart on the back of this map," Elty explained, gesturing at the unfurled map on the ground. "So as long as we know where we're going, we can use that to help us get around instead."

Nida peered at the cloth map on the ground and saw that on the bottom by the compass were labels to faraway patches of sea such as 'Garanza' and 'Linglan'. Now that she was looking more carefully, it seemed there were many other islands with 'X' marks drawn over them in charcoal on the western side of the map, along with numbers scribbled by them. One labelled 'Giotto' seemed to have been crossed out particularly harshly, and was annotated with a 'Don't go back here' beside it. A few solitary islands towards the middle of the map were circled, including Boisocéan and one that seemed to be roughly north of Kenobi, as well as one labeled 'Orleigh' that had a star drawn on it. On the east side, most of the islands had squares about them, including Tromba and Kenobi.

"If that's Kenobi there, then it looks like we have four places we can go," Nida said.

"Three," the Growlithe corrected. "We're not seriously thinking of going back to Boisocéan, are we? If Lyn has told the Pokémon around here about us, he's probably told the Company Pokémon along the Spiral beacons back there as well."

"Right... well what about this island there?" Nida answered, as her eyes shifted to a square-marked island. "'Vollezee'? I know that I've heard that name get brought up by the guards back home, so there has to be a settlement on it…"

"That's because it's the Company's capital!" Elty growled exasperatedly. "That's not a place to lie low, that's a place to go and turn yourself in!"

Nida blanched and folded her ears back. Yes, that would be a poor choice for a temporary shelter to test Pleo's powers. Now that she thought about it, all of the square islands seemed to be places run by the Company. A realization began to dawn on the minds of Team Traveller's members: if the square islands were Company ones...

"So then… we just need to go to the islands without squares?" Pleo asked. "How about this one that looks like a donut with all the blue lines leading to it? It's about as far away as the other island…"

"The one with all the Subway passages leading to it? Otvaga Island? _Nie dzięki_ ," Elty frowned. "The island's inhabited by ferals and all the Pokémon like us live underwater!"

"Eh?! But what's wrong with water?" Pleo chirped. "I like water!"

"Uhm, hello? The rest of us are Pokémon that are meant to live on _land_ ," the Growlithe fumed. "Even if the Subway has air in it, I'm not getting wet if I can help it!"

"Isn't he the picky one?" Mojisenshi sighed. "I mean, it's not _preferable_ but you _did_ say it wasn't controlled by the Company."

"Yeah, water's a bit uncomfortable, but considering the alternatives, why not just suck it up and just use a reed snorkel?" Machitabi added.

"He might have a point, water aside," Nida replied, as she pointed at a number of blue lines crisscrossing the space between Kenobi and this 'Otvaga' that would need to be crossed. "It looks like we'd have to cut through several sea paths in order to get there. That's more opportunities to get spotted by Company ships."

"Oi, _Gardie_ ," Guardia interrupted. "What about the last island towards the far end of the map?"

"Eh? 'Mengir'? But it's all the way off near the edge of the Cradle!" Nida exclaimed. "And it's still controlled by the Company!"

"Maybe so, but take a look at where it is compared to us and that 'Vollezee' island from earlier," she explained, gesturing with her club. "If news about Pleo's godhood is still travelling around, this 'Mengir' wouldn't hear about it until Vollezee does."

"It's also close enough that you could fly to Otvaga afterwards without running into one of those 'sea paths' Nida was worried about," Tetsuzui added, inspecting the map from the side. "And it looks like if you know how to use the stars, you should be able to get to Mengir itself without crossing any of those paths either."

"Eh… Mengir? As in 'the island where Fensedge Village is' Mengir?" Elty hesitantly answered. "I dunno about that…"

"What's wrong with it?" Pleo asked.

"I mean it's a small settlement," Elty muttered. "But I haven't heard anything good about getting captured there."

"Elty, we're not pirates," Nida hissed. "And we'd be in danger of getting captured no matter where we went to!"

"Well, based off your comments, it seems you really have two choices: Otvaga and Mengir," Tetsuzui explained. "These Company _majū_ don't run things in Otvaga, but it sounds like they'll be hunting for you on the way over. On the other hand, they do run Mengir, but you won't be hunted if you're careful about how you get there."

"I don't know how well we'd hold out if someone caught us at sea," Nida murmured. "I guess Mengir would have to be the better option."

"Bah, talk about being in between a rock in a hard place," Elty spat, shaking his head. "But it does seem like the lesser evil."

"I would be able to protect you all better if we weren't underwater, just saying," Guardia grunted.

"I guess we're going to Mengir then," Pleo sighed. "But how are we supposed to get there if we can't follow the beacons like last time? How would stars help us?"

"Well-" the elder Marowak began, only to be cut off by a yip from Elty.

"Like this!" he cried. The Growlithe flipped the map over and revealed a black field with clusters of white dots linked together by thin lines. A ring around the edge was labeled with the solstices and equinoxes, in between repeating patterns of seven marks. The Marowak with the Lairon club glared, but shook her head and relented.

"I suppose that would be faster than trying to teach you all the constellations in one night," she said. "Care to explain it to them, _Gardie?_ "

Elty nodded and grabbed the circular wooden frame with the ellipse cut into it, placing it atop the star chart. Now that the team had the time to inspect it, it seemed the different parts of the ellipse were labeled with the cardinal directions, along with a notch at the very bottom. The Growlithe set the frame down on the map and slid it in place over the chart, aligning the notch with one of the marks in the ring near some runes reading 'Spring Equinox' before clearing his throat to speak.

"If you know the season and where the stars are in the sky, you can get an idea of where you're going," he explained. "The polestar is here at the end of the Little Bear, and if you turn to the northeast like we'd need to to fly to Mengir, you'd wind up following after the Hibernator."

"Hibernator?" Pleo asked, tilting his head.

"The Big Bear? The one that looks like an Ursaring? You know, big, brown and fuzzy like that one that chased us back at Boisocéan?" Elty replied. The mention of this 'Ursaring' drew an uncomfortable ruffle of feathers from Pleo and a blank look.

"Just… follow my paw," Elty sighed, flattening out his ears. "I'll point it out."

The Growlithe sat on his hindquarters and raised a paw up towards the sky. Pleo looked up, and followed the little dog's paw to a particularly bright star in the sky, and then a little to the right. After stopping and squinting at the place where Elty stopped his paws a bit, he could see that even if the fog seemed to dull the sun-colored tint their light normally had, there really were some stars that made the shape of a Ursaring when you squinted at them.

"So as long as I fly after those stars," he murmured, gesturing at the constellation with a wing. "We'll get to Mengir?"

"Assuming that spike ball or bonehead there can read that astrolabe, then we should at least get as far north as Mengir without any problems," Elty responded. "I'd do it _myself_ , but it's not a stick-type that I can use."

"'Astrolabe'?" Guardia asked. "What sort of hut-dweller nonsense are you going on about?"

"I guess that's this thing?" Nida asked, as she pulled out the wooden wheel with the lever mounted at the center. Now that she was inspecting it, she noticed that the rim of it was labelled with numbers.

"But how does _that_ thing help at all?" the Cubone scoffed.

"Simple, those Company sods already did the hard work for us and wrote down the islands' coordinates," Elty answered, before pulling the wooden panel off the star chart. The Fire-Type flipped the cloth back over to its map side, and pawed at the number scribbled beside the island labeled 'Mengir' before turning back to Nida. "Hold the astrolabe so its braces are straight with the horizon, and tilt the lever until it lines up with the polestar. When the number on the rim matches up with the number they wrote down, we've gone far enough north."

Nida blinked and stared blankly at the Growlithe before looking back down at the mariner's astrolabe. How long did it take this pudgy little ex-thief to _learn_ all of this?

"That's… a lot more articulate than I expected you to be, Elty," she said.

"Well, I _do_ have experience sailing on ships," he reminded. "Though thanks for not being so patronizing for once."

"But how do we tell how far we need to go to the _right_ of the 'polestar', Elty?" Pleo asked.

"Er… that… I don't know how to calculate. I remember hearing that you're supposed to be able to do it by tracking the Travellers in the sky, but I don't know _how_ ," Elty answered reluctantly. "But hey, as long as we get as far north as we need to, we should be able to just keep flying until we reach the island! And we can always follow someone else in afterwards to make up the difference."

Team Traveller's members looked at each other uneasily. This sounded like a much easier way to get lost, but… if they had to be careful about not following the beacons this time, did they have any choice? Nida looked up, and chanced to see the Voice of Life's Traveller starting to slip behind the hazy crescent moon.

"It'll have to do, come on," Nida sighed, shaking her head as she scooped up the simple astrolabe in her paws. "If we get going now, we should be able to slip out while the sea fog is still rolling in."

With that, Elty folded the map back up and rejoined Nida and Guardia atop Pleo's back. The bird paced along and beat his wings to get blood flowing in them, chancing to pass by Tetsuzui, Mojisenshi, and the Cubone from Machitabi´s patrol, the smaller Pokemon trading uneasy looks with Guardia.

"You're sure you'll be alright, Guardia?" Mojisenshi asked.

"Yeah, so close to the realm of the departed and all," Machitabi murmured.

"I'll be fine," Guardia overhastily answered. The Cubone stared up at the crescent moon in the sky long and uneasily, before looking down and shaking her head.

"The dead are not yet fully smiling upon us, anyways," she added. "It's nothing that I can't handle."

"Thank you again, for everything," Nida said, giving a grateful bow to Tetsuzui.

"Our interests just happened to coincide, that is all," the leader Marowak grunted. "And you make sure to gather that lore, Shugodeshi!"

"Mrph, right! I will!" the Cubone promised. As Pleo hunkered down for his hop, Guardia looked up, and then back down uneasily at Pleo's bobbed head. "So how does this 'flying to another island' thing wo-"

The next sound heard was the sudden woosh of air as Pleo sailed up into the inky blackness, prompting a collective yelp as his passengers clung tight against the Lugia's body... followed shortly by the sound of a surprised, startled shriek.

" **A-AAAAAH!** " Guardia's voice rang out. "Not so high! Not so high! I can't see the ground!"

"That's the point!" a fainter Growlithe's voice snapped back. "It means that we won't be seen from there either!"

The four Cubone traded uneasy looks with each other as Guardia's cries started to fade with the distance. It wasn't like the dead to make a decision like this… was it?

"Well, at least she was _quieter_ about it than I expected," Kamenkurai sighed.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea…" Keikaiashi murmured.

"Tetsuzui- _sama_?" Mojisenshi asked. "Will Shugodeshi really be alright out there?"

"She'll be fine," the Marowak answered back. A faint, but still discernible "Y-You didn't mention flying being like this at all!" carried on with the winds, leaving the Marowak to blink and shake her head.

"Though I suppose it wouldn't hurt to petition the departed for a little extra help. Just in case."

* * *

Unbeknownst to Team Traveller, a few hours before their flight from Kenobi, events were stirring back across the sea at Boisocéan. As the night fell and the stars came out in the sky, the Siglo Swellow slipped out of Seahive's harbor for the open ocean. Unbeknownst to the lavender-scarved Pokémon aboard, the blue-shelled form of a Clawitzer was at the same time cutting along the waves to a waiting three-masted frigate with blue sails lurking offshore. Each of the ship's sails were emblazoned with a trio of indigo rhombic designs outlined in white, resembling three leaves fanning out about a stem. The shrimp slipped past a surprised looking Tentacruel and Sharpedo patrolling the water and sidled along the craft. The Clawitzer latched onto a rope ladder dangling over the side, pinching and pulling her way up to a deck full of Pokémon with similar blue scarves, each bedecked with either one or two indigo and white rhombic leaves.

"I'm back," she grunted. Right away, the hubbub aboard the craft died down, and a Sandslash turned and sounded the call.

"Oi! Captain Nugget's ba- A- _Aah!_ "

The creature ducked, narrowly dodging a glowing orb of water that zipped over his head. When he looked back up he was met with a withering glare from the weathered crustacean as she unfurled and pulled off her white scarf. Underneath was a blue scarf similarl to the other Pokémon on the ship, except hers bore three indigo and white leaves on it.

"For the thousandth time, Niilo. It's not ' _Nugget_ '," she snapped. "It's ' _Nagant!_ '"

"T-Take it easy, _Kapteeni!_ " the pangolin exclaimed. "It was just a slip!"

One after the other, Pokemon on the deck, joined by those patrolling the sea and air surrounding the vessel, began to crowd around her. Their captain had been gone for quite a while, and now was the time to learn why.

"What took you so long?!" the Beedrill first mate interjected, an anxious flit from his wings disturbing a scarf with two sets of leaves around his neck. "If we knew you'd be gone for almost two days, we'd have pulled into port after you!"

"Yeah, we were starting to worry you got into trouble or something!" a Ponyta with a single-leaved scarf cried out.

"If I were truly in trouble, I'd have sent word," the Water-Type scoffed. "Besides, how much do you think Boisocéan would let slip about what really happened if they saw a _fregat_ pull into port with Imperial sails?"

"We have spare sails and scarves, though!" a Tentacruel protested from the water. "We could have gone in disguised!"

"With _my_ ship?" she retorted. "How many ships this big come here on a regular basis? It would have shut up the locals before we so much as dropped anchor in port!"

The gathered Pokémon murmured to themselves, thinking it over… the old sea bug did make some sense. The Clawitzer scuffled over to the bow, and gestured at a moving shape close to the horizon. Those with sharper eyesight could vaguely see the shape of a schooner, though the markings couldn't be made out at this hour.

Fortunately, the captain could divulge its identity.

"Besides… if the square-necks out there had figured it out while we were in port, we might've had to engage them," she said. "The customary headache from Boisocéan over collateral aside, we don't want them to get blown out of the water… yet."

The crustacean's words drew frowns and puzzled stares as the gathered blue-scarved sailors turned and murmured to each other.

" _Why_ do we want that again?" the Sandslash, apparently named 'Niilo', asked skeptically.

"Yeah, who cares what happens to some Company sods?!" the Ponyta spat.

"Because when I was on Boisocéan, I ran into some of those square-necks, and they're up to something," the Clawitzer answered. "Something big. And we're going to follow them to Kenobi to find out what."

"What?!" the Tentacruel from the sea escorts exclaimed. "Into Company waters?!"

Worried chattering began to float around the sailors on the frigate. Their captain couldn't _seriously_ be suggesting that they sail into enemy waters, could she? On the other hand, a handful of Pokémon seemed to take the matter in stride, as the idea of a risky mission brought other concerns to mind.

"Does this mean we're getting paid extra?" the Sandslash pressed.

The Clawitzer screwed her eyes shut and shook her body irritably. Her worn shell testified that she had seen many things in her long life: A time when crews like hers didn't need their numbers padded out by thrill-seekers, glorified mercenaries, and conscripted ex-pirates. A time when pirates kept their trade to the remote seas. A time when there was privilege afforded by nobility in her own life…

And of course, the season in which it all boiled away with the fall of empire, leaving her to claw what little of it she could back for herself. One constant remained between those two eras...

"Captain Nugg-" a Cranidos began, only to see the Clawitzer level her big claw at him. The dome-headed dinosaur promptly cried out and hastily amended his words with a startled squeal. "Ack! _Nagant! Nagant!_ "

… even after the world she grew up in burned, Pokémon were still getting her name wrong.

"Our mission's just supposed to be finding out wh-what happened at Boisocéan a few days ago!" the dinosaur stammered. "You already f-found that out, didn't you?"

" _Da_ ," the Water-Type answered, bringing her claws back to rest as she continued on. "And I have a strong suspicion that a god was involved."

A… god? The murmuring about the gathered Pokémon grew anxious. Did Captain Nagant seriously mean to suggest that the Company had woken a god? They couldn't possibly have done that! Could they?

"Given that this matter could potentially determine the fate of each and every one of your hometowns, and whether they're forced to bow before those corporatist traitors," she gravely intoned. "Does anyone _else_ want to raise any objections about flying false colors for a few days?"

Not a single word of protest came as, one after the other, the gathering of blue-scarved Pokémon shook their heads. A few of them shuddered at the thought of what those lavender-clad traitors might do to their precious little worlds back onshore if they had a god aligned with them…

"Wonderful. Then send word out to the Admiralty and throw together a pattern for the spares. We'll change the sails when we near Kenobi," Nagant barked before turning for the ship's bridge. "Tell them that we'll be late coming into port, and that we found something that might be a potential casus belli."

An Aipom fished out some paper and charcoal from a satchel slung over her shoulder, and hastily scrawled a message before passing it off to a Drifblim. The Ghost-Type lowered his tendrils and hastily scooped it up before floating off to the northwest. The sails were lowered and the stone anchor was raised as the deck returned to its normal, busy clamor. Soon after, the escorts in the air and water stirred up gusts in the sky and currents in the sea respectively, to help get the bulky craft up to speed. Nagant carefully clambered down the bow of her ship, lowering herself down the timbers of the frigate's hull towards the waterline.

"And _we'll_ be doing what we can to take care of the matter quietly," she said to herself, eying the dark shape on the horizon. "For the Empire."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
>  
> 
> \- _Matte! (_ _待って_ _!)_ \- Japanese: "Wait!" (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _(¡)Alto!_ \- Spanish: "Hold it!"  
>  \- _Nie dzięki_ \- Polish: "No thanks"  
>  \- _Kapteeni_ \- Finnish: "Captain"  
>  \- _fregat (Фрeгат)_ \- Russian: "frigate" (BGN/PCGN Romanization)  
>  \- _Da (Да)_ \- Russian: "Yes" (BGN/PCGN Romanization)


	35. A Little Learning

As the first rays of sunlight began to poke over the horizon, a Fearow with Company lavenders swooped down and latched onto a branch of a solitary, scraggly tree by the sand on the far end of Kenobi. From his perch, the creature beat out his wings to get his blood flowing, sore from a long night of searching flying about Kenobi's airspace. His Crobat superior had grown particularly cantankerous since that tumble into the sea the day prior, demonstrated in his assignment of search sectors.

_Rustle_

The Flying-Type jerked his head at the sound of nearby grass being disturbed. The bird ruffled his feathers at the sound of grumbling and shambling footsteps, along with an odor that managed to rankle even his less-sensitive avian sense of smell. The source of the sound and stench soon became clear, as a seasick-looking Krokorok wearing a lavender scarf pushed through some dried golden-brown grasses and scampered along the beach. He looked up and down the coastline, before shaking his head and sighing as he noticed his counterpart.

"Blurgh… what a night to get food poisoning," the crocodile groaned. "Doesn't Administrator Farn have Pokémon that can search her _own_ island?"

"Yeah, I dunno either, Ken," the Fearow answered. "But at least you haven't been stuck with _my_ group. Wing Commander Kane's been giving us an earful for not looking alive in 'a search at a sane hour for once'."

The Dark-Type paused, furrowing his brow before launching into an exasperated response.

"A _sane_ hour?! Maurier, is he _daft?!_ It's almost time for the sun to come over the horizon!" the Krokorok hissed. "Just how much longer is Captain Lyn going to keep us-?!"

The Desert Croc noticed the Fearow's eyes widen, before the bird suddenly flew up into the air with a startled squawk. The Dark-Type turned around, and promptly dropped his jawed and went wide-eyed as he saw a large wave coming for him directly from the sea...

_Sploosh!_

...and was promptly swept aside into a sand drift. The wave's culprit was revealed to be an irked Samurott, who marched up the the beach grumbling to himself while the hapless reptile spluttered and hacked up water and sand.

"Bah, I don't _believe_ this…"

Clearly their captain had not had much luck searching the waters between the island and the atoll over the last few hours. The two Company Pokémon hastily pulled themselves to attention as Lyn shook himself dry and turned a scowling gaze on the pair.

"Give me a status report," the otter barked. "If there's been so much as a feather from that bird floating around, I want to know about it!"

The Samurott waited expectantly and twitched his whiskers impatiently, only to be answered by the sound of breaking waves and stammering from the two underlings before him. The Water-Type began to scowl, and repeated his question with a loud, growling emphaticness.

" _Well?_ " he demanded. "Has there been any sign at _all?_ "

The Fearow and the Krokorok traded reluctant looks before the bird shook his head and began to speak.

"Apologies, Captain," Maurier finally answered. "But none of the flying teams have seen any sign of the Guardian or those kids with him. Or anything out of the ordinary for that matter."

The Samurott seethed before shaking his head and pointing at the reptile with a paw.

"And you?" Lyn pressed.

Ken gulped and uneasily squirmed under his superior's glare. It wouldn't be wise to get on his bad side _twice_ in just over a day, but... just what was he supposed to _tell_ him?

Actually… maybe there was something to bring up...

"Eh… well, there was one thing," the crocodile murmured. "I heard one of Pokémon from the mountain sectors say they overheard screams that sounded like a Cubone's while patrolling a bluff."

The Samurott blinked and paused as he mulled the Dark-Type's words. After a brief moment of rumination, the otter furrowed his brow and gave a shake of his head, realizing that the incident had a perfectly normal explanation.

"Hrmph, it was probably just a feral getting caught up by the law of the wild," Lyn harrumphed. "I fail to see why you would find that strange."

"Well, there weren't any ledges or anything overhead, so the screams had to be coming from the air," the reptile began. "I mean, I suppose now that you mention it there are flying Pokémon that could carry one off, but…"

The Krokorok began to yawn, much to Lyn's displeasure. As he opened his mouth to begin to castigate the crocodile, he heard Maurier yawn as well. Looking to the east, Lyn noticed the sunlight poking over the horizon. Had the night already gone by so fast? Now that he thought about it, his swimming _had_ become sluggish and jerky over the last couple of hours.

"I think that we've searched enough for a night... enough to leave things in the paws of the relief teams," he sighed. "Go back and get them. If tonight was anything to go by, the Guardian and his cohorts are probably still hiding somewhere in town right now."

"Aye, Captain," the pair replied. The Krokorok and Fearow set off, leaving Lyn behind with the rising sun. The Water-Type looked back at the sun, and gave a low growl off at the horizon.

"You and your friends can't hide from me forever..."

* * *

" _Ow!_ "

Nida's yelping voice carried over the water as she felt a stiff blow strike her back. Behind her was a rather startled-looking Cubone who was drawing her arm back to her side, trying her hardest not to look at the churning waves far below.

"A-are we there yet?" Guardia weakly asked. The pitiful show made Elty fold his ears back aggravatedly. Did he _really_ have to worry about this now- as the sun coming over the horizon rendered the star chart underpaw less and less useful? She'd stopped screaming and had only gotten sick _once_ during the entire flight at least, but could she _not_ pester them about getting out of the air?

"For the hundredth time-" he growled, only to be cut off by a sudden hiss.

"Hush, Elty!"

Ferals really _didn't_ take being put in strange situations well, did they? The Nidoran sighed and tiredly shook her head. After a little thinking, she answered softly to try and soothe the wide-eyed Cubone.

"Sorry, not yet. It's probably still going to take a while," Nida answered. "There's nothing but water all around... see?"

The mention of water drew a shudder from the Ground-Type, prompting her to claw deeper into Pleo's back. The Lugia felt the sudden pinch and shrieked, jolting his passengers midflight.

"A- **AAAAH!** "

"No no no, nothing too fancy, _mewa!_ "

" _Sudden jolting hurts the Nidoran, Pleo!_ "

As Pleo's flight stabilized, his three passengers caught themselves panting and trying to regain their nerves. Elty's were the first to return to him, as he turned and glared at Nida. This was all _her_ fault. If she had just gone back to that angry bartender, he'd be back in the Iron Fleet and she and the _mewa_ would be back on their quest to get home.

But no, they just _had_ to leave before Hess could come, and they just _had_ to take this little bonehead with them.

"I _knew_ it wasn't a good idea to take the scaredy Skitty along," he grunted. The Growlithe yanked his snout back as the end of a bone slipped past it, just barely dodging the club before coming face to face with a now glaring Cubone

"I-I'm not _scared!_ " she spat angrily. "S-Say that again when we're not all a few seconds from falling to our deaths and see what happens then!"

"Enough!" Nida cried. "Look, we're all in this pinch together, so let's just try to stay quiet for-"

"Are we there yet?" Pleo's voice tirely chirped from the front.

" _No!_ " Elty barked. "And don't you get in on this too!"

Pleo's flight wobbled a little noticing it, the Lugia sluggishly attempted to climb up higher in the air. He knew that Elty, Nida, and now Guardia were all counting on him to fly them and to be their Protector, but...

"My wings are hurting again, though!" Pleo complained. "And I keep hearing something like a muffled song, I thought it would be from the island, and-"

"It's alright, it's alright," Nida insisted, nuzzling "We _will_ get there, I'm sure everything will be alright."

"Uh-Uhm... you mean like that?" a wide-eyed Elty sputtered, gesturing with his paw up ahead. In the distance, heavy, jet-black clouds were churning, and worse…

 _Bo-Boom_ …

Thundering. Much to the horror of Pleo's passengers, he was heading straight for the storm!

"Um… Pleo? We need to turn around, _now_ ," Nida said, her barbs pricking up out of tension.

"H-Huh?!" Pleo exclaimed. "B-But the song! I can hear it better now!"

"Forget about your stupid song!" Elty shouted. "We need to not get blown out of the sky by that storm!"

"You don't understand, the song's coming from the island!" Pleo squawked back. "Look!"

Elty was about to argue back in his hurry to get far, far away from the the skies over the Cradle's sea, but he began to notice how not only not only the _mewa_ was heading right for the storm, but Elty had a clearer view of it and the world around than before.

In spite of the looming clouds ahead, Pleo's flight was calm and stable enough that Elty could easily make out some shapes in the distance, there was a narrow band of clours and right past them... a green-shrouded hillside!

The three faltered and looked at each other, then at the clouds ahead, and realized that there was only one solution.

"We're gonna have to go through it," Nida gulped. "It's the only way."

"F-Fly us lower at least!" Guardia cried. "What if we fall?!"

"You _can't_ be serious, spike ball," Elty yipped. "It's already tough enough going through a storm on a ship, and you want the _mewa_ to do it?!"

But for some strange reason, Pleo didn't seem to be fazed. No, he kept flying on ahead, his wings beating with increasing firmness and his pace quickening as he sliced on ahead under the darkened clouds.

 _Bo-Boom_ …

The rumblings of thunder came more frequently and the wind began to whistle. As the team slipped under the darkened clouds, they felt rain platter against their pelts. Winds whipping around them, the three screwed their eyes shut and clung on for dear life, expecting at any moment to be thrown loose.

But that moment never came…

"Pleo?"

As Nida cracked an eye open against the whipping winds, she saw that Pleo was flying on completely unfazed, chirping cheerily along the howling wind and bobbing his head to and fro at the surrounding clouds. It was as if he were entranced- and the fatigue he had been struggling under for the last few hours had melted away. A short time after, the three felt the rain let up, the sun returned, and they passed the band of dark clouds as Mengir Island came into view.

The island consisted of a collection of steep hills up ahead, with a forest of needle-like stone spires protruding from a thick fog at the center. Pleo stared at it, and then puzzledly back at the darkened clouds, before continuing on. As the team got further and further from the clouds behind them, the little Protector's flight began to grow sluggish and tired again. After a staggering and panting final stretch, Pleo came to a stumbling rest at a green-sanded beach surrounded by stony bluffs, flopping down against the sand and leaving his passengers to tumble off his back into an exhausted pile.

"Urgh… let's not do that again for a while," Guardia groaned.

"Seconded," Elty panted. "I smell like I fell into a river right now!"

"Pleo?" Nida asked. "Are you alright?"

The Lugia craned his neck up and shook out his plumage. He looked about his surroundings, but seemed disatisfied upon turning back to his teammates.

"I was sure the song was coming from here," he crooned. "But it's faint again…"

"Okay, what is this _song_ you keep going on about?" Elty grumbled, lowering his eyes. The dog quickly shook himself dry from the trip through the rain, lowering his ears annoyedly.

"It sounded familiar and it made me feel better while flying. I can still hear it, but..." he began. The young Lugia put a wing puzzledly to his beak, only to turn back to the dark clouds when a realization dawned upon him.

"Oh! Those clouds!" he exclaimed. "They must be what was making that song!"

As Pleo babbled on about the storm clouds and waved them off with a cheery "bye" (before pulling his wings back and noticing they felt rather sore), the rest of Team Traveller looked at each other speechless. Nida paused and wondered… Storms were things that Pokémon ran away and hid from… but then why would Pleo like their sound? Wasn't he a Protector? Protectors wouldn't like storms...

Would they?

"Oi!"

The sound of Elty's voice snapped everyone back to attention. There, off in the distance, was a small settlement of light-colored huts bounded by a river. On the other end of the river, there were fields and a fort on a motte surrounded by wooden palisades that loomed over its surroundings. Curiously enough, the village seemed to be built among a collection of tall, craggy rocks, though there didn't seem to be an easy way to walk over…

"Looks like you might have landed a little early," Elty sighed. "If you can get back into the air, we could always land at one of the out-"

" **NO!** "

Elty, Nida, and Pleo collectively flinched and turned to their wide-eyed Cubone teammate. The creature looked tired, obviously rattled, and clearly unenthusiastic about the prospect of further flying.

"N-No more flying, please," she pleaded. "We're already at your 'Mengir' and everything!"

"Well how else are we going to get there, huh?" Elty snapped. "You don't mean for us to _climb_ these bluffs, do you? And we'd have to find our way over without a map afterwards!"

"But Elty!" Pleo whined. "My wings are sore!"

The three proceeded to begin to bicker tiredly with one another, leaving Nida to sigh and turn to the still-churning water offshore. As she watched the passing forms of Pokémon making their way to the settlement's harbor, the spike ball squeaked with excited realization.

"Wait a minute, we _do_ have another way over!" she cried.

"We… do-?" Pleo asked, looking out at the water and its inviting, bobbing, wave. Suddenly, Nida's same realization dawned upon him.

"Oh!" he cried, giving a triumphant trill. "I can swim all of us over!"

Elty and Guardia both groaned and looked out at the stretch of sea to the settlement, before training skeptical looks at their Poison-Type teammate.

"I mean, I suppose it's safer than flying," Guardia grumbled. "But going through all that water?"

"We'd have to go through the harbor, too! That's the busiest part of any town!" Elty added. "We don't know if the village there's already been told about us, so just how would we be able to get in without being spotted?"

 _Peck peck peck_...

The three turned, and saw Pleo pecking curiously at a battered and worn crate washed up among some rocks. Elty gave a sour frown, before shaking his head with a grumble.

"Oi, _mewa!_ "

"Whuh?!" Pleo squawked, jerking his head up. "What's the matter?!"

Nida eyed the crate, then the surprised-looking Lugia, and then the crate again. It was ridden with holes, and hardly a seaworthy craft, _but_ it was big enough to hold Pleo in it.

Though then again… what if they didn't get into the crate… but the crate got _onto_ them?

"Actually, Elty", she said. "I think there _is_ a way we can sneak in while swimming."

* * *

After hastily pulling themselves back aboard Pleo, Team Traveller found that the battered crate fit snugly over their heads, giving the appearance of a lost article of cargo bobbing along the waves. While far from perfect, with their impromptu camouflage, the four were emboldened bobbed along in the water towards the distant village's harbor.

The plodding cruise took them past the harbor's ships, and dockworkers toiling away at shuffling cargo around. The group also passed Pokémon who traded curious looks at the box with a white tail trailing it, only to shrug the matter off as some children at play. Amazingly enough to Guardia, their disguise seemed to pass muster.

Their journey finally ended as Pleo came ashore underneath a wooden set of docks built atop a soggy beach. Some rocks formed a crude retaining wall and wooden pilings behind them.

Pushing their wooden cover off as they dismounted from the Lugia's back, Nida, Pleo, Elty, and Guardia darted further under the piers, where muffled conversations from the local harbor Pokémon filtered down from the docks above.

"Oh, the roses? They're for my _baba_ ," a passing voice said. "She's on bedrest after she got attacked by ferals out at those sacred stones on the outskirts."

"She should have known better, the ferals have been surly around these parts for years" a deeper voice sighed. "I don't understand why the old generation makes such a big deal with that dump anyways…"

The voices faded away into a sea of indistinct murmurs as the sound of footsteps carried on down the dock. After pausing and flicking his ears in the air for a moment, Elty noticed that the voices sounded louder on their left. Following the Growlithe's lead, the group found a hole punched into the docks' wooden planks near the edge, perhaps by a stray attack. After a few sniffs at the air and a careful listen for footfalls and movement above the background noise of lapping sea waves, the members of Team Traveller popped out of a hole behind a heap of wooden barrels. The four quickly darted out into a lane, where the buildings of the humble village came into view.

The buildings along the shore were rough and simple wooden shacks of similar construction to the seaside structures back home. Like their counterparts back in Bluewhorl, the rude buildings teemed with activity as sailors and harbor residents went about their daily routines. Almost immediately, one feature stood out as very different from little Bluewhorl Town...

"Wow, Nida, look at the big rocks!"

Up ahead, there were two tall stones that had been planted into the ground on opposite sides of a path leading from the docks up a hill. The team followed after Pleo as he darted out to the stones and began to eye some vertical columns of footprint runes and a carving of a deer-shaped figure with branching antlers etched among clumps of moss. As Nida shifted her gaze around, paying mind to the guards who would surely be in a Company town, Guardia wandered around some of the stones on their own. The Growlithe of the group made sure he kept a safe distance from her, wondering if she would remember her comment from before.

That was not much of an issue, for the newest addition to Team Traveller was mesmerized by the new sights. So these 'towns' really were like big colony grounds, if one full of Pokémon that were nothing like each other. There were walking Pokémon, swimming Pokémon, Pokémon that flew...

But, how did they _make_ all of these? Without caves or wands to burrow holes? And how did they get these giant boulders propped up? Machitabi never said anything about rocks like these being in the town along the shore back home...

"They look so... firm, and heavy. There are creatures that can actually _move_ stones like these?" the Cubone asked. After prodding at the base of one of the two standing stones, she turned to Nida and tilted her head curiously. "I never heard anything about this back home... is this how _majū_ from towns start building their homes? Placing stones like these around?"

"I- I think this must be something that only Pokémon on this island do," the Nidoran answered as she rubbed her arm, not knowing what else to offer. These structures were certainly something different from anything they'd seen so far, and Nida had the impression they were not really intended to be homes, or anything of that sort.

Now that she noticed it, there were a number of other things that seemed to be particular to this town. There weren't as many shops down by the docks, and there were more stones off in the distance. A number of buildings further inland seemed to be built with whitewashed walls and wooden shingles on their roofs. There was a stream in the distance, but there didn't seem to be much of the town on the other end beyond a fort complex consisting of low-slung buildings ringed by wooden palisades and stern looking guards patrolling the perimeter...

"Well how was _I_ supposed to know we had a visiting Administrator?"

And, as the group had feared, the town also had Pokémon in Company lavenders coming and going. Nida and Elty's fur stood up as they caught the sight of a Stantler and Sudowoodo passing by, the pair idly chattering as the reindeer carefully tugged along a cart loaded down with sturdy crates along, steadied by the false tree.

"The only ironclad in port then was Zorn's!" the Normal-Type protested. "And it's not my fault that Dragonite wasn't watching where his tail was!"

"Eh, don't worry about it," the Sudowoodo replied. "Of all the Admins to get on the bad side of, you could've done much worse than that tubby lizard."

For a fleeting second, time froze and the team's blood ran cold as the two cast glances at the party by the stone pillars. Then, the pair shifted their attention back, seemingly unconcerned by Team Traveller's presence.

So word _hadn't_ reached this island yet! This meant that they'd be in the clear as long as-

"Oi! Don't think that we're just gonna let you get away!"

Nida, Pleo, and Elty grimaced as Guardia ran out into the path, bellowing and stamping her feet behind the two Company Pokémon. The startled Stantler stumbled forward and jolted the cart, making a crate towards the top shift and totter a panicked expression flash over the grunts' faces. After hastily throwing his arms out to steady the crate and push it back onto the cart, the Sudowoodo and its companion turned around, shooting venomous glares at the Cubone.

"Hey, just what was _that_ for, huh?!" the reindeer snarled. "Making Pokémon drop delicate cargo your idea of a fun time or something?!"

"Yeah, are you trying to start something?" the faux tree growled.

"That's right, I _am!_ " Guardia shouted back, tightening her grip on her club. "I'm gonna-! Mrph!"

Before the Cubone could finish her words, she was hastily cut off by a paw over her mouth and drug up the lane. As the Ground-Type stumbled along flailing and protesting, Elty yipped back at the two lavender-scarved Pokémon.

"Sorry about that, she's new!" he apologized, before shooting a glare and growling at the Cubone. "And we were _just going_..."

The group dragged their new teammate up the lane and into an alley as some distant grumbles between the two Company Pokémon of "what was _her_ problem, anyways?" floated through the air. After the three fell behind the alley, the team's Pokémon relaxed their grip, and...

_Thwack_

" **OW!** "

Came face-to-face with a glaring Guardia, her bone having freshly found its mark on Elty's head. The dog shook his head and flattened his ears back, snarling.

"What is your _problem?_ "

"What is _my_ problem?" Guardia shot back. "They were _yajū_ that clearly had nothing good in mind for us! You should've known by their scarf colors and those nasty-looking horns the four-legged one had! If you don't fight 'em off, they'll come back for you!"

Guardia's rebuttal drew a wave of paws and wings over faces.

"Um… Nida? It doesn't work that way, does it?" Pleo asked, giving his head a puzzled tilt.

After screwing her eyes shut and furrowing her brow, Nida muttered under her breath, and attempted to explain the situation to their new teammate.

"Guardia… remember scarf-wearers aren't _supposed_ to cause trouble with each other for no reason," she sighed. "The Company Pokémon here don't _know_ that they're supposed to try and catch us, so if we fight them, we look like the bad Pokémon!"

"Eh? But aren't these Company _majū_ like predators?" she asked, pedaling her free claw. "Always causing trouble because that's what they are?"

As Pleo began to open his beak to ask what 'predators' were, Elty hastily interrupted, shaking his head.

"I _told_ you taking her along was a bad idea, spike ball," he grumbled.

"Hush!"

The Nidoran shook her head and tried to think of how explain the matter. After a few mental false starts, she began to spell out an explanation.

"That's… not how it works," she sighed. "Look, you saw how they didn't recognize us earlier, right?"

"Yes…?"

"Well, we don't have that much time to try and help Pleo learn how to use his powers here before they _do_ recognize us," she explained. "And if we get into trouble, we'll only speed that up!"

The Cubone paused and tilted her head. It sounded strange that a foe Pokémon wouldn't know when to be a foe, but it did seem to make sense under its own logic.

"So if we _don't_ have to fight with our enemies to help your Protector learn how to draw out his power," she began. "Then what _do_ we need to do?"

"Well, Guildmaster Hatteras had us take a mission to try and draw out Pleo's power," Nida replied. "So we could always try that again…"

Nida looked at Elty and Pleo, and saw their eyes had dark, tired-looking circles underneath them. Perhaps the flight and sleep deprivation had taken more out of them than she initially thought…

"Though on the other hand… we've been up all night and could use some rest," Nida murmured. "And there are a couple things we could use before accepting a mission anyways."

Nida lifted the coin purse that had been liberated from Valatos, the Yanmega that had ambushed them yesterday. She gave it a stiff shake and heard the satisfying clink of metal inside, before dropping the satchel safely back into her bag and turning to Guardia.

"Why don't we put the money from those jerks back in your dungeon to some good use?"

The four Pokémon poked their heads back out of the alley and, after seeing the coast was clear, continued up the path from the docks, passing a collection of the town's stone pillars and little white-walled huts that stretched along the path. The scenery of huts and standing stones on the way was occasionally punctuated by larger structures. There were a few more built-up houses, a signaling platform for ships on a hilly outcropping, and a two-storied medic's hut with a stone base and shingled roof down the lane from a bustling juice bar that a passing Luxio chatting up a Chansey called a 'taverna'. To their pleasant surprise, the team discovered that one of the larger buildings the path passed was none other than one 'Mengir Island Guild'.

The guild was completely housed in a multi-story building with white, rough-hewn stone walls and scruffy domed roofs covered in teal-painted shingles. In spite of its humble accommodations, the place seemed as lively as any other guild they had been to. There was a Kabutops with a band worn as a choker reading over a mission listing pinned against one of his scythes. Over by a belled well near the entrance, a Mismagius and Charmeleon loitered in wait for some expected companions, the Ghost-Type wondering aloud what was taking the Fire-Type's teammates so long to arrive. And out of the teal-roofed guild building, a Swirlix hopped off in a huffy mood, grumbling about being banned from the mess hall for the day for trying to eat some extra food 'that was going to go to waste anyways'.

The passing Fairy-Type's grumblings reminded Team Traveller that they had not had a bite all day… and that they had yet to do the customary first mission that would earn them food and shelter for the night at the local guild. Perhaps it was best to leave the guild behind for now, and search for food and shelter they could buy with the money 'given' to them by Valatos and his friends.

Fortunately, now that the team had the means, they had other options to choose from. An arrow-shaped sign pointed out a square built around a stone pillar alongside the stream that bounded the town from the east. In it were a host of colorful shops trafficked by a surprisingly large number of Pokémon for such a small town. There was the local franchise of the 'Merchantry', whose scaly proprietor and Pumpkaboo partner traded rivalrous looks with a Noctowl and a smaller, leafier counterpart who ran a shingled hut advertising 'recycling'. A little ways off, there was a two-story thatch-roofed building that Pokémon lugged sacks full of parcels and letters in and out of. But despite the square's amenities, Team Traveller had other priorities on their mind...

"Let's try and find a hostel to stay in," Nida yawned. "I'm bushed."

"But, Nida," Pleo protested. "Didn't we give Guardia the broken scarf? And doesn't she need a badge?"

" _Nani?_ " the Cubone asked, as she pawed at her tattered and charred Company scarf. "What's wrong with this one?"

Nida cast a glance at the damaged scarf on their new teammate. The badge could always be borrowed from the guild in the morning and returned after their mission, but the scarf would certainly raise questions.

"You know, spike ball," Elty added. "If we got her scarf order taken care of _now_ , we could always pick it up in the morning after some rest."

Nida glanced at the wallet, and then at the shops. They had a fair amount of coin, and a scarf couldn't be that much, right? After scanning her surroundings, the Poison-Type spotted a shop that seemed promising- one in the shape of a Butterfree's head with scarves and cloth hanging from the eaves.

"Fair enough, and I think I can see a tailor's shop right over there..."

The team set off for the shop, weaving between passing Pokémon. As they drew closer, they saw a Butterfree behind the counter, handing an off-white scarf with a blue square in its center to a customer obscured by a Tangrowth busy puzzling over a map in his viney hands.

"Incredible! It looks better than my old scarf before it got torn!" a high, raspy voice cawed. The Bug-Type chuckled bashfully, and dismissively waved a chitinous claw.

"Well, it's the least I could do," she replied. "Especially after helping out my son in the Mystery Dungeon like that. Why, if it weren't for your help getting him out of that stony briar, who knows what would've happened to him?"

Pleo began to grow curious and bob his head to try and get a view of who the energetic-sounding stranger might be. But as he paced forward, he noticed that Nida had stopped and grown wide-eyed.

"Nida? What's wrong?" he asked.

"Yeah," Guardia added. "You're shivering!"

"Hey, wait a minute," Elty murmured. "That bird... I swear I've seen him before."

Then, the lumbering, viney Grass-Type wandered off, revealing the butterfly tailor's customer to be a young-looking Skarmory who was inspecting the Butterfree's handiwork with unusual vigor and energy.

"All in the line of duty. But this seamstressing… why it's on par with the best I saw back in my hometown!" the bird squawked. His cheery tone and tenor faltered as a wistful look spread over his eyes. "When it was around…"

'When it was around?' So something had happened to it? Whatever the matter was, the metal bird didn't seem to dwell too long upon it. After donning his new scarf and a ruffle of his metal feathers, the creature roused his cheery demeanor and turned back to the Butterfree.

"But there's no sense in dwelling upon the past," he cheered. " _Mille grazie!_ Truly, I will cherish it!"

As the Skarmory turned to fly off, he chanced to catch a glance of Team Traveller watching him from behind, and decided to flit over, coming to a rest in front of Nida.

"Hark! A Rescue Team!" he greeted. "Good day, fellow hunters!"

"Eh?" Guardia asked, warily shifting back and tightening her grasp on her bone. "Who are you supposed to be?"

"Why, I'm the Warrior of Life and Paladin from the ashes of Blackmoon Village! Trizano, the Valiant Knight Skarmory!" the bird answered, revealing beaming eyes that had curious blotches over his pupils to form rough crossing bands. With that, the creature entered a bow, and fanned out his feathers with an audible swish, the light glinting off their edges. "At your service!"

Guardia and Pleo traded puzzled glances as Elty's brow furrowed- he was increasingly sure that he had run across this character sometime in the past. Meanwhile, Nida remained still and pallid. All those moons ago, back in that fateful day in the Mystery Dungeon…

She had run into sharp talons just like those. A cruel and sharp beak just like the one in front of her. Piercing eyes with yellow sclera, and sharp, cutting feathers. All of it was here again, and once again it had come for her.

To devour her.

"A-Ah- **AAAAAAAH!** "

With a shriek, the Nidoran turned and sprinted madly away through the square. The spike lump weaved around the legs of startled passerbys for a nearby back alley as fast as her legs could carry her. As Nida forced her way down the alley, she blindly shoved aside some clutter with an audible crash, much to the stunned gaze of her teammates.

"Nida?!" Pleo cried. "What's wrong?! Come back!"

"What is her problem?!" Guardia added, turning incredulously to Elty. "How can you just let her take off on us like that?!"

"Oi, how is this _my_ fault?!" Elty spluttered.

The little Lugia and the Cubone hurried off after the fleeing Nidoran. After shooting an askew look back at the Skarmory, the Growlithe turned and followed, leaving the bird to look after the party puzzledly and droop his feathers.

"Did I overdo the introduction?" he wondered. As the square settled down, the Skarmory shook his head, gave an awkward thanks to the tailor for his new scarf and flew off from the scene. As a sense of normalcy returned to the little plaza around the standing stone, there was no sign of the encounter left, except for a silvery white-feather that blew along the ground...

"Huh?!"

Directly in front of a dumbfounded and startled Mothim with a Second-Rank scarf burdened with a brown, bloated satchel slung over a shoulder

"This- This is one of the _Guardian's_ feathers!" Ellsberg buzzed startledly. "He's _here?!_ "

The Mothim flew up onto the standing stone to try and see if there was any sign of the young Lugia nearby, but between the mass of Pokémon in the square, and the well-shaded alleys that fanned out from it, there wasn't a sign of the Protector or his companions to be found. The Bug-Type shook his head with a scowl, where by chance he saw an Ariados in Company garb happening to pass by the stone pillar's base. Immediately, Ellsberg flitted down and accosted the hapless creature.

"You there!"

"Wh-Whuh?" the spider stammered.

"Bring me to Administrator Zorn at once!" the Mothim demanded. "A wanted Pokémon passed through this square, and it's of the utmost importance that he be caught at once!"

"Eh?!" the arachnid cried. "But if you saw a troublemaker, just give us a description! We can handle the rest!"

"You don't understand, this isn't just some common pirate!" the moth buzzed angrily, beating his wings with an angry huff.

"This is a matter of the Company's future!"

* * *

A little ways down the back alley, Nida took shelter under a battered, overturned wooden crate and curled up in a nervous ball in the darkness. There, her only companions were the sounds of her breaths coming in ragged pants, and the feeling of little droplets dripping off her barbs and onto her pelt.

_Thump thump_

To her horror, the crate suddenly jolted with the harsh sound of something big and strong pecking at it. She saw a corner leave the ground, and realized that there was nowhere to run. The Nidoran closed her eyes and curled up, expecting to be set upon any moment by the metal fiend from the square.

"Nida?"

When the spike ball opened her eyes up, she saw Pleo in front of her. The little Lugia had tipped the box over, and her back was now exposed to the sunlight.

"What's wrong?" he murmured. "Why did you run away like that?"

Nida folded her barbs back and folded her ears back as she realized that she had let her fears come out in front of her teammates. The Poison-Type shook her head, and cautiously crept out, weakly attempting to dissuade Pleo's concern.

"It's- It's alright, Pleo," she replied. "I'm alr-"

" _Hey!_ "

Before Nida could finish her reassurance, the sound of footfalls came from further down the alley. The Nidoran turned and peered ahead, where she saw the sight of an unimpressed-looking Cubone and Growlithe.

"I thought you said town _majū_ work differently!" Guardia huffed. "So what on earth was _that?!_ "

"I- I just lost my nerve a minute," Nida answered.

"Why? Expecting some metal bird to take a bite out of you _here_ too?" Elty grumbled, rolling his eyes. Immediately, Nida bristled and fanned her barbs out, her eyes growing livid at the mutt daring to drag that moment out into the open.

" _Shut up!_ " she hissed. "No one asked _you!_ "

"You could have been _honest_ , you know!" Guardia growled. "How am I supposed to gather lore for my colony if I don't know what you're getting me into?!"

"I didn't _lead_ you into danger though!" the Poison-Type spat.

" _Tak jasne!_ Great job you're doing with that!" Elty huffed back. "You lead us into some Commissioner's ship and turn tail after running into some random feather duster? Talk about getting your priorities backwards!"

The Nidoran fumed and dropped to her feet, fanning her barbs out and readying a tackle. Why couldn't that dumb dog just shut his yap? No matter, if he wouldn't do it on his own, she'd _make_ him-

"What's going on here?!"

The argument abruptly broke off and all eyes turned the opposite end of the alley, before giving way to frozen grimaces. There, scampering up behind them was the form of a Grovyle… with a First-Rank scarf about her neck.

The creature was glaring harshly, her blades drawn and ready to pounce. The four Pokémon froze, expecting the stranger to pounce on them at any moment, only to see her withdraw her blades and cross her arms.

"Really now, aren't you four a bit young to be getting into trouble like this?" she demanded.

"We… we weren't _trying_ to get into trouble," Pleo answered shyly.

"Yeah, it's the spike ball's fault!" Elty interjected.

"It was _not!_ " Nida shot back.

"Oi, don't try and scapegoat your teammates like that, mutt!" Guardia growled.

As the team devolved back into heated bickering, the Grovyle scanned the group. The spike lump with them had a simple satchel a little big for her size slung across her back, everyone except the Cubone seemed to have badges on their scarves (clearly she was a new recruit)… nothing that _seemed_ too out of the ordinary, except…

"I don't mean to butt in here, but what happened to your friend's scarf?" the Grass-Type interrupted.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Guardia asked. "It's just a scarf, isn't it?"

"Well, it seems like you burned it quite badly," the Grovyle answered. The creature walked up, and ran the fabric through her claws before letting it fall back against Guardia's chest. "The fabric and cloth aren't like the ones your friends have, either. If anything, it feels closer to mine."

Nida, Elty, and Pleo blanched at the gecko's observations. The reason why Guardia's scarf felt closer to the grunt's was because before Elty charred it and ran it through the dirt, it was a First-Rank scarf like hers! The Grass-Type seemed to still have her doubts, but…

Just what sort of excuse could they give her?

"That's because… uh," Nida began. As the Nidoran fumbled for words to say, Elty suddenly interrupted with a barking exclamation.

"We changed our scarf patterns recently!" he yipped. "Stars were the new 'in' thing, but we didn't have the money right away to replace hers!"

"And- And Elty accidentally set it on fire!" Pleo added. The Grass-Type gave a skeptical glance at the group, she didn't _seem_ particularly impressed with the argument, but at the same time seemed to be held back by something.

"Uh huh… who are you, and _where_ are you from again?" she asked. "I mean, I don't think I've ever seen a seabird quite like your friend there, and you could say I'm curious."

"We're Team Traveller!" Pleo reflexively chirped. "From B-"

Pleo clamped his beak shut as he noticed from the corner of his eye that Nida and Elty were shaking their heads in a panic. The little Protector tried to think of a town name he could make up.

"Bluhh… Water… ship... Town!" he cried. The Grovyle blinked, paused, and then shook her head as she muttered something to herself.

"Must be one of those newer 'periphery towns' on Vollezee, but I have to wonder what kind of rubes call a place Watership Town," she replied. "It's right up there with 'Pokémon Square' as an unimaginative place name-"

Pleo paused and blinked blankly at the Grass-Type. She… believed that? While it was relieving, just what were 'rubes'? And what was wrong with 'Watership Town'-?

"Anyhow, you four seem to be rather worn out," the Grovyle continued. "Your little spat earlier wouldn't be because you've been shorting yourselves on sleep, was it?"

_Yaaaaaaaaaah_

As the sound of Guardia yawning pricked the team's ears, the four looked around and realized that their eyes looked worn and bloodshot. The already tiring trek into town and up the hill was starting to catch up with them as aches returned and eyelids started to feel heavy. One after the other, Pleo, Elty, and Nida reluctantly began to reply back to the Company grunt.

"Erm…"

"Well…"

"We were up all night…"

The scowl on the lizard's face faded for a moment, before she shook her head and turned and pointed off at a long, low-slung, two-storied building with a stone ground floor, a white-timbered second floor and a weathered shingled roof.

"If you've got the money for it, why don't you head off to the Cromlech Inn over there and lie down a bit?" the Grovyle offered. "They serve food in the lobby and the Kricketune there sews on the side. He'd probably be able to help you out with getting that last matching scarf you were looking for."

Wait… did, this Company Pokémon just give them _help?_ It took a few quiet pawings at their bodies to reassure the team's Pokémon that they weren't dreaming… But this _was_ help, and the team would be wise to take it before the Grovyle changed her mind.

"Right," Nida replied. "Thank you..."

"One more thing before you go..."

"Huh?"

" _Don't_ go raising up trouble like that again, you hear?" the Grass-Type sternly admonished. "This town's already has enough to deal with the weather and all the trouble that comes here from outside, and the Pokémon here don't need more headaches to deal with. Understood?"

The four stopped and blinked at this strange creature. Was she really a Company grunt? She certainly didn't _seem_ like the bullying type like Valatos and his friends… Did this place also have an 'arrangement' like Tromba did?

"Well?" she prodded.

"Understood," the team over-hastily replied.

The Grovyle paused and gave a long, skeptical look at Team Traveller's members, before shaking her head and turning around. The Wood Gecko carried along down the alleyway, Nida, Pleo, Elty, and Guardia watching intently until she slipped past a corner. The group looked back at the 'Cromlech Inn' that the Company grunt pointed out and gave a collective sigh of relief. Nida and her teammates lowered their heads and began to shuffle along towards it, eager to finally have some food and rest after a long and stormy day.

* * *

Back on Tromba, the island's guild was abuzz with its typical bustle of activity as its members went here and there for their errands between missions. Lost amid the sound of chatter and plans for the day floating about was the patter of an Ampharos' footsteps as Hatteras walked around under the shade of the guild's main tent. The Guildmaster did his best to present his normal aloof and an amiable atmosphere, but the arcing of his tail betrayed his feelings of uneasiness and hesitation. At some point, already bored with himself, he stopped in front of the guild's main entrance and turned to the direction of the _ánima_.

"What are we doing wrong?"

The Ampharos let a moment pass to recover his focus and returned to his round, this time with a calmer demeanour revealed in softer steps. After the third pass past the Mission Board he saw a familiar party consisting of a Shiftry and her Loudred and Croconaw teammates.

"Ah, Team Sawtooth!" Hatteras bleated. "Work going well for you, I trust?"

"Er… not so hot," Cardellini sighed, shaking his head. "There's this one mission that we can't seem to make headway on."

"Yeah, we've been looking _largo y ancho_ , but for the life of us, we just can't seem to find that 'ahp-gredh' that Melissa wanted!" Alto cried.

Hatteras bit his tongue as he winced in sympathy a bit at Sawtooth's plight. Finding the magical plates that Melissa and her kind read was already an erratic task, but searching out a specific _kind_ in particular? Why it must be like spotting an Altaria in a cloudbank!

Even so, there _were_ still some advantages to the setup…

"Well, surely long excursions are at least helpful for getting some of your other missions out of the way at the same time, no?" Hatteras offered.

"I suppose that's true," Pitys murmured. "But knowing that our reputation for speedy completions is getting dinged by this request still makes me wilt inside a little."

"Ah, well don't let it get to you too badly," the sheep cheered. "If there's one thing that I've learned in my years, it's that good things come to those who-"

"Mail call!"

The sound of a sudden squawk and the sound of beating wings drew the four Pokémon's attention to an Unfezant who swooped in before the group. After digging a little through a satchel slung over a wing, the Flying-Type pulled out a particularly large and heavy-looking envelope that seemed filled to the point of bursting.

"Just making sure, but this sheep _is_ 'Hatteras, Mayor of Bluewhorl Town' and not some look-alike right?" the Unfezant asked.

"Yes," Pitys and her companions groaned.

"Okay, great then!" the pheasant chirped. "The Siglo Swellow sends its regards!"

As the bulging envelope changed hands and the mailmon took his leave for a short detour to visit his family in the outskirts, Team Sawtooth's eyes drifted curiously over the letter in their Guildmaster's paws.

"Isn't that a bit bulky for a letter, Hatteras?" Pitys asked. "Just what exactly is in that thing?"

"Yeah! I haven't seen you get an envelope this stuffed since that one last month from that investigator that's been looking for the missus and the kid!" Alto chortled in a cheery and booming voice- only to be met by awkward silence, everybody suddenly finding an interesting patch of dirt on the floor to look at.

"Er… well, I was just curious," the Loudred offered apologetically.

"Wait. Guildmaster Hatteras… Last _month?_ " Cardellini interjected. "You're _still_ looking for them? I mean, I know we all say ' _las cosas buenas en la vida se hacen esperar_ ', but by now, surely you of all Pokémon would have accepted that they're- Ow!"

The Croconaw was cut off by a loud _whap_ from one of Pitys' leaf fans along with a growling "leave the clueless, uncomfortable questions to _Alto_ , Cardellini!" The Ampharos shook his head, and much to the three's amazement, seemed less perturbed than they thought he would be.

"Never underestimate the power of hope, Cardellini," the sheep answered back. "Even if it doesn't get realized the way you'd want it to, it still gives strength to Pokémon to weather the fiercest storms."

The Ampharos raised the letter with his paws up to his face, and squinted to read. For a short moment, the creature scanned the runes on the brownish paper, only to abruptly stop, nervously tense his tail, and bat it anxiously side-to-side, piquing Pitys' curiosity.

"Eh? What's with the sudden excitement?" Pitys asked. "Just what exactly is in that thing, Guildmaster?"

"I'm afraid that I can't quite say for now," the Guildmaster coyly retorted. "After all, you know the old saw about 'loose lips'..."

"Right," she replied. "And _we_ should be getting back to that 'ahp-gredh'."

The Ampharos parted ways with the team and brought the overstuffed envelope all the way back to his office. There, after closing the door and throwing the shades closed, he tore the package open, and fished the a folded-up sheet of paper layered with messy runes that had so excited him.

The letter gave a short summary of what had happened to the Siglo Swellow in Boisocéan. It spoke of an initially fraught and tense negotiation with Seahive's ' _mairesse_ ', during which they discovered that Lyn had beaten them to the island and chased Pleo away. Their search for leads turned up nothing for a day, until by a stroke of luck, they chanced to come across one 'Team Chasseur' and a Hydreigon named 'Margi' who helped them pick up Pleo's trail to Kenobi. The crew was sailing on, a little further from home, but if the fates and the stars aligned, perhaps they would be able to reunite with the Protector there, and bring him home after a short delay.

"Good luck, everyone-" the Amphraos said to himself, only to cut himself off as he noticed a hastily-scrawled line at the end.

"'P.S. Please forward the attached personal letters'..." he read. "Wait a minute. Personal le-?"

_Rrrrrip_

At that moment, the worn bottom of the enveloped gave way, and a flurry of smaller envelopes spilled out onto the floor below.

"Ah," he murmured to himself. "I was _wondering_ why that letter took up so much space!"

* * *

"Lower the gangplank!"

Beatrix's buzzing voice carried along the salty sea air as the Siglo Swellow bobbed along the docks at the Company compound on Kenobi's port. In spite of the strange and potentially hostile environment, the Illumise seemed as at ease as she pointed over at a Hitmontop by the railing.

"Just one moment!" came the reply from the Fighting-Type as he double-checked the stone anchor and the lines that had been thrown down to the posts on the dock until he was sure the ship was properly docked. After seeing the ship firmly lashed to the pier's moorings, the Fighting-Type gave an "aye!" in response, leaving a few crewmates to start working on the bringing the gangplank over.

The Handstand Pokémon paced around the place taking notice of some deck hands led by Natrix and Philips adding some finishing knots to the lines lashing the ship in place along the dock. The sound of the plank being lowered and clanging against the timbers of the piers sounded, which prompted the Hitmontop to turn and call his shipmates' attention...

"Alright, come orderly and single file," he instructed. "No need to strain the poor gangplank more than it needs to-"

"Yah!"

… only for Crom to leap off the railing and glide down to the docks, his Fraxure father dashing down the gangplank with a hurried 'Crom! Wait for me!'.

"Yeesh, would it kill you two to _wait_?" the fighter grumbled as he gestured for the rest of the crew to move down the dock. Crom and Pladur eagerly carried along the wharf, drifting down the shoreline past a host of docked ships all flying lavender and purple sails after reaching the end of the dock. The pair's eagerness however was quickly subdued as they took in the sights of the complex.

There was the Rhydon at one of the docks further down bellowing at some hapless charges to 'put some backbone' into loading crates onto a waiting sloop, which prompted a hasty detour down an alley. There were the closely-packed warehouses and barracks on either end of their paths, along with little flecks of life such as a Snover, Vibrava, and Pansear in Company lavenders who were enraptured with a game of monster cards. All the while, the pair of Dragon-Types couldn't help but be on edge their eyes and movements betraying an unease with the place.

Crom began to think about how they were deep in hostile territory. The last time the Company caught him sneaking into a place where he wasn't supposed to be, he got beaten up and thrown off a ship. If they were caught here… just what would happen to them?

The Druddigon tried to distract himself by looking back at his surroundings, when he chanced to notice they passed the same card-playing grunts from earlier and stopped.

… hadn't they just passed that a moment ago?"

"Dad, we don't know where we are, right?" the Druddigon asked somewhat worriedly.

"That shouldn't be too much of a problem!" Pladur replied. "Why we can see the Siglo Swellow's masts from-"

The Fraxure pointed off back at the docks towards where the Siglo Swellow ought to be, only to discover that the lavender sails they had disguised the craft with made it blend in a little _too_ well with the other Company ships at dock. The Fraxure and Druddigon tried to tease out the schooner from the crowd, but every time they were sure they saw one of the masts, they found that it belonged to a completely different ship.

"Maybe we should've waited for Kiran before we headed off," Crom mumbled uneasily. At this point, Pladur's confidence was rapidly evaporating as he realized that he had lead himself and his son deep into a strange, and potentially unfriendly place.

"Er, w-well… we could always try to trace our steps back to the ship…" the elder dragon nervously stammered. "I-If we're quick, then maybe we can avoid running into Lyn-"

"Hey!"

"MEEP!"

The Fraxure leapt up with a yelp at the sound of a voice coming from behind. The two whirled around and saw a waiting Aerodactyl with a Company scarf about his neck, his maw opened and his teeth showing. Blanching, the Fraxure yanked his child behind him and the two shot wary glances at the new stranger.

"Uh, er," Crom began uneasily. "Is… is something the matter?"

"Eh? You aren't in trouble if that's what you're talking about, I'm just another First-Rank like you!" the pterosaur cheered back, giving a playful beat of his wings.

"Just thought you two looked a little lost," he explained. "So who are you two? I don't think I've seen either of you on the beat before."

"Well… I'm Pladur, Chief Cook of the the Siglo… er… Swanna!" the Fraxure offered. "And this is my son, Crom."

"Ah, so I see you take after your dad in more way than one," the Aerodactyl chuckled, extending a claw to Crom. "The name's Kellner. So where'd you two come in from, anyways?"

The two dragons froze for a moment, as Crom wondered what he should try and say back. He couldn't say they were from Tromba… and Boisocéan would be suspicious…but, where else could he claim to be from?

"Uh… we're… from…" Crom fumbled, only to be swiftly cut off.

"The Capital!" Pladur interjected. "We're here for an assignment!"

The Fossil Pokémon tilted his head curiously, but after a little mulling and a shake, he was back to his prior congeniality, seemingly satisfied with the explanation. After all, even if it was a shadow of Middleguard City's former glory on Conntow, the cityscape of Canalhouse City on Vollezee, would surely be a world removed from Kenobi.

"Ah, so _that's_ why you're a bit lost," the Aerodactyl said. "Well, think of it this way… The lanes here in the compound and out in Aisle Town might be a little confusing, but at least it's a _small_ place here. Looking for anything in particular?"

"Mostly a place to hear the news," Crom answered. "We're a little out of the loop right now."

"Well now, you can't go wrong with the fort!" Kellner replied, gesturing at a looming, stone-walled structure a little ways off in the distance. "The training grounds inside are as good of a place to get a feel for the pulse of what's going on!"

"Oh? They wouldn't happen to have maps there, would they?" Pladur asked, shrinking his shoulders away a bit. "I mean, it would be nice not to get lost again."

"Yep! Come on, I'll show you over!" the pterosaur offered. "There's an entrance just up ahead!"

The Aerodactyl set off, leading the Druddigon and Fraxure plodding along a series of twisty paths that lead past various wood and stone buildings. As the three made their way alongside the tall imposing walls of the local sea fort, they eventually reached the lip of an entrance into the stone fortress.

"I don't _believe_ this!"

Only for Kellner to stop in his tracks as an angry snarl echoed off the surrounding walls. Pladur and Crom froze, worried for a moment that their ruse might have been seen through, only to catch the sight of a bristling and sparking Luxray passing by with an Eelektross.

"How could those sightings in town just _conveniently_ stop right after my meeting with Elilan last night, Commander?" she demanded.

"I know it sounds preposterous, Administrator, but that's what I've heard from the gossip in the lower ranks," the fish replied with guarded words. "For your own sake, perhaps we ought to shift the topic to Elilan's tin shipment? If you need to reclarify anything, he'll be leaving by-"

"Don't change the subject, Utsumi! Pokémon don't just _vanish_ like that! And if they had done a mission with one of the local guilds, they'd have turned up by now!" the Luxray growled, static dancing on her fur. "Why, if I didn't know better, I'd be convinced someone _told_ them of what we were up to!"

"Er, well," the lamprey offered. "Didn't you mention that during the proceedings you caught the repair crew slacking off against the wall?"

Farn paused as a creeping realization swept over her face, and her ears folded back out of frustration.

"That's… right. The crew was a Yanmega, a Manectric, and a Marowak and they were pressed up right against the wall," she admitted, before shaking her head and continuing on into the fort with the her fellow Electric-Type, her words echoing along back to a still-stunned pair of dragons and their guide.

"Have those three brought before me!" the lion's voice bellowed. "I am _going_ to get an explanation about what's going on from them, even if I have to tear it out of their hides!"

Crom and Pladur looked warily off in the direction that the two Electric-Types had gone off to, grateful that they were now out of earshot. The Fraxure and Druddigon turned back to their Aerodactyl guide and noticed that his cheery demeanor had evaporated, with a look of visible unease

"Um… actually... maybe you should take some time getting to know the neighborhood around here first. I _think_ I might have an extra map on me," the Kellner muttered. The grunt blinked a few times and shook his head before digging through a sack, and pulled out a folded-up wad of brown cloth, which it extended over with a claw . "Administrator Farn's offices are _also_ in the fort, and she's best avoided in a mood like this."

"Point taken," Pladur gulped, quickly taking up the map. Crom inspected the map and found that it had a map of the lanes and trails of Kenobi's settlement and hinterlands sketched in thin, black lines, before casting a glance back at the Aerodactyl and the fort behind.

"Thanks for the tip, Kellner," he said. "We'll be sure to stop by… er… later."

With that, the two turned around, and eagerly put some distance between themselves and the fort. After all, there was a Siglo Swellow to find, and the fort would be there for eavesdropping on the local grunts when the island's leader was in a less stormy mood.

* * *

Meanwhile, out at Mengir's fort, a Mothim fidgeted impatiently in front of a tall, double door. There, he was accompanied by the Ariados from the square, along with an unamused duo of guards consisting of a Breloom and a Gourgeist blocking the entrance. The doors had been closed since they had arrived a quarter hour ago, the muffled sounds of some meeting filtering out from behind it, much to Ellsberg's frustration.

"Need I remind you that this is a matter of _the Company's future?_ " the Bug-Type buzzed irkedly to the guards. "Open the door already!"

"I understand that, but Administrator Zorn is in a meeting!" the Breloom replied, shaking her head. "You can't just barge in like that!"

Almost as soon as the Mushroom Pokémon stopped talking, a large, yellow blur shot past them. The gust from the passing presence sent the gathered Pokémon bowled over yelping, followed by the sounds of the doors being thrown open.

"Outta my way!"

As Ellsberg picked himself up off the ground, he caught a fleeting glimpse of the gust's culprit. The distinct pudgy and small-winged form of a Dragonite passing through before swatting the doors back shut with his claws.

"I thought you said that we couldn't barge in like that!" Ellsberg's exasperated voice cried. a steady stream of invective fading away behind the great dragon as he paced further from the door and his eyes adjusted to the dimmer light.

The creature had stormed into a stone chamber ringing a square pond. The room had a grated tunnel under the waterline at the back of the room to admit aquatic visitors (if unfortunately too soggy for the contents of his bag), while a timbered bridge lead out to an islet in the middle of the pond for more landbound audiences.

"There´s also the matter of the lack of blue Apricorns, Administrator. We _need_ a certain quota of those nuts specifically for handling sea Pokémon and the current shipment is severely short on them."

There, coiled around the islet, was the Pokémon the Dragonite was in such a hurry to find. A great serpentine fish with blue and cream scales, barbels trailing down from a mouth with razor like fangs, and an Administrator's scarf about his neck. The Gyarados was currently chattering with a Poliwrath about some "crates full of 'blues' up in the fields" that would head out for shipment in the imminent future.

"Zorn!" the Dragon bellowed. The water stirred and churned as the sea serpent raised his head and glanced at the Dragonite's direction. A leering frown crept across the Water-Type's face before he turned back to the amphibian .

"Take five," the Gyarados instructed the fellow Water-Type. "We'll continue this conversation in a bit."

"Yes, Administrator," the Poliwrath replied. The sound of the grate being winched up echoed in the chamber as the Dragonite made his way out onto the islet. As the blue anuran dived under the surface and disappeared into the tunnel…

 _Creeeeaak_ …

…the grate slipped into the water and landed against the bottom, closing off a room now shared between only the two Pokémon, each waiting for the other to speak. After a long, uncomfortable pause, the Gyarados broke the silence with a displeased grunt.

"Darzin, why are you _here?_ " he demanded. The Dragonite's antennae dropped and a scowl crept over his face.

"What do you mean 'why am I here?' The updated revenue spreadsheets you requested!" he cried, fishing out a clawful of papers filled with orderly lines of runes "I flew it out directly from Vollezee!"

" _And?_ Didn't you notice I was in the middle of something?" the Gyarados answered dismissively. "It could've waited, you know."

"You summoned me here just two days ago! If these spreadsheets were that important, you could have just let me send it through a notary and not wasted my time-!" the Dragonite bellowed in protest, only to be cut off with the sound of mocking laughter.

"Ha ha ha! Wasting _your_ time?" the fish chortled. "Oh, that's _rich_ , Darzin. Since when did I or the rest of the Board care about where your delivery routes took you?"

Such slights were not new to the Dragonite from his fellow Fourth-Ranks… Or more uppity Third-Ranks for that matter. Familiarity truly _did_ breed contempt, which the Dragon-Type was all too eager to reciprocate.

"Yeah, well what are _you_ doing?" Darzin spat back sullenly. "Just sitting around, floating lazily in some po-"

" _Administrivia_ , Darzin," Zorn snarled. "Which you would be doing if you weren't such an incompetent at running a small settlement and forced the Board to strike an arrangement with a bunch of peasants!"

"Well if the Board would have _helped me pacify that island_ like I requested back then-!"

"We'd be telegraphing our weakness to the Imps even moreso than your current 'absentee Administration' from the records department would. _Exactly_ like what happened during that little prison riot that almost cost Elilan his island," the Gyarados interrupted with a growl. "The difference between Elilan's episode and yours was that he eventually got things back in order, and _you_ wound up flying off with your tail between your legs. You didn't honestly think that you're still wearing that Fourth-Rank scarf because Inler thinks you're an all-knowing repository of wisdom, right?"

Yes, Darzin's predicament was all because of those fateful days all those moons ago. Where he had pushed too hard, too fast upon the residents of Bluewhorl Town, and stirred up a revolt among the peasants and some of the rank-and-file that forced him to slink away in ignominy.

The exercise had left its share of scars on the Dragonite. Some deep claw and bite marks on his hide, an even deeper aversion of poisonous spike balls, but most of all...

A wounded pride, which had only been further injured through many an exchange such as this one with his peers.

"He seems to give _me_ more leeway than the fish he left to watch over his hometown!" the Dragonite sneered back.

"Grr…"

Darzin blanched and backpedaled as he heard a fierce growl echo off of the stone walls. From the way that the serpent was glaring and baring sharp fangs at him that were starting to form a frosty film on their surface, it was evident that Zorn too was not a fan of having his pride dinged.

"Alright, listen here, fat lump. It seems that you need a few delusions to be cleared up," the Gyarados growled. "Whatever fin-tying Inler puts me through, _I_ have a future in this Company. _You're_ on borrowed time."

The fish circled about the dragon on the islet, shooting a piercing glare at his captive audience of one. Darzin turned warily to meet the Water-Type's gaze, the Gyarados began to smirk, smugly reminding his entrapped quarry of his raison d'etre in the Board.

"The only reason why you haven't been thrown out on your butt yet is because we haven't found a substitute who can resolve the mess you made," he explained. "And once that changes, whether by one of the lower ranks showing some initiative, or us finding some way of neutralizing your 'understanding'... our use for you will end."

_**SLAM** _

"Ack! Wait what are you doing?!"

Before the Water-Type had a chance go on, a commotion broke out from the back of the room. The doors flew open and a Mothim fluttered in, crying out to the fish.

"Administrator Zorn!"

The Gyarados lifted his head in a start, only to bumped against the side of the room's timber bridge. After a low, sullen growl, the creature swam out and surfaced directly in front of the Mothim, glaring.

"Do you _mind?_ " he snarled. "Administrator Darzin and I in the middle of something here!"

Ellsberg went wide-eyed with a timid squeak, and flitted back reflexively from the displeased sea serpent. By now, the guards from behind the door had caught up, an Ariados apologizing profusely for the disturbance.

" _I-Izvinete_ , Administrator Zorn," he stammered. "I'll see him to the door right-"

After shaking his head and attempting to recompose himself, the Mothim raised his voice to try and speak up.

"A-Administrator!" he pleaded. "My name is Ellsberg from the Legal Department and the message I have is urgent! It's a matter of the Company's future!"

Zorn paused and tilted his head curiously. If this lowly Second-Rank had come in such a hurry, he had to have something of importance…

Or else was a glutton for punishment who would have his yearnings sated soon enough.

Step out for a moment," the Water-Type instructed the Ariados. "It looks like 'Elmer' here thinks he has something that was worth disrupting my busy schedule."

The spider gave a salute, and scuttled off for the door, pulling it shut with a strand of silk behind him. As the sound of the door closing rang out in the chamber, the Gyarados lowered his head and hardened his eyes into a piercing glare.

"You have thirty seconds," the Gyarados glowered. "This had _better_ be worth it!"

The moth flitted anxiously and gulped before taking a deep breath…

…and promptly shattering the tense silence in the room with a single, breathless exclamation.

"The Guardian of the Seas is here on Mengir!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _baba (баба)_ \- Bulgarian: "Grandmother" (BGN/PCGN 2013 Romanization)  
>  \- _Nani? (_ _何_ _?)_ \- Japanese: "What?" (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _Mille grazie!_ \- Italian: "Thank you very much!", lit. "(A) thousand thanks!" Also rendered "Grazie mille!"  
>  \- _Tak jasne!_ \- Polish: "Yeah, right!"  
>  \- _largo y ancho_ \- Spanish: "far and wide"  
>  \- _las cosas buenas en la vida se hacen esperar_ \- Spanish: "the good things in life make you wait", idiom analogous to "the best things in life take time"  
>  \- _Izvinete (Извинeтe)_ \- Bulgarian: "Sorry", "Pardon me" (formal) (BGN/PCGN 2013 Romanization)


	36. Setting Up

" _What_ did you just say?!"

A startled roar filled the stone chamber that served as Administrator Zorn's office. There, the Gyarados and the visiting Dragonite stared wide-eyed and shocked at an anxiously flitting Mothim.

"The Lugia the Board sent Lyn after!" Ellsberg buzzed. "I found one of his feathers in the middle of the square by the guild earlier!"

A dead silence filled the room as both Administrators in the room struggled to process the Bug-Type's words. The Gyarados attempted to coil his way out of a stunned, upright posture, the Water-Type's words coming hesitantly through gritted teeth.

"This… is… unexpected," Zorn finally managed. The Gyarados then shook his head and after regathering a bit of his composure, turned to address the Dragonite in his presence.

"Darzin, leave your records at the door, I'll look at them later," the Water-Type said. "It seems something more pressing has come up."

The Dragonite beat his wings and jerked his head towards the sea serpent with a start. Was Zorn _dismissing_ him?

"What do you mean something more pressing?! This is potentially the most significant event _of my career!_ " the Dragon-Type bellowed, his sentence punctuated by bouts of exasperated panting. "You can't just expect me to sit out of it!"

"Yes, and this is a _private_ matter," the Gyarados answered back, a leer forming over his face as his tone became increasingly growling and serious. "And so I would like have a chat with this notary. In _private._ "

The Dragonite hopped back reflexively and felt the blood drain from his face at the sight of a growling maw full of razor-sharp fangs hovering directly in front of his face. After faltering a moment, the full weight of Zorn's attempt to be rid of him weighed on Darzin's mind, followed by his pride. Before he knew it, his burning indignation returned, and his claws were dug firmly into the stone islet underfoot.

"N-Now you listen here, you overgrown eel!" the Dragonite snarled back, flashing his claws at the Gyarados. "I'm an Administrator too, and I _won't_ let you shut me out of-!"

Zorn thrashed forward and cut Darzin off with a roar, the tumult kicking up a spray of water that drenched the islet and sent Ellsberg diving for cover. A dull crunch reverberated in the room, followed by a pained howl that became increasingly muffled and joined by the sound of faint crackling.

When Ellsberg poked his head back up, he saw that the bulk of Darzin's body had been encased in a layer of ice still spreading from a bite at his left shoulder. The immobilized dragon was able to do little more than twitch the unfrozen tip of his tail and digits of his right claw. Zorn pulled his head back and spat up a few scales as the ice block began to give some stifled, angry growls in protest in the background.

"Well, that went better than expected," the Gyarados harrumphed. " _Guards!_ "

At once, the doors flew open and the guards outside rushed into the room and up the wooden bridges. One after the other, the Gourgeist and Breloom followed closely after a flustered-looking Ariados. The lot slowed their pace and came to a stop on the islet, sizing up the now-frozen Dragonite.

"Yes, Administrator!" the Bug-Type swiftly answered.

"Kindly leave Administrator Darzin's records by the door and escort him out of my office before he thaws out," Zorn instructed. "I will need to have a word with Commander Briggs and Elmer here."

A summary "Aye" came in response, and after a moment of uneasy hesitation from the spider, the three set off shoving the hefty Dragonite for the door in fits and spurts and complaints of "could he get any fatter?" Halfway to the door, Darzin melted a hole around his mouth with a gout of fire and was able to manage a "can't do this to me!" before being shut up by a clod of golden-brown Stun Spores from the Breloom.

After the three finally pulled the frozen dragon through the doors, they were slammed shut, leaving Zorn and Ellsberg behind as the pre-existing quiet slowly returned...

Only to be broken by the sound of a dissatisfied buzz.

"Uhm… sir... I believe you're mistaken," the Mothim notary corrected. "My name's _Ellsberg._ "

"Let's not get too hung up on details," the Gyarados answered back dismissively. The creature circled around and craned his head and neck to accommodate the Bug-Type in his customary way for visitors...

Namely, to loom over them, with eyes trained fixedly on the Pokémon in his presence.

"First off, what is _Tromba's_ Protector doing on _my_ island?" Zorn demanded. "I was under the impression that Lyn had been sent _there_ to handle the matter of extraction."

"Erm, well," the moth began. "Commissioner Lyn underestimated said Protector's abilities a bit, and underestimated the degree and tenacity of the support that he'd have."

"What exactly are you trying to imply there?"

"I'm implying that he has _help_ ," Ellsberg answered. The Bug-Type rifled through his bag and pulled out a small stack of bounties, arraying the sheets of paper along the ground for the Administrator to see.

"I found the Guardian's feathers in the square! Freshly molted, even!" he explained. "It means that he and the party he's been traveling with must be in this village!"

Zorn scanned the papers in front of him and saw that they were a set of four, depicting a Nidoran, a Growlithe, a Nidorina, and a Hydreigon. The creature peered at the listings for a moment, before giving a skeptical frown and looking back at the Mothim.

"Eh? Whose fin are you trying to pull here, Elmer?" the Gyarados pressed. "These bounties were issued by the Kenobi branch!"

" _Ellsb-!_ " the moth reflexively retorted, only to notice that the much larger fish with a much higher rank and much bigger teeth was glaring at him. The moth hastily caught his tongue, gulped down his pride, and amended his words to be more palatable to the Administrator.

"Er… it's because at the time, we had reason to believe the Lugia and his companions were on Kenobi."

Zorn shook his head and gave an exasperated scoff, muttering quiet frustrations under his breath.

"Just what sort of extraction is Lyn _running?_ " the Water-Type growled. "Losing his target first at Tromba, and _then_ within spitting distance of one of our shipyards?"

A deafening silence filled the room as Ellsberg stared blankly back at the Gyarados. The Mothim screwed his eyes shut and shook his head with a grunt.

"I... don't have an answer to that-"

"Administrator Zorn!"

The sound of the doors being thrown open filled the room, revealing an Armaldo with a Third-Rank Company scarf hurrying in. As the Plate Pokémon came to a rest at the islet, the Gyarados turned, and addressed him with a tone of voice that approximated amity.

"Ah, Briggs… Just in time."

"I heard that you needed my presence immediately," the anomalocaris answered back. "Just what is going on here?"

"The gods tread among us on this island," the Gyarados replied. At once, the Rock-Type hopped back with a start. Zorn didn't honestly mean…?

"W-What?! But how can that be?!" he cried. "The Protector here on Mengir got shipped off-island before the Petrification of Conntow! And the only one you've told me of is that sea fairy that drifts among the ocean clans and hasn't come ashore in years!"

"It's an unrelated specimen this time," Ellsberg explained. "The Guardian of the Seas."

"I'll brief you on the details in a bit," the Gyarados added. "But my understanding is that it should look something akin to a long-necked Wingull."

Ellsberg passed the four bounties over to the fossil Pokémon, setting them down beside the anomalocaris' feet. The Armaldo simply stood there for a minute scanning the papers, blinking at the odd description of their quarry before finally clearing his throat to speak.

"I see," Briggs grunted back. "I'll send word to Captain Hertsog to seize them at o-"

"Actually, Commander," Zorn interrupted. "I need you to arrange for something a bit different this time…"

The two bugs whipped around to stare at the Gyarados in shock. What did he mean by 'something different this time?'

"Administrator Zorn? What are you going on about?" Ellsberg asked. "The Protector is here _now_ , we should grab him before he can get away!"

"Well now, that strategy's been working out rather well for Commissioner Lyn, hasn't it?" the Administrator scoffed. "Chase around the Protector while he's healthy and capable, only for him to slip from your grasp again. No, I think that it's nigh time for a change of strategy."

The Water-Type twitched his barbels and mulled for a moment, before turning a wary eye towards the Mothim notary in the room.

"First off, have there been any particular habits this group has been getting into in each of their stops?" the Gyarados demanded.

"Er… well, my understanding is that they were found near a guild the first time they slipped our grasp, so I presume they've done a mission or two while we've been chasing them?" Ellsberg replied.

"Oh really now?" Zorn asked. "I think that I have a proposal for how to handle them in that case."

"You… do?" the Mothim buzzed.

"This island's ferals, particularly the ones in our Mystery Dungeon, have been unsettled ever since the local Protector's egg was transported all those years ago," the Water-Type said. "As you may already know, they will ambush villagers out alone in the island's interior at night."

"Not to mention the occasional team that gets forced into an early retirement by those ferals for straying into one of the more sensitive stable zones..." the Armaldo added, his words quickly drawing a grunt of affirmation from the Administrator.

"That's right, and I think it's something we can _use_ ," Zorn remarked. "I suggest that we let Commander Briggs have a few of his subordinates lead these 'pirates' of yours into one of those less… accommodating stable zones through a bait mission."

The Gyarados eased into the water, evidently content with the direction his thoughts were going in. After all, a _weakened_ Guardian would be much simpler quarry to deal with...

"Then, when the Protector limps back with whatever's left of his team, then we pounce and hold them until Commissioner Lyn can come to transport the Guardian."

"I think that I can arrange for that, sir," the Armaldo answered back, before pausing as a troubled thought flickered over his mind. "But... are you _sure_ Director Inler will-?"

"What Director Inler doesn't know won't harm him," Zorn quickly answered back. "And if anything goes amiss, I will ensure that you don't bear the brunt of responsibility."

Ellsberg began to sputter with a start at Zorn's words, twitching his antennae anxiously. This plan was much riskier than anything he had been expecting!

"B-B-But this is madness!" the Mothim blurted out "What if the Protector gets hurt?! Or-?!"

"Need I _remind_ you, Elmer," the Gyarados interrupted, "that all this time, this wild-goose chase has been going on precisely _because_ the Company has been underestimating this Protector?"

The sea serpent paused and mulled, flopping his tail back and forth against the surface of the water as he waited intently for an answer from the still-stunned moth. After a few flops, the Gyarados grew impatient, and decided to humor the insect's reservations.

"Look, I'm not pushing for any special favors or concessions here," the Water-Type said. "And for my own reasons, I am more than ready to sign off on Commissioner Lyn to fill Darzin's spot as an Administrator... even if my department has to do most of the work for him."

Zorn dipped his head down, coming to eye level with the Mothim as he narrowed his glare with determination.

"All I ask in return is that we follow _my_ plan here."

* * *

Later that night, the Grovyle Team Traveller encountered outside the Cromlech Inn made her way through the bowels of the fort on the outskirts of Fensedge Village. The palisades and the bulk of its structures were composed of roughly-hewn logs and timbers, with a few exceptions having sturdier stone walls. One of those exceptions was the central complex where Zorn's chamber lay, along with her destination in it- the central blockhouse which loomed over the entire fort.

The Grovyle entered and paced up the winding, torchlit passages of the upper floors of fort's central blockhouse. The gecko came across a waiting Ariados and Leafeon with a five-tailed blotch on her head as muffled voices came from beyond a firmly-barred door from the offices of the Captain of the Guard.

"Oh, hey, Salvini," the Bug-Type said. "Captain Hertsog wanted you to come too, huh?"

"Yeah, I just got the summons, Payak," the gecko answered back. "Do you have any idea what's going on, though? Sure seems like a late hour to talk about something."

"Well, at _first_ I thought it was about what happened with Administrator Darzin earlier today," the spider chittered. "Though you're right, it wouldn't have been worth putting off to this hour."

"Do you two think it has anything to do with that _fuklyo_ going around who's been claiming to be an Immortal?" the Marked Grass-Type asked.

"The Skarmory? I haven't really _heard_ of him doing anything strange," the Ariados, evidently Payak, began, only to find himself facing a pair of unamused stares from his counterparts.

"Strange in a _bad_ way," the spider hastily corrected. "You _know_ what I meant, Phyllis. It's hard to really find fault with a weirdo when he's actually helping Pokémon around town."

"Well, it wouldn't matter," the lizard grunted. "Not like any of us would be able to tell an Immortal from an imposter with just a glance-"

_Clunk_

Just then, the sound of the door being unbarred from within resounded. The three whirled around towards the office's entrance, coming face to face with a Mienshao with a Second-Rank scarf.

"Sorry for keeping you three so long," the weasel said. "Come on in, Commander Briggs is here to see us."

The three grunts stopped and blinked uncertainly as soon as their Captain's words left his mouth.

"Commander Briggs?" Payak asked. As the three poked their heads in, they saw that sure enough, there was a waiting Armaldo, Administrator Zorn's second-in-command. The trio made their way in, and took seats on simple cushions on stools about a low table opposite the Commander. One after the other, the three grunts straightened their scarves as the Plate Pokémon sized them up, clearly agitated about something.

"The Commander informed me that there was an important mission involving some Pokémon that were seen in the square by the guild earlier today," the Fighting-Type explained, turning his head towards his subordinates. "He asked for me to pick a team of Pokémon that were around the area, and of the options, you three seemed to be the candidates for the job."

"Now hold on here, Hertsog! The candidates that are best for the job aren't necessarily the ones you think are best for it!" the Armaldo interrupted, his gaze settling on Phyllis. "And offhand, I can see one that isn't suited to this mission _at all._ "

The other Pokémon cast glances over at the Leafeon with the blotched head, who had frozen and started to grow flustered as she realized that the fossil bug was referring to none other than...

"Wh-Wha-?! M-Me?!" Phyllis exclaimed. "Wh-Why wouldn't I be suited for it?!"

"What's the deal?!" Salvini interjected. "She works as hard as the rest of us!"

"With all due respect, what's so wrong about letting a Marked do this assignment-?" the Ariados began, only to be silenced with by the Captain whipping a furry sleeve out to motion for silence. The weasel also appeared to be taken aback by his superior's objections and quickly turned his attention back to the Armaldo.

"Commander, you _asked_ me to pick from my subordinates that were around the square earlier today," the Fighting-Type reminded. "From a purely technical perspective, Phyllis is by far one of the most qualified choices I could have made!"

In response, the Mienshao got an icy glare from the Armaldo across the table, who leaned in before snapping back in an agitated tone.

"Don't get cocky just because you evolved early, Hertsog! There are some things that skulking about a Distortion longer than normal won't just give you, like operational experience," Briggs hissed. " _I'm_ your superior in that department, and _I_ say that fox isn't well-suited to this mission!"

"B-But- I've worked as hard as anyone else on the force! A-And I care just about as much as Mengir and the Company as anyone else!" the Leafeon protested. The fox's voice carried a betrayed and helpless tone, clearly upset by Briggs' insistence on being rid of her. "Are the Pokémon Marked or something? You don't have to worry about me sticking up for them if they've been causing trouble!"

"Commander, if Phyllis isn't suited for this mission, I think that I as her superior have a right to know _why_ she's not suitable, no?" the Captain pressed. "Give me an _explanation_ for your reservations, and I'll concede the point."

The Armaldo turned and sized up the Leafeon with a frown. If a Marked was tasked to pursue a sea god, what could keep her from causing a panic among her peers on the island? If that happened it would surely defeat the secrecy that Zorn demanded!

… on the other hand, there wasn't really an excuse he could give. He couldn't claim that terrain was an issue, as any team fielded by Hertsog would focus on the land anyways. And if he said that this quarry would frighten the blotch-head, what would keep that Mienshao from just going along and telling her?

Bah… perhaps the best that could be done would be to play along, and make sure that that fox stayed _out_ of the way.

"I... was skeptical of potential conflicts of interest," the Armaldo reluctantly growled back, eying the Leafeon. "But I think that things can work out _if_ her loyalty is as solid as she lets on."

The leafy fox bristled and growled at Briggs' accusatory tone, only for Salvini to up beside her and pat at her shoulder.

"Don't let it get to you," she whispered. "After all, you're still on the case right?"

"… Right," the fellow Grass-Type answered, giving a glowering sigh as the Ariados of the group cleared his throat to attempt to steer the conversation in a less confrontational direction.

"So then what's the assignment?" Payak asked.

"Well, brass has had a bit of a pirate problem lately," Briggs answered as he moved a claw through some papers at his end of the table. "Do any of these Pokémon seem familiar?"

The Commander pushed a set of pirate bounties out into the middle of a table. There was one for a Nidoran, another for a Growlithe, and another pair for a Nidorina and Hydreigon. One by one, the three First-Ranks began to inspect the notices.

"Uhm… I can't say that I've seen any of them during my rounds today," Phyllis murmured to herself. "Payak? Salvini? What about you?"

"Can't say that I've seen any of them myself," the Ariados began. "But-"

There was a loud clatter as a chair was thrown back by an excited Grovyle springing up from her seat. The gathered Pokémon turned in surprise as their teammate suddenly sprung up from her seat, mystified at what had caused her outburst.

"Salvini? _Kavko ima?_ " Payak exclaimed.

"These pirates of yours! I ran into them earlier today!" the gecko cried, eliciting a chorus of startled exclamations from her peers. "I thought something seemed fishy about them even though they looked a little young, so I steered them to the Cromlech Inn!"

"That settles it then," the Mienshao declared. "I'll organize a raid on the place right away-!"

"Not so fast, Captain," Briggs interrupted. "While these are obviously _very_ serious characters, we can't afford to just barge in right away!"

"What are you _talking_ about, Commander?" the weasel protested. "We _know_ where they are, why _wouldn't_ we spring on them now?"

"They really didn't seem _that_ tough when I ran into them, Commander," the Wood Gecko explained. "And we could grill them for information about where their tougher friends are!"

The sea bug shook his head in response before looking back at the underlings and carrying on with his explanation.

"Bear me out... This group is _much_ stronger than their rag-tag appearance would let on," the Armaldo explained. "And I believe _you_ should know a thing or two about appearances being deceiving, Hertsog."

"I'll concede your point…" the mustelid grumbled, shaking his head. "But where are you going with this?"

"What I'm getting at is that this lot has _already_ fought their way out of the Company's grasp three times already," Briggs answered. "So you'd be wise not to blindly rush your subordinates off to a stay with the medics."

"Eh?!" Payak exclaimed. "But how are we supposed to wrangle them down if they're that dangerous?!"

"You _aren't,_ " the fossil Pokémon corrected.

"Come… again?" Phyllis asked, giving a puzzled frown. Payak and Salvini similarly thought the anomalocaris' words to be strange and traded curious looks with each other.

"Why not?" Salvini wondered.

"Yeah, you're not suggesting we just let them slip away, are you?" Payak added.

"From the information I received, every place this group has gone to has reported that they front as a travelling team," the Bug-Type explained. "Most likely to scout hiding places in the interior and local Mystery Dungeon for future raids."

The Armaldo paused for a second, his tail swishing as he processed the account.

"Naturally, our local circumstances make things a bit more… treacherous," the Armaldo continued. "Which we can use to get this band of brigands in over their heads, and pounce on them while they're weak and wounded."

"You mean what's _left_ of them," Payak corrected.

"Well, I wouldn't be so quick to _assume_ , but a loss or two wouldn't be unexpected, no," Briggs answered as a small smirk spread over his mouth. "But does that clear things up, Hertsog?"

The Mienshao moved a fur-sleeved arm to his muzzle and pondered a moment. The mustelid glanced over the bounties once more before returning his gaze to his superior.

"It does, yes… And offhand, I see a few things that need to be done to get these pirates into that trap," the Fighting-Type answered back. "We'll need to work with the guild and medics to help set up a snare for these brigands without sucking any civilians in. We'll need to keep an eye for any potential contacts they might have from the docks or on the fringes, and of course, we'll need to actually reel them in."

Hertsog looked down and pawed at his whiskers in thought for a moment, before looking back up and addressing his subordinates.

"Payak, I want you to handle the guild details," the weasel instructed, casting a glance over to the Ariados. "Dangerous criminals or not, this _will_ require bending the guild's rules a little, and it would be best if there were no discrepancies to show for it."

"Consider it done," the Bug-Type grunted.

"Oh? Not giving the duty to Phyllis there?" the Armaldo asked. "After all, it does seem like a simple enough task compared to the alternatives, especially that dock work..."

Phyllis hissed in indignation, arching her back as she launched into a heated protest.

"Captain, if I may, _I'd_ like to receive the assignment for the docks," the blotched Leafeon replied adamantly. "I'm _confident_ that I can handle it."

A wicked smirk cracked across Briggs' face. Work at the docks would certainly do as a distraction for her...

"It's yours, and I'll work with the Rangers to handle those fringes from my end," Hertsog said. "Salvini…"

"Yes?" the Grass-Type asked.

"You seem to have had the most contact with these scoundrels already," the weasel Captain instructed. "I think you're the most natural candidate for steering them towards the dummy mission."

"Hrmph, got it."

"I think that should be all then, get some rest," the Fighting-Type said. "We'll all need to be up in time to beat these scoundrels to the morning crush tomorrow."

The three First-Ranks were dismissed and made their way to the door. Salvini and her companions traced their way down the halls, en route for the courtyard, where the three would go their separate ways for the night based on the lodgings the Company had assigned them.

All the while, something about the whole exchange couldn't help but strike the lizard as strangely amiss...

"Why was Briggs so hesitant to let Captain Hertsog bring Phyllis along for a simple pirate bust?"

The Grovyle mulled the matter, but after thinking and not being able to come to any satisfactory explanation, she brushed it aside.

"Eh, there's probably a good enough reason for it."

Salvini shook her head and continued on as her mind drifted off to the instructions she had been given. If she wanted to give those ne'er-do-wells that mission all she had to do was wait outside the inn the next morning and follow them to the guild.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the three, on the roof above the Captain's office, a Dragonite had been perched on the awning, fluttering up just high enough to keep his full weight from weighing down the shingled roof. From his perch, he had gathered the whole of the conversation that transpired in the office beneath him.

"So, Zorn plans on making the Protector into a sitting Ducklett," he muttered. "Well that simplifies the matter greatly."

The Dragonite turned over to Zorn's stone-walled chamber and glared. It was all that Gyarados' fault that he had to take matters into his own claws to get restitution… Him and the rest of those ingrates on the Board!

But that was no matter, the opportunity was here, and with his time as an Administrator drawing to a close, one could be forgiven for resorting to desperate measures.

"You won't be rid of me so easily, Zorn," the Dragonite growled. "I will get back what the Board and the Company took from me all those years ago, and if I have to get blunt about it, so be- a-ah-ACHOO!"

The Dragon-Type sneezed, as a gout of dragonfire sailed off and into the side of a nearby barracks with a loud burst. As the Dragonite raised his head and inhaled some snot starting to dribble out his nose, he noticed the barracks now had a blackened scorch mark on the wall and the roof eave was smoldering, with startled cries coming from nearby.

"A- _Aaah!_ What was that?!"

"I think it came from the Captain's office!"

Darzin froze, his antennae drooping and eyes slowly widening in spite of his shrinking pupils as the sound of guards moving around reached his ears.

"Urgh… lousy cold... Time to make myself scarce."

The Dragonite flew off as fast as his tiny wings could carry him. A quick look back past his now tense and rigid tail revealed several guards approaching the blockhouse he was perched on just seconds ago.

Now that he knew what Zorn's plan was all he had to do was wait for the team to come back from the bait mission, and snatch them away before his goons had a chance to capture them.

* * *

"Crom! _Ojo!_ "

The Druddigon whirled about and froze as he saw a Vigoroth with a Company scarf charging him under the morning's light, his claws bared and swinging towards him. Crom attempted to bolt to the side, but it was too late to avoid a painful glance from the Slash on his arm.

"Eyaaaah!"

The ruddy dragon tumbled and fell along the dirt ground, panting. This fight was going much worse than planned. His foe was tougher, more experienced, and as the sound of rapidly approaching footfalls indicated, swifter.

"Ha!" the Normal-Type taunted. "Nice try, kid!"

Crom hastily dragged himself upright, anticipating another blow at any moment. Except, now the taunting voice and the footsteps were growing fainter and falling away. As the Druddigon looked back, he saw the reason why.

"Your Substitute's mine!"

The sloth was beelining straight for the form of a misshapen Nidorina slouched over, the helpless form of his now undefended Substitute!

"Gaah!"

The Vigoroth's momentum was arrested by a swift chop from a Fraxure's tusk, which was quickly followed by a second. The dragon's strike sent the grunt tumbling back along the ground with a yelp, a pair of raw, red marks forming along his side.

The Nidorina Substitute was safe for now, and the axe-headed Dragon-Type called out an exhortation to try and invigorate his son.

"Don't worry, Crom! I've got it!" Pladur cried. "I've got i-!"

The Fraxure's eyes widened as a screeching Staraptor with cutting, white bands of air disturbed air tracing his body seemingly came for his head. The Dragon dove down and covered his head as the bird sailed on overhead.

**SPLUTCH!**

Any relief was abruptly squelched as the two dragons turned around and saw that their Substitute's flank had been torn open. The fake Nidorina was now melting into a bluish mist, starting around the wound.

"Er," Pladur murmured. "Well, I _had_ it…"

"Gotta pay closer attention to your surroundings, _Onondo!_ "

The culprit of the Aerial Ace, a Staraptor, fluttered down and hopped over to offer a congratulations on a match well-fought.

"That said, it was a decent attempt for a bunch of rookies," the hawk said. "Your kid's quite the scrapper!"

"Yeah, and you're no slouch, either," the Vigoroth winced. "Why, with how you constantly duck and weave around like that, you're a real pain to nail!"

Pladur shook his head flusteredly as he began to protest that he didn't "run away that much", only to notice that Crom was rubbing at his right arm. The Fraxure moved closer to inspect the arm and saw that there was a ruddy scrape on it. Nothing that couldn't be patched up, but even so...

"Uhm… Crom?" the Fraxure prodded. "Maybe you should heal yourself a bit right now. You look a bit roughed up."

"E-Eh?!" the Druddigon protested. "But dad, it's not that-!"

Crom chanced to brush his scrape, which sent a sharp pain through his body and made him wince aloud. The Vigoroth had a flicker of worry pass over his eyes for a moment, only to dismiss his concern with a grunting shake of his head as Pladur drew near to his child.

"Better safe than sorry, right?" the Fraxure insisted, pawing at Crom's arm. "There should be some Oran Berries in my bag. I'll ask some questions while you're getting patched up."

Crom looked back at the scrape on his arm, and in between the sight of the reddish streak on it and the lingering pain it left... those Oran Berries didn't sound so bad.

"I… guess that's a fair point," he replied. The Druddigon lumbered off towards the sidelines as curious prodding over "what sort of questions have you got?" distantly reached his ears from the background. All around him, the local grunts eagerly traded gossip with one another, just as Marley and Osmund had predicted. The young Dragon-Type picked up conversations about friends, family, tips for how to court a crush… along with chatter about a suspicious ship that pulled in overnight with "white sails with red saltires" from some passing grunts.

Crom came to the retaining wall of the battlefield, where a number of bags from the Siglo Swellow's crewmates who had come to poke around for information at the fort were piled up against each other. After rooting around a little, the Druddigon came across his father's bag, and fished out an Oran Berry from inside. The fruit was peeled, pressed against his fresh scrape with a wince, and its pulp popped into the Druddigon's mouth and gulped down. Everything felt alright, except…

It felt like there was less juice in the berry than normal that time. Crom initially thought nothing of it, until he saw that half the juice from the Oran Berry had dripped all over a bulky, coal-gray bag in front of him.

"Ack! Oh no!"

Crom hastily tried to brush the juice off the fabric, with little success. The Druddigon then hastily looked around, and after seeing that no one seemed to be looking, tried to lick up the sticky juice all over the bag. After a few licks and a healthy amount of leftover saliva, the faint bluish stains were perhaps the best that could be hoped for. The Druddigon sighed, and began to pick the bag up to hide it at the back of the pile…

"Huh?"

… only to realize that the bag felt like there was something strangely bulky and heavy inside. From the side, Crom could see a boxy shape through a gap in the cover. The dragon nosed at the cover, and after letting his curiosity get the better of him, moved a claw for the bag's opening.

"Ack! What are you doing?! That's my bag!"

Crom yelped and dropped the bag as he heard a startled buzz from behind. It was Ander, who had returned from target practice with Watmel-headed training Substitutes the next battlefield over. Almost as soon as the satchel hit the ground, a scythe slipped past the straps and pulled it back.

"Er…"

The Scyther brushed his bag with a blade, and drew it back with a disgusted grimace. Much to his unpleasant surprise, he discovered that it now had some fresh blue stains on it, along with some dabs of Druddigon saliva. The Bug-Type shot an exasperated expression at the young dragon, waiting for an explanation.

"A-Aaaah! Sorry! Sorry! I accidentally got it dirty and I was trying to clean it-" Crom stammered. "I-I just thought that it seemed a little heavy! And-!"

"What's going on?!"

Pladur had scampered over in a hurry at the sound of the outburst, leaving Ander to shift his glance from the startled-looking Druddigon to the worried-looking Fraxure. After noticing that the bag didn't seem to have been opened, the Scyther began to grow calmer, if still unhappy about the new fluids on it.

"It's fine. just…" Ander sighed. "Let me worry about my bag the next time something happens to it. Alright, Crom?"

Crom gave an overhasty affirmation, though even so, his mind couldn't help but wonder… Why had Ander gotten so startled about him peeking into his bag? And what was the bulky object inside of it?

"Hey guys!"

The Druddigon's curiosity was quickly displaced as all eyes were drawn to a rapidly approaching party consisting of a Swellow, a Servine, and a Raichu. The lot of them came down a flight of steps along the retaining wall in a hurry, concern etched on their faces.

"Uhm, we kinda found out something about the kids," Philips said. "And, well... it's not looking good at all."

The Electric-Type passed a small tube of rolled-up papers to Crom's group. As Pladur unfurled the papers along the ground, their contents became clear and made the three go wide-eyed as they realized...

These were _bounty notices_ , with Nida and Elty on two of them, described as traveling with a "unnaturally gigantic Wingull".

"Ack!" Crom yelped. "They have _bounties_ on them?!"

"That's not all!" Kiran squawked. "Look!"

After looking through the collection of papers, the group noticed that one of them was for Margi. The group had barely been in port and Lyn had already gotten her in trouble! As for the other…

"Wait a minute, _Marley_ got a bounty too?" Pladur murmured, raising a skeptical brow.

Sure enough, the remaining bounty was a listing for none other than ' _la Cazadragones de Tromba_ ', under pretenses of piracy.

"Is that supposed to be a _bounty?_ Or a way to get rid of Pokémon the Company doesn't like?" he asked. "Why, I'd almost feel sorry for anyone who tried to go after her!"

"That _does_ seem strange… Even if he obviously didn't _like_ them, would Lyn lie about Pokémon being 'partners' with the kids?" Ander buzzed. "It's almost as if he added them to deliberately make them seem more danger-"

"Hey! Fancy seeing you here!"

The six Pokémon looked up and saw an cheerful-looking Aerodactyl with Company garb standing over the group. Kiran, Ander, Natrix, and Philips blanched and paled at the sight of the Company grunt beelining for them. To their surprise however, Crom and Pladur seemed to be unperturbed by the stranger approaching them.

"Oh! Kellner!" Crom cried. "What are you doing here?"

"Came here to hone my skills a bit," the Fossil Pokémon said. "So what do you think? I mean, we're not exactly Canalhouse City here, but pretty sweet digs, huh?"

"It's… a bit unexpected," Pladur answered, rubbing a claw sheepishly against the back of his head.

"Eh?" Philips asked, raising a brow skeptically. "You _know_ him?"

"Yeah, I thought you said you never really got around here, Pladur," Natrix interjected.

"We met him yesterday, he was the Pokémon who showed us how to get here!" Crom explained. The conversation quickly turned to a congenial exchange of introductions, and the ice between the Aerodactyl and these 'strangers from the Capital' quickly began to thaw. The chatter among the lavender-scarved Pokémon carried on amiably, until Ander chanced to bring up a question...

"Oh, out of curiosity, Kellner…" the Scyther began. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about these pirate bounties here, would you?"

The look in the Aerodactyl's eyes grew cold and a sour expression spread over his maw, suffocating the Fossil Pokémon's prior congeniality.

"Oh, so _you're_ also getting in on this nonsense," he grunted.

"Eh?" Pladur murmured. "Why are you looking at us like that?"

"Yeah!" Crom interjected. "You were friendly with us just a bit earlier!"

"... Sorry. I suppose it's not really your fault," Kellner sighed. "It's just that ever since those bounties went up, all of the skeevier Pokémon in the ranks have been getting worked up about them and prowling around Mossaisle."

"Mossaisle?" Crom wondered. "You mean the town on the island?"

"That's right. I don't know what's gotten into leadership since a lot of those Pokémon are trouble waiting to happen without tight leashes on them…" Kellner trailed off with a disappointed sigh.

"But I guess that's not for me to decide right now," he answered. "Anyhow, luck with the training."

The Aerodactyl paced off and gave his head a disheartened shake before hopping up and flying off past a retaining wall. After Kellner's sudden departure, Crom and Pladur looked off after him, wondering just what the Rock-Type meant by his parting words.

"I think we should try our hand at looking around the town," Philips said.

"Eh?" Ander asked. "Why's that?"

"Yeah, we've barely looked around this place at all!" Crom interjected.

"Well, think about it," Natrix added. "If these bounties are up, and the grunts are still _looking_ for Elty and Nida, then they haven't found them already."

Pladur paused and moved a claw under his chin thoughtfully. While it wasn't a good idea to underestimate the likes of the Company… he had to admit that it would be strange to keep up outdated bounties.

"I suppose that's a fair point," Pladur murmured to himself.

"And it _would_ be more likely that they'd be in the town," Kiran added.

"We should take teams," the Servine said, shaking his head. "With bounties like these, I don't think that those other grunts will be giving us any time to spare."

"Oh?" Ander buzzed, flitting his wings anxiously. "How do we do this?"

"Natrix and I got off a bit easier from training," Philips offered. "We'll grab some help from the Siglo Swellow and look around. The rest of you get ready to take over for us if we haven't found anything by evening."

"Mrph. Right!" Crom grunted back.

"I think that sounds fair," Pladur answered.

The Raichu and Servine hastily snatched up their bags from the pile against the wall, darting off deeper into the complex. Kiran made his way over along to the bags to similarly pack up, only for a sudden worry to make him shake out his feathers and look off at the passing clouds in the sky.

"I just hope he's doing alright out there…" he muttered.

* * *

Across the stream in Fensedge Village, Team Traveller slept soundly at the 'Cromlech Inn' after a hasty supper the night before. The hostel's rooms were spread out on the second floor, the cheap communal halls positioned closer to the stairs while the more private rooms were further towards the back.

Flush with these silvery 'Thalers' from Valatos and his friends, Nida and the others decided to book one of the private rooms. The room was similar to Taxonomy's in its design, with straw bedding and a simple table, but this time of a squarish instead of rounded design. There was a crude cloth drape for the window, and little holes in the shingled roof that let in light from above. Each of the holes served as an unintended skylight, letting sunlight filter down on a room filled with nothing but the sounds of silent snoring...

" _Aaaaaah!_ We overslept!"

Until the startled squeaks of a Nidoran who had roused herself and saw that the light from the gaps in the ceiling were coming down vertically... The way the sunlight did at high noon.

The little Poison-Type quickly flew into a tizzy as she darted in front of the straw beds her teammates still laid upon, and loudly thumped her feet against the floor.

"Come on you guys! _Levantarse!_ " Nida cried. "It's noon already!"

"Wuzzat?!"

Guardia was the first up, leaping up from her bed wide-eyed and with a claw tightly clamped on her bony club which she reflexively swung out, nearly conking Nida on her head. After looking around anxiously about the room, the Cubone saw that her only companions were a wide-eyed Nidoran and a groaning Growlithe and Lugia who were still struggling to raise themselves from their beds.

"What's the big idea?" she huffed. "With the way you were running your yap off, you made me think we got ambushed!"

Nida flicked her ears irkedly back at the bone lizard, just as her other teammates finally managed to drag themselves up to their feet and get their blood flowing with wingbeats and morning stretches.

"Nrgh… 'afternoon'?" Pleo yawned. "But I thought we woke up in the 'morning', Nida…"

"Urgh… couldn't this have waited five minutes?" Elty grumbled, before gesturing with his paw off the room's window. "If you didn't want us sleeping in, why'd you close the drapes?"

"Huh?!" Nida shot back. "No I didn't-!"

As the Nidoran turned to the window, she saw that sure enough, there was a pair of ratty green cloth curtains pulled down over the windows. So _that_ was why the room was so dark! But... she couldn't remember when she pulled it down last night!

"Oh, those things? That hole there was keeping me up when the sky started to become light hours ago," the Cubone answered with a proud grunt. "I found you could pull those cloth things down while trying to cover up that skylight in the wall."

A wave of paws and wings quickly found themselves over the faces of Team Traveller's other members. Nida scrunched her brow and shook out her barbs, mumbling exasperated "why me"s under her breath.

"We need that to _wake up_ in the morning!" the Nidoran hissed. "That's when missions get listed!"

"Wait, what?" Guardia asked. "You mean you don't have anyone come by to poke you awake for the start of the day?"

"That's why Pokémon put windows in their walls," Nida grumbled. "So the _sun_ can do that for you!"

The Cubone paused and adjusted her helmet flusteredly as she noticed that the rest of her teammates were giving unamused scowls at her.

"Uh… well it's certainly new lore to be mindful of," she replied, giving a mollifying wave with both her claws. "I mean, how was _I_ supposed to know that skylight would be so important?"

"Ugh… _why_ did we take her along again?" Elty grumbled to himself.

Nida groaned and shook her barbs, muttering under her breath about this rather… rocky start of the day. After picking up on his teammates' increasingly crabby demeanor, Pleo beat out his wings and tried to motion for calm.

"It's alright," the little Lugia offered. "There should still be some missions for us on the board, right?"

* * *

"How is there _nothing_ left for us?"

Elty scowled and shook his head as the team sized up the mission board for Mengir's guild. It had only taken a few minutes to pick up Guardia's new scarf from the receptionist and make it to the mission board underneath the guild buildings' central teal-roofed dome. And here they were, in a teeming guild hall, without a single mission they could take…

Or at least that's what Elty said. Something seemed amiss about the Growlithe's description, and drew puzzled stares from the Ground-Type and the Flying-Type on the team.

"What are you _talking_ about? There's a bunch of papers still on the board!" Guardia protested, pointing at one of the board's listings with her club. "These are missions, aren't they? Why don't you just take one of them?"

"Yeah!" Pleo chimed in. "What about this one with the picture of the swimming Pokémon there?"

Pleo went over and pulled down a paper with a doodle of a Lapras with cargo on its shell off the board with his beak, setting the pamphlet down on the ground. Nida quickly darted up, and began to look over the contents of the listing...

"It says that they're looking for a team to bring some berries down to the Subway on the bottom of the ocean…" she mumbled.

Pleo's eyes brightened up and he bobbed his head excitedly. A mission with _swimming?_

"Oh! We can do that!" he chirped. "I'm _great_ at swim-"

Before Pleo could finish his words, he heard a low growl and turned to see Elty bristling and glaring.

" **NO.** "

"But-!"

" **NO** ," an equally unamused Cubone's voice shot in. Between the harsh glares from Elty and Guardia, and the head-shaking from Nida… much to Pleo's disappointment, it seemed like they wouldn't be taking a swimming mission today.

"This is a clutter mission anyways, Pleo," she explained, sighing. "And this one and the remaining missions would be too tough for us."

"Eh?" Guardia murmured. "How can you _tell?_ "

"Because the only shapes next to the rune that says 'Rank' are triangles, snake-curves, and stars?" Elty answered. After looking over the pieces of paper, the Cubone saw that sure enough, there _were_ triangle-like, snake-like, and star runes on the places the Fire-Type pointed out. So even if there _were_ missions available, there weren't any that would be _reasonable_ to do!

"I guess that's a reason for waking up on time," Nida sighed. "They say ' _a quien madruga, los dioses se ayudan_ ' for a _reason_ back home…"

"What does that _mean?_ " Guardia asked.

"It's a saying that more or less means that 'the gods help the early,'" the Nidoran explained. "Basically, if you're early, you'll get more advantages. If you're late… well, just look at ourselves."

"But we have to do something, Nida!" Pleo squawked. "Don't we have to do a mission before the guild lets us eat here?"

"We _should_ have enough to get by another day, but… maybe it couldn't hurt to prepare a little."

"Prepare how?" Guardia prodded.

"Well, we need to pick up an Escape Orb before we hit that dungeon anyways since we can't risk getting our badges checked..." Nida answered. "We could always come by afterwards to see if any more missions got listed today."

_Grumble_

Team Traveller's four members looked down at their stomachs, and realized that they hadn't eaten since their small meal before heading to bed the evening before.

"Getting something to eat is part of that getting by, right?" Elty asked.

"Oh? How _do_ Town Pokémon get food? Don't you all not hunt thanks to the Pact?" Guardia wondered. The question made Nida lower her ears and fidget uncomfortably, before shaking her head.

"Uhm… I'll explain on the way, but we don't, and won't need to do that here for food," she said. "Come on, I'm starved already!"

The Nidoran darted off, her teammates quickly following after her as they slipped off into the crowded hall. The four passed by a Kabutops hoping aloud that 'that berry mission to the Subway's still up' and disappeared amidst the mass of milling Pokémon just as some hurried footsteps rang out and came to an uneasy stop.

"Shoot, I lost them!"

Their owner, a Grovyle darting from hall to hall, looked around before pressing on through the crowd. Salvini ducked and weaved around passerbys, drawing cries of protest and surprise, only to find that neither hair nor hide of her targets was to be found there or down the nearby hallways.

The Grass-Type blanched and shook her head to try and collect her thoughts. Perhaps it was best to take a step back here, after all it wasn't a particularly _big_ town to hide in, so...

"Hmm… let's think. Where would _I_ go if I was a pirate stocking up for heading out into the interior?"

With all the facilities around the square it would be the most logical place. If not there, they surely would have gone back to the inn to meet up with their other teammates. Salvini made one final sweep around the crowd and peered down the hallways, just in case her quarry was still around. After coming up empty, she gave a quick nod and turned to make her way out of the guild.

* * *

About half an hour after she lost sight of Team Traveller at the guild, the lavender-scarved Grovyle continued her fruitless search for the team. She looked through the square, then to the inn that she had steered the group to the day before, only to find that her targets were nowhere to be found. After a similarly unfruitful attempt checking a few local eateries, the Grass-Type then doubled back to re-check the shop-lined square near the guild.

"I only lost sight of them for a second!" she exclaimed, scanning the crowds in the bustling plaza. "Where could they ha- Well how about that…?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the forms of a Nidoran, a Growlithe, a Cubone and a large white bird at the Kecleon shop. They seemed to be... haggling?

"But this apple is perfectly fresh!" Elty insisted. "It's certainly worth more than ten Poké."

"You mean it _was_ fresh," the Kecleon scoffed. "Just look at the color of that thing!"

The Chameleon pointed a claw unamusedly at the the apple's skin, which had turned a dull shade since the team first picked it up, and grown flecked with specks of dirt. After a moment of uneasy blinking at the 'fresh' fruit, Guardia cleared her throat and hastily butted in.

"It's just a little dust! It'll come off fine!" the Cubone interjected. "It's still good!"

"Look, if my partner here says it's worth ten Poké, it's worth ten Poké," the Pumpkaboo at the counter grunted. "We didn't get into business yesterday, you know!"

"But you're charging 150 Poké for that Escape Orb!" Pleo cried.

"Guess you'd better sell a little extra, huh?" the Kecleon pressed, pointing at the bag on Nida's shoulder.

"Nida's ears fell at the chameleon's stubborn insistence and the Poison-Type put a paw to her face with a sigh. Perhaps this wasn't a battle they could win.

"Ugh, fine," Nida muttered. "Let's see what we can do."

After conceding that the Apple would not be fresh enough to pass muster, Team Traveler turned away from the stand to sort their sadly lighter bag for goods to cover the difference. As they fished out their Cleanse Orb and the paltry few Poké left in Valatos' assortment of coins, they traded them over the counter for a dark, black orb with a light faintly glowing at its center. The group's wariness slipped as they were engrossed with their lost negotiation with the Kecleon and Pumpkaboo pair. Deciding to act before they could give her the slip again, Salvini walked over to accost the group of brigands as they pocketed their sphere. The gecko quickly dusted herself and mustered the cheeriest demeanor she could summon, before sidling up to the group.

"Oh, it's you again! Just got through picking a mission, I take it?" she asked.

The Pokémon turned out of surprise at the sudden voice beside them, but sighed out of relief as they saw it was none other than the Grovyle who had steered them to the hostel the night before. The tension in their faces fading, Nida eased into answering the gecko's inquiry.

"Uh... not quite," the Poison-Type replied, sheepishly folding her ears back.

"Hrm?" the Grass-Type wondered. "Something go wrong?"

"We slept in," Pleo chirped back. "And by the time we got to the board, all the missions we could take were picked already!"

Elty, Nida, and Guardia cringed a little. Pleo's admission was rather mortifying for the rest of them... but fortunately for their pride, the Grovyle declined to pry.

"Ah, so basically just treading water until you get something up your alley?" she pressed.

"Oi! We're not treading water, we're right here on land!" Guardia interjected. "And if we were able to get one of those missions, we wouldn't be treading anything around here!"

So the team was actively looking for a mission... steering them to Hertsog's dummy mission might actually be easier than expected, Salvini mused.

"Hrm… Well, it _might_ be a little on the tough side," the Grass-Type offered. "But I was actually running over to re-list a request for a friend of mine…"

The Grovyle dug through a satchel slung across her shoulder and pulled out the fake listing that Hertsog had prepared. As soon as she set the paper on the ground, the members of Team Traveller crowded around, eagerly scanning its details.

"You need us to draw pictures for this village's shrine…?" Nida asked.

"That's right. They're references for the shrine and the paintings have gotten a bit worse for wear," Salvini replied. "It's in a stable zone that was last sighted between the seventh and ninth floor."

Guardia squinted carefully at the paper on the ground, eagerly examining every little scribble on it. She could only recognize a few scattered hut-dweller characters on the paper, the fruit of her studies under Tetsuzui. On the top of the paper was a doodle of what looked like a crude blue drawing of a Stantler on it… the local god, perhaps?

Even so, there was one matter that troubled the Ground-Type...

"Not that _I'd_ be one to turn down a mission dealing with lore gathering about the gods," the Cubone murmured. "But how exactly are we supposed to know if we've _found_ this chamber?"

"Oh, that's _easy,_ " the gecko reassured. "There's murals on the passage leading into it from the Mystery Dungeon! If you find it, you'll know as soon as you make it through the thick of the fog!"

Nida looked back down at the listing, and then back up at the Grass-Type. It was a bit of a peculiar request, but...

Pleo needed a chance to practice… and who knows, perhaps the drawings might even have some sort of tip for how Protectors drew out their power!

"Hrm… well, the description doesn't _sound_ like anything we couldn't handle," the Poison-Type mused.

As Nida mulled, Elty twitched his ears and glanced at the paper the spike ball was prodding at. The little dog gave it a skeptical sniff before casting a wary glance up at Salvini.

"Eh, _nie wiem_ ," Elty mumbled. "Even if it was posted once before, it's technically _unlisted_ now…"

"I was actually in the middle of running a copy over to the guild myself," Salvini explained. The Grass-Type pulled a second sheet of paper, and dangled it in front of Team Traveller, prepared for this exact purpose to mollify her pirate quarry. The gecko put the second sheet back into her bag, and began to bend down to pick up the one she set on the ground. "I mean, it _should_ be up on the board in just a couple hours if you'd rather wait…"

"No, no, that's alright!" Nida interjected, quickly pulling away the listing. "We'll take it! We could use the mission!"

The Grovyle cracked a satisfied smile as the Nidoran eagerly snatched up Hertsog's listing. While the spike ball stuffed it into her bag, the Grass-Type gave a few more words to attempt to pry into her targets' next move.

"Well… glad we could both work something out with each other," Salvini chuckled. "So you'll be getting right to it, then?"

"That's right!" Guardia grunted. "We'll be heading straight for-!"

"Wait!" Pleo squawked.

Elty and Nida folded their ears back at Pleo's outburst, taken aback by the sudden volume. The three turned with skeptical looks to see what the Lugia's issue was.

"We've been running here and there for the last couple of days already!" the little Protector cried. "Before we go back into a dungeon, can't we play a little?"

Nida paused and twitched her whiskers uncertainly, they had been through a lot… and…

"A break _would_ be nice after the past few days," she murmured. Elty and Guardia similarly paused, and much to Salvini's astonishment, the longer the two mulled, the more they seemed to agree with the little spike ball! Just what sort of criminals were these?!

"W-Wait a minute!" Salvini interjected. "You're going off on a break now?!"

"Er… this mission of your friend's," Nida said, drooping her ears sheepishly. "Does it _have_ to be done today?"

"I- I mean, it would be preferred," Salvini stammered. "But it would be understandable if-"

"Then let's play first!" Pleo insisted. "Let's go to the beach!"

The Nidoran looked at her Lugia companion, and then turned her head back at the Grovyle with a wavering glance.

"We wouldn't be holding you up, would we?" the Nidoran asked. "Er…"

"It's 'Salvini,' and…" the Grass-Type said before trailing off. She hesitated, then gave her head a dismissive shake.

"Nah, forget it," she replied. "Go ahead, sometime's a 'mon's got to unwind a bit."

"Woo hoo! Let's go! Let's go!" Pleo cheered. "Come on, let's go build a sand castle!"

The four Pokémon ran off chattering and calling after one another, as they slipped away in the morning crowds. Salvini stared off after this band of most peculiar criminals, still blinking and blankly trying to make sense of the fact they were excited about a...

"Sand... castle?"

These were either, without a doubt, the worst pirates she had ever heard of, or Commander Briggs or someone further up the chain of command had made a mistake.

Unless this was their cover…

Or maybe they were some hooligans who needed to be scared straight…

Or the Commander hadn't communicated properly to her... Could that be it?

Well, Briggs would sort it out. He couldn't possibly go that _hard_ on a bunch of kids, right?

With that, the Grovyle shuffled off, tracking the path Team Traveller took off for the beaches west of the town.

* * *

After making their way back on the route past the juice bar and medic's hut that they took on their first day in Fensedge, Team Traveller carried along to the shoreline and off to a green-sanded beach just outside of town. There, in the backdrop of Fensedge's stone spires, the team wiled away their time, dutifully scooping up handfuls of sand up from the wet band above the surf and carrying them up towards the high tide mark.

"That's it," Nida called. "Just keep moving the sand over!"

"You _know,_ " Elty grumbled. "This would go faster if we just kicked up the sand into a pile and shaped it _there._ "

The young Lugia squawked out of protest at the Growlithe's suggestion and beat his wings emphatically. They couldn't just kick up the sand like that! After all...

"There'd be a big hole right in front of the sand castle then!" Pleo cried. "And you wouldn't ever get the waves to come up to you!"

As the team continued their talk about how to make the sand castle, the little Protector noticed that one member seemed to be missing from the conversation.

"Guardia? What's the matter?" Pleo wondered "Why aren't you playing along?"

The Cubone all this time had been watching her teammates play with the sandcastle, doing nothing other than to occasionally poke at it with her club while lost in thought. The Ground-Type tilted her head skeptically at the little Guardian, before deciding that it was best to clear up the matter troubling her.

"Well, something bothered me about earlier… why were you acting so strange during that storm?" Guardia asked. "We were all in danger but you were talking about some sort of song that wasn't even there!"

"Now that the bonehead mentions it, that _was_ kinda strange," Elty murmured. "What _is_ it with you and storms?"

Pleo paused and tilted his head puzzledly, giving a bat to his tail. The little Protector brought a wing to his beak and mulled a moment, before finally offering up what little of an answer he could think of.

"I don't know, it just sang to me…" he replied. "And I thought it sounded really pretty."

"Huh? But you're supposed to be the Guardian of the Seas!" Nida cried. "Why would a storm sound pretty to you?"

The team traded blank looks with each other, as no simple answers seemed to come to mind to Nida's question. After scratching at her chin under her skull helmet, the Cubone in the group suddenly raised a proposal.

"Well… It's said that Protectors are supposed to have 'domains'," Guardia said. "What if Pleo's 'domain' is storms?"

Nida flinched at her teammate's words and hopped back with a start, twitching her whiskers uncomfortably. Guardia couldn't possibly be suggesting that Pleo had anything to do with it, could she?

"Wh-Wha-?! That's preposterous!" the Poison-Type spluttered.

"Not that I'd be one to look forward getting stuck with more rain, but…" Elty mused. "I think she might have a point."

"She does?" Pleo asked, tilting his head.

"Think about the times when your power came out before," Elty explained. "The day you blew the Captain across the island was just a few days after a storm. That night we crawled through Lyn's ship was the night of a storm…"

Pleo fidgeted uncomfortably at the mention of Lyn's ship. The Growlithe's words rustled unwelcome memories of being taken away from home and chained up in that dark room below deck, which made the young Lugia rustle his feathers uneasily.

"Then… if this island here gets a bunch of storms," Guardia mulled. "Maybe this is the right place for figuring out how to draw out your god's power."

Nida lowered her ears and shook her spikes, unnerved at the Cubone's words. Pleo? A god of _storms?_ The scary winds and rains that brought trouble to shore and to ships at sea? The spike ball turned, hoping her partner's normal cheer could help dispel some of the anxiety, only that Pleo still looked downcast.

The little bird had lowered his head and pulled it in close to his body, uncomfortably shuffling his feet in the sand. The three wondered what could be troubling the young Protector until a simple pair of questions made his troubles known…

"Nida…?" Pleo murmured. "When can we go back home?"

The Nidoran blanched and looked down at the ground, the young Protector's words catching her off-guard. After a hasty shake of her head, a forced smile spread over her muzzle as she attempted to soothe the little Lugia with some encouraging words.

"Don't worry Pleo," Nida reassured "We'll go home soon."

"When is soon?" Pleo asked.

Nida froze. When was soon? Every path home she could think of had a Samurott sitting in its way. Her family, her friends beyond her teammates, the rest of the town she took for granted just up until a few weeks ago… The more she thought of them, the more impossibly far they seemed, causing the poison-rabbit's ears to droop lower and lower.

"I… don't know," she mumbled, shaking her head glumly. "If we could only draw out your power we could fight back against the Company…"

Pleo's neck drooped ever so slightly, but Nida caught the signal. Think positive, think positive, find something for Pleo's sake... he liked the storms, right?

"Though... if Guardia is right, then being someplace _near_ storms might help," she said. "If there's any place where we can draw out your power, we sure can do it here!"

The Nidoran noticed that the mention didn't seem to be very effective at cheering up her teammate. Perhaps it was best to set aside the worries of drawing out Pleo's power for now, and focus on something a bit more relaxed...

"But… why don't we get back to that sand castle for now?" Nida asked, nosing at the team's still nascent sand castle. "We've only got one day off, so let's make the most of it!"

The suggestion seemed to cheer the little Lugia up, as his spirits and energy quickly returned at the prospect of finishing the team's sand castle...

"Sure!" he chirped, much to Guardia's long-faced displeasure.

"Are we _seriously_ putting off learning more about the lore of a god for sand castles?" she grumbled.

"Aw, come on!" Pleo chirped. "You can learn this 'lore' thingy about sand castles!"

The Ground-Type paused and blinked incredulously, tilting her head puzzledly at the white bird. Were the gods _supposed_ to be this way? The Cubone felt a paw at her shoulder, and turned to see a bemused-looking Growlithe.

"He's got you there, bonehead," Elty chuckled. "I mean, when was the last time you got to make one of these in that stuffy cave of yours?"

The bone lizard turned to the pudgy Fire-Type, and then to her companions gathered around their sand heap. It wasn't lore about the Protectors, but…

" _Yokarō,_ " she grunted. "This sand castle thing is more fun than I thought it would be anyways."

With that, the former feral joined her peers, continuing the process of lugging up wet sand and molding it into a fort that with enough time and a little imagination, would outshine even the one looming over the town to the east. And so it was that the team whiled away their day, laughing and playing with each other with Fensedge Village off in the distance…

_Rustle_

And under the watch of a pair of sharp, yellow eyes of one of its guards lurking unseen in the nearby undergrowth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
>  
> 
> \- _fuklyo (фукльо)_ \- Bulgarian: "Show-off" (BGN/PCGN 2013 Romanization)  
>  \- _Kavko ima? (Какво има?)_ \- Bulgarian: "What's the matter?" (BGN/PCGN 2013 Romanization)  
>  \- _Onondo (_ _オノンド_ _)_ \- Japanese: "Fraxure" (Official Romanization)  
>  \- _(¡)Levantarse!_ \- Spanish: "Wake up!"  
>  \- _nie wiem_ \- Polish: "I don't know"  
>  \- _Yokarō (_ _良かろう_ _)_ \- Japanese: "Very well" (Hepburn Romanization)


	37. Straw in the Wind

Beyond being surprised by the occasional wave, Team Traveller's lazy day at the beach went by without incident. The team whiled away the daylight hours laboring on little heaps of sand that their imaginations spun into grand castles. Eventually, the sun began to set over the west and the sky started to turn a vivid orange, prodding Team Traveller to begin their trek back to Fensedge. After returning to the village, the team grabbed a bite from the square near the local guild and retired back to the inn for the night. It had been a much needed day of rest and relaxation, though all the while Pleo, Nida, Elty, and Guardia couldn't help but shake the feeling that they had been watched...

_Pat-pat-pat_

And for good reason.

As night broke and the stars came out, Salvini made her way up the stony chambers in the central blockhouse of Mengir's Company fort. Three Pokémon were already waiting for her inside at the Captain's office: a Marked Leafeon and an Ariados, both facing a tired-looking Mienshao with a Second-Rank's lavender scarf.

"I was hoping that the guild would've fished them out by now," the Mienshao sighed. "I didn't see anything other than the expected plants and ferals while I was with the Rangers earlier, _not_ exactly what I wanted to do while work piled up in my office."

The weasel shook his head and stroked his whiskers before turning to his subordinates with an expectant look.

"We can't afford to stay off their trails for too long," Hertsog murmured. "So let's try and make this status update quick. Any luck from your ends?"

"I looked around the docks on the west side of the village as promised, but I didn't see them at all today," Phyllis said.

"I 'convinced' the guild to allow the mission to be posted, sir," Payak chittered. "I didn't see any of the pirates, but Salvini told me that they passed through while I was in the back office."

"What about you, Salvini?" the weasel pressed. "Were you were able to give them that mission?"

"I successfully gave the mission to a couple of their younger members in front of that Merchantry shop…" the Grovyle began. "But they wound up spending the day at the beach to the east of town today before returning back to the inn."

Salvini's answer was met with wide eyes and jaw drops from her teammatess. The pirates hadn't started their mission and left Fensedge on their own?

"Wait, _what?!_ " Phyllis cried. "But why would they _do_ that?"

"Captain, we should pounce on them now while they're at the inn," Payak interjected. "They've clearly caught onto us."

"I'll admit, this is looking rather concerning," Hertsog murmured as he moved his fur-sleeved arm towards his muzzle. "But, let's not get worked up just yet."

"Huh? But they already left the town once already!" the Marked fox exclaimed. "Shouldn't we not be pressing our luck with these characters?"

"Why not hear from the source?" the weasel asked, before shifting a glance to the leafy gecko in his presence. "You saw them come and go today, Salvini. Did you see them do anything strange at the beach?"

"Well, it was just the younger ones," she answered, moving a claw under her chin. "But they spent most of their time at the beach there making sand castles!"

Payak and Phyllis blinked and traded puzzled looks with each other. As the two tried to figure out why their targets would behave in such a manner, the Mienshao shook his head and cleared his throat.

"That's what makes me think they haven't caught onto us," the Fighting-Type replied. "If they _knew_ we were onto them, why come back to town when they could have slipped away right there? And especially with the forecasted weather..."

"Forecasted weather?" Salvini wondered.

"Oh, that's right," the Ariados said. "The Castform who checks the barometers was saying that it's looking like the next storm from the Wastes will pass by Mengir tomorrow. I mean, she's not always right, but-"

"Why would they take the chance unless they had something to do here still?" the weasel finished, giving a wave of a fur-sleeved paw. "I think we should make a point of keeping a closer eye on them from here on out at the guild and inn."

"Oh? Who's taking what?" the Leafeon asked.

"I want you and Payak on the guild. Salvini and I will watch the hostel," the Mienshao answered. "Throw a Luminous Orb to signal if you run into trouble. If these pirates _are_ planning on slipping away from here, they'll most likely try something by tomorrow-"

_Grumble_

The four Pokémon hastily looked around and eased into battle stances, expecting to encounter a hidden eavesdropper… only to pause, and look down towards their bellies as they realized that the strange rumbling was coming from their stomachs! It was rather late in the night, and none of them had eaten yet…

Then perhaps, there was something _else_ to be done before heading straight back onto the beat.

"But for now, we should probably grab a small _vecherya_ before hitting the beat again," the weasel said. "Let's make it snappy, though!"

"Right!" came the unanimous reply.

Payak and Phyllis darted off past the door and down the halls with fading footsteps, though one exception remained. There in the now-quiet office, Salvini continued to stare at her superior, her eyes betraying a sense of obvious unease.

"Captain…?" the Grass-Type asked. "Just what kind of pirates _are_ these?! They went off to go play after I gave them the mission!"

"It does seem a little strange, I'll admit," the mustelid answered. "But don't you remember that Commander Briggs said that this team has been able to slip away _because_ others have been underestimating them?"

"That's… true," the Grovyle murmured.

"You have to know your opponent, Salvini," Hertsog reassured. "If you _don't…_ well, if all goes according to plan, these pirates will wind up learning that for themselves the _hard_ way."

The Mienshao paused and shook his head, before turning back to his gecko subordinate and giving his sleeved arms a wave off to the distance.

"Go and get that meal, I'll meet up with you at the Everbloom Taverna," the Captain said. "And that's an order!"

"Hmm, right!" the gecko answered.

Salvini turned for the door and darted down the blockhouse's flights of stairs, eager to treat herself to a well-deserved dinner. Even so, the thought of food and Hertsog's reassurance couldn't dislodge a lingering, nagging thought in her mind…

Was Commander Briggs hiding something about the mission? Otherwise, just what were those supposed pirate kids up to?

* * *

Back on Kenobi, Crom, Pladur, Kiran, and Ander set out in the late evening, riding a Mantine from among the ship's escorts across the short distance between the atoll compound and the waiting town ahead. During their search, the lot noticed the gate to Mossaisle's Guild, with the towering hall in the background, along with the town shrine and its glyph-studded murals depicting the Continent Tower. But most importantly…

"Wow, It's so colorful!" Crom cried.

…all the gaily-colored shacks the young Druddigon was eagerly inspecting as he darted to and fro. Kiran fluttered over to the young Dragon-Type, hoping to settle him down a bit.

"To be fair, it's _maybe_ 50% more colorful than the buildings at home," the Swellow scoffed. "I think we could match it if we wanted to!"

"Eh… all this color it makes things a little confusing to follow. And these buildings seem a little cramped and flimsy." Ander murmured, as he sized up a row of pastel-colored shacks that seemed to have uncharacteristically fortified windows and shutters.

The little Dragon-Type had no mind for any of their criticism, as he bathed in the sights and sounds of the surrounding town before scampering back up to his shorter father.

"Dad, this place looks nothing like home or Seahive at all!" Crom exclaimed. "Does every island's town look this different?"

"Well, some are a bit less different than others," Pladur chuckled. "But every one I've run into seems to have its own flair to it, maybe it's because of where they came from back in the old wo-"

"Out of my way!"

Pladur's explanation was cut off with a collective yelp from the group as they were knocked down to the ground by a hastily passing presence. As the four shook their heads to get their bearings, they caught sight of a Yanmega passing by in a hurry with a Manectric and a Marowak.

"How did Farn find out about us anyway?!" the Electric-Type whined.

"It doesn´t matter, just keep going!" the dragonfly buzzed. "We just need to find a new crew and we´ll be fine!"

The panicked trio of strangers were gone by the time the four staggered up, leaving them to wonder aloud about what the rushed Pokémon were up to as they dusted themselves off.

"Well, _someone_ was in a hurry, and 100% ruder than they had to be!" Kiran irkedly chirped as he ruffled his feathers. "Wonder what that was all about?"

"Nothing we need to worry about, I'm sure," Ander mumbled. As Crom got up, he cast a look around, and the wonder in his eyes wore off in favor of a more sober and uncertain expression.

"Erm… where do we even _start_ searching for Pleo?" he asked. "This place looks as much of a maze as Seahive!"

"If you're _serious_ , you should check the Andaku Docks," a voice answered from from behind. Crom, Kiran, Ander, and Pladur whirled around and saw that further down the path, a grayish-purple pterodactyl was making his way towards the group...

Wait a minute! This was-!

"Kellner ?!" Crom cried. "What are you doing here?!"

"Yeah, I thought you were the one giving us a hard time about messing around with these bounties to begin with!" Pladur added.

"If you _must_ know, I'm off-duty-"

"You know, it's polite to give something extra to the Pokemon who keep you safe from Andaku's scum."

Before the Fossil Pokémon could finish, the five Pokémon got distracted by a rough, stony voice in from a nearby alley. The group turned and looked, and saw a Golem in Company lavenders had cornered a wide-eyed Glameow, giving a threatening glare while holding out an expectant claw.

"Come on, let's talk this over somewhere else," Kellner sighed, shaking his head bitterly. "I don't need to deal with this right now."

Crom and his companions paused as Kellner faltered for a moment before setting off. The Aerodactyl had clearly seemed upset about the Golem's extortion, but… why didn't he do anything about it?

Maybe, like them, he thought that he _couldn't_ do anything about it?

"Yeesh… rough crowd here," Kiran muttered as the group carried down the back alley. "So, what are the Andaku Docks anyways, and why do you say we should look there?"

"It's the shifty walled district along the southern bluffs," the Aerodactyl answered. "And the place where miscreants like the pirates you're after like to hang out."

"Eh? But then why isn't everyone already searching that district?" Ander asked.

"Because it's tougher work and involves a tougher crowd," Kellner sighed. "And a lot of the Pokémon in the ranks seem to prefer to spend the time shaking down the locals for a berry or some extra Thalers."

"But why would there be a part of town where you _know_ pirates hang out to begin with?" Crom added. As the little Druddigon's words came out of his mouth, the group's journey chanced to pass into a small clearing at a crossroads of alleys with crates resting by the walls. Kellner paused for a long moment, seemingly unsure of what way to go, before sighing and turning back reluctantly to his new companions.

"... It's because Administrator Farn lets them stay there," the Aerodactyl admitted. Shocked expressions flashed over Crom, Kiran, and Ander's eyes, though curiously enough, not Pladur's.

"W-What?! But they're _pirates!_ " Crom exclaimed. "You mean they're just being left alone to run the place?!"

"We are _not_ leaving them alone!" Kellner shot back, the Aerodactyl's words coming back with a frustrated roar. "We capture any that don't get lost after three days, and Administrator Farn recruits privateers from there!"

"But you have that big fort out on the atoll!" the Druddigon protested. "And the shipyards-!"

"And a choke point for trade routes for the south of Company territory that can't afford to be disrupted for too long," Pladur added. The Fraxure shook his head as the entire group grew deathly silent. "Isn't that right?"

"That… is correct," Kellner replied reluctantly.

"But- But that's awful!" Crom shouted. "Couldn't you just put more Pokémon to protect the town? Or what about those big walls? Why do you need to deal with those pirates at all?!"

"The grub does have a point," Ander said. "It doesn't look like whatever's going on right now is working out that well with how uninviting this neighborhood looks."

"The locals don't like the taxes that HQ puts on them already," the pterodactyl sighed, shaking his head. "How are they supposed to react when they get told that they need to pay even more for protection they don't even believe in?"

Kiran's mind turned back towards those hazy days when he was younger, when the Guild Hall was the local fort that Administrator Darzin ran the island from. He remembered that it was harder to avoid tributes then, that the guards were bullies from off-island instead of trusted faces who could help deflect the burdens of Company rule.

After mulling it over, he realized that if the Pokémon in Aisle Town were anything like the ones that used to be in Bluewhorl, then there was only one logical direction for Kenobi if things went as Kellner predicted...

"Why, it would be 200% more likely they'd revolt!" Kiran squawked.

"Exactly, and for _what?_ " the Rock-Type demanded. "To let the Imperials set up shop here and give the Pokémon here more of the same treatment? To go independent and hang a giant 'raid here' sign over the harbor?"

There was a long pause as nobody knew for sure how to answer Kellner. Having the island infested with pirates sure was bad... but would the alternatives really be any better?

_Scufffff… scufffff..._

The sound of sudden rustling broke the silence and drew the group's eyes to a small wooden crate. After turning their attention to the box and scrutinizing it a bit closer, the group noticed that it seemed to be inching along the ground.

"H-Huh?! I-Is that box _moving?!_ " Pladur yelped. At Fraxure's mention, some anxious whispers started up from within the crate.

"Ack! We've been spotted!"

Suddenly, the wooden container lifted up slightly, little scaly brown tails and feet peeking out through a gap at the bottom of a now hastily moving crate. Kellner darted over, cut the box off, and pinned it down to the sound of yelps from inside.

"Alright, let's see just what we have here," he began, as he pulled the container off, revealing three startled-looking Cubone inside. Among them was a Cubone chewing slowly at a reed, a jittery and runty-looking specimen, and a wide-eyed Cubone with a grayer skull.

"A-Ack! Th-They're huge!" the runt squeaked.

"Brace yourselves!" the reed-chewer shouted, as she tightened her grip on her bone and eased into a battle stance. "It's time for bat-!"

_**THWACK** _

Only for the three to be unceremoniously swatted into a nearby wall by a tail swipe from Kellner.

"Ow…"

The four Pokémon from the Siglo Swellow rushed over and came upon the sight of three stunned Cubone attempting to regain their bearings. Upon closer inspection, it seemed like none of them had any scarves on their bodies.

"Wait a minute- Those are ferals!" Kiran squawked. "What are you three doing in the middle of a town?!"

The three gulped and looked at the bigger, lavender-scarved Pokemon surrounding them. The reed-chewer and the darker-skulled Cubone seemed to do a decent job at keeping their maws shut in spite of the intimidating audience, but the runty one...

"We- We were making sure the defilers got back their book like Tetsuzui ordered!" he cried, drawing exasperated scowls from his companions.

"Keikaiashi!" Kuraikamen growled. "You weren't supposed to _tell_ them that!"

"Eureka!"

The group got interrupted by enthusiastic cries back out on the street, where a Tropius, an Archen, a Nidorino and a Marshtomp excitedly crowded around a small, red notebook in the Fossil Bird's claws. Several Pokémon passing by were giving the four awkward stares, but they seemed too distracted by the notebook to notice, and carried on giddily about 'a big lead on understanding those Unown Runes' with one another.

"'Defilers'?" Ander asked. The Scyther glanced at the jubilant group of red-scarved Pokémon outside the alley, before turning back to face the three Cubone. "There's a long story behind this isn't there?"

"Er… sorta," Machitabi explained. "But the important bit was that we saw them get their book back from those knot-necked jerks and mail off that 'receipt' thingy for those 'Team Traveller' majū."

"Eh? We've actually been looking for some Pokémon in a team by that name," Ander said to the cornered Ground-Types. "You're telling us that you saw them earlier?"

"That's right, they got into a fight with the purple-scarved _majū_ Machitabi was talking about," the gray-skull answered. "We bailed them out before they left the dungeon to do… whatever it is that scarf-wearers do!"

"But why exactly are you _here?_ " Kellner demanded, giving a skeptical tilt of his head.

"Well… _someone_ had to make sure that book got back!" Kuraikamen exclaimed. "So…"

"You planned followed those Company Pokémon here, then?" Kellner sighed, shaking his head. "Was getting _caught_ also part of your plan?"

"You haven't _caught_ us!" the reed-chewing Cubone protested. "We're just a little… exit-challenged!"

The Cubone's declaration was met by a wave of groans and eye-rolls, including from her own teammates. After looking at her partners, and then back at the larger Pokémon in Company scarves, the Ground-Type blinked and finally conceded the obvious...

"... Okay, you've caught us."

"About this 'Team Traveller'…" Ander prodded. "They didn't happen to tell you where they were going, did they?"

The Ground-Types froze for a moment and began to trade looks and nervous murmurs with each other, before the dark-skulled Cubone shook his head and turned back to the gathered Company Pokémon with a shrug.

"How would we know? We're not hut-dwellers," Kuraikamen scoffed. "Why don't you ask your fellow purple knot-necks? Some _Megayanma_ calling himself 'Valatos', along with a _Livolt_ and a Garagara. _They_ were the ones that tracked them down in the first place!"

"Er… what does that mean again?" Crom asked.

"I believe you they call them 'Yanmega', 'Manectric', and 'Marowak' back at the Capital," Kellner answered.

"Wait a minute," the Druddigon suddenly said. "Didn't we run into some Pokémon just like that not too far from here?"

"That's right! They were headed off towards those walls…" Pladur began, only to trail off uneasily as he realized they had gone...

"Straight for the Andaku Docks."

"Wait, Pladur, you've been in there once right?" Kiran chirped.

"Eh?" Kellner asked, raising a brow. "You _have?_ "

The four Pokémon collectively bit their tongues for a moment, realizing that they had revealed something that might cause Kellner to question their cover. The Fraxure quickly fumbled for words to answer Kiran and Kellner, finally managing to stutter a response...

"I-I… mean, this isn't the _first_ assignment I've had here, no," he answered uneasily.

The Aerodactyl raised a skeptical eye brow upon hearing Pladur´s answer, but before he had any chance to ask more about it, Ander hastily butted into the conversation with a question of his own

"So then you'd be able to lead us around, right?" the Scyther pressed.

The Dragon-Type visibly jolted and went wide-eyed, before shifting his gaze to the ground and starting to fidget his claws nervously.

"U-Um… I mean, I could try, but…" the Fraxure stammered. "I got out of there as soon as I could last time…"

"As you _should_ ," Kellner chimed in. "Andaku's not exactly a place to go day-tripping, even for Pokémon in the ranks like us."

"But that 'Valatos' Pokémon and his friends are in there," Crom murmured. The four Pokémon peered over uneasily at the graffiti-covered palisades in the distance, before realizing there was only one way they'd find out where Team Traveller's missing members had gone off to.

"We'll have be careful about it, but it looks like we're going in," Ander buzzed. He turned and began to make his way off for the palisades alongside Kiran and Pladur, only for the young Druddigon among them to falter, and look back

"Look, Kellner, we need to get going, but… what's going to happen to those Cubone?"

"Well, I'm not on the clock, and last I checked this wasn't your town. So it looks like there's no on-duty officer to deal with them," the Rock-Type answered, before turning his attention to the cornered bone lizards. "Or to object to being brought to the outskirts and left to continue from there, hmm?"

"Oh, er… well, it would be nice," Keikaiashi said.

"Yeah!" Machitabi added. "It would save us the trouble of fighting our way through you!"

The Cubone's adamant belligerence drew a facepalm from the Aerodactyl, as the group of Company-scarved Pokémon rolled their eyes at the little creature's insistence.

"I'm sure it would," he sighed, as he lowered his body and allowed the Ground-Types to clamber up his back. Now that things looked like they would work out, Crom turned and carried down the alley after his teammates, only for Kellner's voice to interrupt him.

"Crom! One more thing!" he cried. The Druddigon looked over his shoulder, and saw that Kellner was fidgeting and visibly fumbling for words.

"Good luck out there," the Aerodactyl finally managed.

"Oh, er… thanks," the Druddigon replied. Kellner gave a quick nod back before he turned around and took off flying from the ground, three Cubone in tow. As the Aerodactyl began to fly off, the dark-skulled Cubone tugged at his reed-chewing counterpart's arm, a nagging uncertainty gnawing at his mind.

"Psst, Machitabi," Kuraikamen whispered. "Shouldn't we have told them about that 'Team Traveller' flying off to that 'Mengir' place already?"

"Yeah, they were looking for them!" Keikaiashi added. "And for purple-scarved _majū_ , they didn't seem bad…"

The reed-chewer looked back, and for a fleeting moment, saw Crom and his companions making their way down towards the palisades before they vanished among the maze of alleys and rooftops. The Ground-Type paused a bit, before shaking her head and turning back to Kuraikamen.

" _Mou ii_ , it would only have caused them trouble." Machitabi answered. "I mean, sure they seemed nice, but they're Company _majū_ just like that bug and his buddies!"

The dark-skulled and the runty Cubone looked at each other uneasily before shrugging the matter off. It would be a bit late now to tell those knot-necks about where Team Traveller had gone…

Besides, the group had flown to a Company island anyways. It would just be a matter of time until the _Crimgan_ and his friends would hear about a long-necked majū strutting around there… wouldn't it?

* * *

It was said in folklore that in the distant past, the first ships built by Pokémon were constructed in order to ferry Protectors' eggs from the Eye of the Cradle to the islands where they currently reside. Back on the atoll ringing Kenobi Island, the craft continued to be honed and kept alive, as evidenced by the Company shipyards which remained busy as the hours went by in Crom's search and the stars came out for the night.

The focus of the nighttime activity was a collection of drydocks nestled in between warehouses with lanterns and torches lighting up the site. At the sea's edge, flash locks formed by timbers with ice plugs between them kept the water out, with wind-powered pumps present to shift water in and out of the locks as needed. Inside one of the drained basins, Pokémon were finishing up the repairs of a three masted ship as orders barked out over a tiller repair in the basin just beside it. Lyn's hulking vessel was held in place by wooden blocks and a scaffolding, as its Samurott owner tensely paced past the busy scene.

"Grr, where _is_ he?"

Lyn scanned his weary, dark-circled eyes irkedly around the crowd of Pokemon, stalking about the drydocks with blade in paw. There were Pokémon clambering up scaffolds made from bamboo and wood, a few workers scraping gunk off the hull… but the Pokémon the otter was looking for was nowhere to be found.

"You looking for something, Captain?"

Only for the Pokémon of interest, his Weavile First Mate, to casually approach the Samurott from behind. Lyn turned around and locked his gaze with the weasel, glaring back at the Dark-Type.

"Ketu! Where have you been?!" Lyn growled. "I _told_ you to oversee the repairs on the ship and meet up with me in front of the drydocks an hour before the Time Lord crosses the Moon! I've been wandering around looking for you for almost fifteen minutes now!"

Lyn's presence in one of his more mercurial seasons was enough to reduce many of the Company's First and Second-Ranks into shivering, stammering messes. Even the nearby workers seemed to be keen to give the Samurott a berth. As for the First Mate in front of him...

"Eh?" the Weavile nonchalantly answered, giving a skeptical brow raise. "Lighten up a little, Captain! I got pulled off for a surprise meeting. Some boring administrivia about the ship's repairs."

"Ketu, this is _serious!_ " Lyn bellowed. "I need to know when the ship will be ready! We need it if we're going to catch that bird!"

"Well, why don't you take a look for yourself?" the Dark-Type asked as he pointed at the ship. The ships' sails and rigging were once again pristine, with all but a few errant gaps in the railings that were yet to be repaired. Why, there'd even been a fresh coat of paint thrown on, making the craft looked better than it had when it first pulled into Tromba.

"All's left are a couple touch-ups, and she'll be ready to hit the water again by tomorrow," Ketu said. "You didn't think I would leave if the Argent Aviso was still a pockmarked wreck like when we came in, did you?"

The Samurott paused as he sized up his ship. He had to admit, now that he'd stopped to look at it, it _did_ seem to be in much better shape than when they limped into port. The Water-Type shook his head and sheathed his blade, before giving a scowl to the Dark-Type.

"You should have _told_ me about this advance," Lyn grunted. "But, I can't say that I can really argue with results, so it seems I was a little quick to judge."

"Well now, I _do_ aim to please," the First Mate smirked. The Dark-Type crossed his arms and gave a smug smile back at his superior… only for the weasel to sprout a disgusted expression upon noticing a fluttering form in the corner of his eye.

"Lyn!"

"Eh?"

Lyn turned around just in time for Ellsberg to come to a fluttering rest in front of him, his breath still ragged as he brushed himself off.

"Oh great, it's the _notary_ again," Ketu snorted. "And here I was hoping we'd be able to leave port _before_ you got back-"

"Enough, Ketu," the Samurott growled. "Well, out with it, Ellsberg."

"The- The Guardian-" the moth began. Only to be cut off with a roaring bellow.

"Not _out loud_ right here, you dunce!" Lyn shouted. "You're a notary aren't you? Give me a note or something!"

The moth reflexively flew back in a start, leaving Ketu to snicker at the Bug-Type as he attempted to regain his nerves. After taking a moment to calm himself, the Mothim took out a small slip of paper from his satchel along with a lump of charcoal and sketched out a note that he slipped in front of the Samurott…

" _ **WHAT?!**_ "

…who promptly went wide-eyed. A number of nearby workers turned at the sound of Lyn's commotion, only to be turned around by a backing "Hey! Get back to work!" from his First Mate. The Samurott hastily disgorged a pulsing burst of water at the note, reducing it into an illegible collection of pulpy fragments before turning back to face the Bug-Type.

"You know, if we had simply gone somewhere more _private_ , you wouldn't have needed to do that," the Mothim huffed.

"Priorities, Ellsberg!" Lyn demanded. "What do you _mean_ he's at Mengir?!"

"I mean exactly what I _said_ , Lyn," the notary answered. "I _saw_ one of his feathers there with my own eyes. Administrator Zorn even has a plan in place to find and restrain him, but you need to get over there quick!"

The Samurott pawed at his whiskers at Ellsberg's words, mulling on what the best course of action was. After a noticeable pause, the otter shook his head with a grunt, having decided what path to choose.

"... Ketu, make sure reprovisioning for the ship gets done by the time the drydock gets flooded tomorrow," Lyn commanded. "We're leaving for Mengir as soon as the locks open."

The otter looked down at the shaking notary with hardened eyes, giving a gruff, growling command to his subordinate.

"You too, Ellsberg," the Third-Rank barked. "I want you out on the water as soon as that tiller of yours is fixed!"

After a quick nod from Ketu and a "R-Right" from Ellsberg, the two Pokémon quickly headed off to their respective ships. Lyn looked at his craft as the last touches were being made, and a smirk began to spread over his muzzle.

"Let's see how much longer your luck holds, Guardian."

* * *

The following day, the sun slowly rose above the horizon, covering Mengir island in its warm rays. It was a quiet day in Fensedge Village, as shopkeepers slowly opened up their stalls and shacks for business. The sleepy atmosphere also pervaded Team Traveller's room at the Cromlech Inn, where Nida, Elty, Guardia were sound asleep. The lot of them enjoyed a much-needed rest after a fun day of playing at the beach. Or at least up until…

"Wake up everyone!"

… the sound a young bird's loud squawking jolted them out of their sleep.

"Eh? Pleo?" Nida asked drowsily.

"Wha-?! _Where are they?!_ " Guardia yelped, bolting upright to her feet and scanning the room with her club in hand.

"Urgh, five more minutes," Elty groaned.

"But the sun is up!" Pleo cheered. "And you need to wake up early for me to help you! Nida even said so yesterday!"

One by one, the three creatures adjusted to their abrupt rousing and the morning light, groaning louder as they remembered Nida's fateful idiom from the day before.

" _Thanks_ for telling him about that, spike ball," Elty growled, the Growlithe trading a glare with a now huffing and defensive Nidoran.

"Well, I didn't think Pleo would take it _tan a pecho-!_ "

"Enough. I don't like the fact that we were woken up for nothing, but we're up now, and we have lore to gather and pictures to find," Guardia grunted. "Might as well make the most of it."

"That's right!" Pleo chirped. "Come on, let's go! Let's go!"

Pleo flitted out of the door in a hurry, leaving his teammates to turn to each other and sigh. Guardia and Elty ran off, with cries of "wait up!" as Nida and grabbed the team bag from the corner table before setting off after her friends.

Even if it wasn't quite the way she wanted it, maybe being early _would_ pay off today. Maybe they would finally discover the secret they needed to evoke Pleo's power…

Perhaps then they would finally be able to go home.

* * *

About half an hour and a few complaints later, Team Traveller made their way through Fensedge Village and up the path to Mengir Island's Mystery Dungeon, the fields growing sparser and further between clumps of woods. As Pleo happily darted ahead of the group, the three other members of the team followed the Lugia in a slower pace, still grumpy about their rude awakening.

"Buh, couldn't we have waited at least another hour?" Elty grunted.

"Come on Elty, the sun and the morning breeze are great!" Pleo cheered.

"I should have closed those 'drapes' things again…" Guardia groaned

Nida flattened her ears and sighed. As if waking up early wasn't bad enough, listening to her teammates bicker all the way to the Mystery Dungeon sure was.

"Eh?!" Pleo cried "But then we would have woken up late again, and- Ooh, what kind of plant is that?"

The three paused and stopped as Pleo waddled along to a stout, broadleaved bush by the side of the path. Nestled among the leaves were round, scaly, orange-ish seeds. Upon closer examination, Guardia instantly recognized them as a fixture of her old home.

"Eh?!" the bone lizard cried. "You can grow seeds like those?!"

"You didn't know that?" Nida replied, tilting her head curiously. "The seeds that the Distortion change can grow fine out here if you plant them."

The Cubone curiously tilted her head as she took a step closer to inspect the bush. As Guardia carried on prodding and poking at the Blast Seed plant, Pleo gave a puzzled look at the shrub, before turning his head towards Nida.

"But... then why are the rest of the plants here different, Nida?" Pleo asked.

"Well, that's because- Hey!" the Nidoran began, only to trail off and stop herself. In the corner of her eye, she saw Guardia pulling at one of the branches, attempting to pry one of the seeds loose.

"What are you doing?!" Nida squeaked, fanning her barbs out in surprise. "You can't just take them, you'll get us in trouble!"

"Whuh?!" the Cubone yelped. Guardia pulled her claw back and let the branch free, sending it shooting back and dislodging the Blast Seed with an audible _thwip_. The orange seed sailed off into the air, arcing past the bushes on the other side of the lane, where a squeaky voice cried out startledly.

" **FIRE IN THE HOLE!** "

A loud blast rang out and forced the four Pokémon to the ground as something brown and fuzzy jumped out of the bushes and pratfell onto the ground. As the bushes behind continued to smolder and his ears still rang from the blast, Elty picked himself up and tried to shake some sense back into his head. As his hearing began to return to him, the Growlithe turned to the not-so-little _mewa_ and began to spell out why exactly the other plants were different.

"Urgh… well for one, when was the last time you heard of anyone wanting an entire field that would explode-?" the Growlithe said, only to look back in the direction of the brown creature picking himself up off the ground by the bushes. "Wait a minute…"

The brown and cream fur and ringed tail... The squeaky and ever-sardonic voice... This was...

"Scout?!"

As Nida, Elty, and Pleo's voices still reverberated in the air, Guardia stared blankly at the flummoxed-looking Sentret that seemed every bit as startled to see her new teammates as they were to see him.

"Wait, you _know_ him?" she asked. "Who _is_ this _majū?_ "

"Just when my mail run couldn't get any weirder," Scout muttered to himself, before turning to focus on the members of Team Traveller. "What are _you_ three doing here?!"

At once, Nida, Pleo, and Elty set off attempting to give explanations for their long ordeal out to Mengir, their words tripping over and conflicting with each other. The confused prattling continued on for a while, until a sudden shout pierced the air.

"Aah! My cabbages!"

All eyes turned back to the singed gap in the undergrowth, and grimaced as the sound of footsteps were now rapidly approaching.

"Come on, we'll explain somewhere else," Elty barked.

The group hastily continued up the path into the thickening woods, leaving the owner of the distraught voice and its likely now-crispy cabbages behind. After putting some distance between themselves and the Blast Seed bushes, and realizing that none of them could hear any pursuing footfalls, the five slackened their pace, panting...

"Whew, that was close," Nida sighed. Scout, still unsure of what exactly was going on with these children, shook his head, and gave an exasperated roll of his eyes.

"Okay, first things first. Who's the Cubone?" he barked. "And _why_ aren't you still on Kenobi?"

"They were judged by my colony, and _I_ was tasked to go and defend them and this god they have with them!" Guardia answered, proudly slinging her club over her shoulder. Scout drew an ear back and shot a puzzled, incredulous look at the four youngsters, before Nida shook her head and tried to explain the matter to the Sentret.

"Er… we kinda got into trouble with some Company Pokémon out on Kenobi and had to move on," Nida explained.

"Well _that_ much is obvious!" Scout exclaimed. "That dishwashing must not have taught you much if you've graduated onto _arson!_ "

" _To nie nasza wina!_ " Elty barked irkedly. "It was the bone-head here that started that fire!"

"'Arson'?" Pleo chirped, tilting his head puzzledly. "But we're doing a mission in the Mystery Dungeon!"

"Yeah, we were just on our way!" Guardia added. Scout visibly paused, as the surprise faded from his face and gave way to an increasingly serious and grave expression. The Sentret cast a look over his shoulder and his surroundings, before leaning in and beginning to address Team Traveller in a low tone.

"... I've got a place by the port if you need somewhere to stay after you're done," he murmured. "Meet me at the docks once you're finished with your mission. I'm planning on leaving this place as soon as my business is done, and I can take care of you until the next leg of my trip if you need a lift off this place."

"Oh! Thanks!" Nida squeaked, only to catch herself and realize something was amiss about Scout's offer. "Er… wait a minute, why are you offering this to us?"

"Yeah, weren't _you_ the Pokémon that was too cheap to let us stay with you back on Boisocéan?" Elty demanded. "What gives?"

A long, tense silence filled the wooded path, before Scout shook his head and turned back to face the curiously watching eyes of Team Traveller.

"It's because this island isn't all that it seems to be," the Sentret answered. "I don't know if the Mystery Dungeon is anything like this village, but you should watch your step around here to be safe."

After a few glances at the four Pokémon before him, Scout turned around and began to walk back towards the direction of the village before turning back at Nida and her companions.

"Anyhow, I've got to get going, I'm running late dropping off this letter as is," Scout said. "Just keep what I said in mind and _behave_ , alright?"

The Sentret continued off down the hill slope, disappearing under the tree cover. After watching Scout fade away, the Pokémon of Team Traveller turned and continued up the path. All the while, a lingering question nagged at Nida's mind...

"What did Scout mean by that?" she wondered.

"Maybe it's because he knows that we're in trouble," Elty answered. "Mengir _is_ supposed to be a bad place to get caught."

"Huh? But we aren't pirates, Elty-!" Pleo began, only to notice a pile of large rocks up ahead. "Eh? What is that?"

The four Pokémon hurried up the path and came to the site of the rock pile, only to discover that the rocks in the pile were bits and pieces of standing stones much like the ones seen in Fensedge Village. Among the stones still intact enough to make out features, was one with a carving of a creature with antlers that had been toppled and broken into three pieces. Along the ledge, there was dilapidated wooden pavilion covered in spotty flecks of paint, with a roof that had been caved in and its timbers worn by the elements.

"Is this... a shrine?" Pleo murmured.

"More like it _was_ a shrine," Elty grunted. "It'll take a bit more than a fresh coat of paint to fix this place up, it looks like a total dump!"

"But a shrine's supposed to be in honor a Protector, isn't it?" Guardia asked, as she inspected the site of the dilapidated ruins. "Why would the _majū_ here just leave it all messy and broken like thi-?"

" _Guardia, watch out!_ " Nida's voice squeaked.

"Huh?!"

Guardia hopped back with a start and saw fragments of a shattered round, white seed by her feet. Elty crept over, and after a few sniffs and a nudge at the colorful nut, rolled his eyes and turned back to Nida and the others.

" _Again_ , spike ball? It's not even a complete Apricorn!" the Growlithe scoffed, only to pause and look around uneasily as he wondered aloud...

"What's it doing here to begin with?"

The four looked off at the direction of Fensedge and noticed that the fields downhill were verdant and thick, but suspiciously shorter than the patches of forest they intermingled with.

Here or there, a tired-looking Pokémon in dirty and ratty lavenders of Company First-Ranks would pace down between rows of the shrubs and stop for a moment. There, one of the creatures would stop and carefully remove Apricorns from the shrubby trees with a thick guarding cloth, before moving on and repeating the process on another bush.

A pall came over the team as they watched the figures pluck the dangerous nuts from the shrubs. After looking around, the team realized that as far as they could see from the ledge there was row after row of shrubs growing large, colorful nuts. Red ones, blue ones, yellows, pinks and greens, and even black and white.

"Wait, are those fields- Are they _all_ growing Apricorns?" Nida murmured.

"Huh? But didn't you say Apricorns were dangerous, Nida?" Pleo asked. "Why would they grow them so close to the village?"

As the team kept staring at the fields, they noticed that several of the Pokémon working there were bringing Apricorns to a large cart bearing a purple sigil. The sigil carried the same composition of squares like the marking on Lyn's scarf, though seemed to have many additional squares on it… did that mean that whoever owned the cart was even more powerful than Lyn?

Why _were_ all these Apricorns needed? Elty looked off and chanced to see the now hazy and distant form of Fensedge's harbor, when a shiver went down his back as he began to realize that there was a perfectly good reason for the Company to need so many Apricorns...

These were probably the very same Apricorns that the Company used for their cannons' grapeshot!

"Let's get going and get that mission done with," Elty grunted.

"Eh?" Pleo asked.

"Scout was onto something earlier," the Growlithe said. "This place gives me the creeps."

The team reluctantly continued up the path, as they thought about what else Scout´s warning might entail. As the group moved on, Elty briefly stopped to look back the field, but shuddered at the sight and quickly moved along as they saw fog in the distance.

As the team continued down the path, a pair of lithe figures emerged from the side of the path: a Grovyle hopping down from a branch and a Mienshao coming from the bushes. The two continued to watch as the forms of the team grew hazier and hazier.

"I'm surprised that they figured out just how important this place is," the weasel murmured. "I suppose even pirates respect Protectors."

"Captain?" Salvini questioned. "Why weren't the _rest_ with them? Even back at the inn?"

"Something's up," the Hertsog replied. "Perhaps the ringleaders are using them to scout out a hiding place for them."

The Grovyle looked off doubtfully into the distance. It _did_ seem to make sense… But why did this all feel so wrong right now?

"… I mean, I _suppose_ that makes sense…," she murmured. "But what do we do now when we don't know where the strongest members of their team are?"

"We head back to the village and wait," the Mienshao said, giving a stroke of his whiskers. "We can find out where their buddies are after they come to the Medic's Hut for treatment."

The Fighting-Type turned and began to make his way down the path back for the village, Salvini following after him. All the while, the lizard couldn't help but look back towards the fog and think over and over again...

Something wasn't adding up.

* * *

Back on Tromba, Hatteras was making his usual morning rounds around town. As the Ampharos looked around, he could see the Persian from the Guild attempting to haggle with Calino over the price of a Trap Scarf, and Mirlia and Minia chattering with the neighboring glassblower as they tidied up the front of their Juice Bar.

"Eyaaaah!"

And of course the Nidorina with a lavender headband flicking a spike after a running Quilava, sailing inches away from the creature's ear…

"Hanging out with your old friends behind Mirlia's bar is _not_ running an errand for Hariti!" Marley yelled. "Stop slacking off and get back to watching the kits!"

"Alright, alright! I'm going!"

Hatteras gave a surprised look as he saw the stoat hastily dash off with a yelp back for the Day Care, leaving bystanders to murmur uneasily. As the commotion simmered down, the Nidorina stopped to adjust her lavender guard headband when she noticed the elderly sheep's presence.

"Oh, hello there Hatteras," Marley cheerily greeted.

"Uhm… how has the old position been treating you?" the sheep warily asked.

"Oh, you know," the rabbit answered back, waving a paw dismissively. "Just the usual. Osmund's supposed to be going through the last steps of his recovery, so it shouldn't be long before I can hang this old headband back up and go back to the field again..."

"I see, so you'll be a bit less busy soon enough," the Ampharos replied. "Speaking of which, I actually was looking for you…"

"Hrm?" the Nidorina wondered, tilting an ear quizzically. "Did that Jigglypuff pick a fight with one of her old buddies again?"

"No, no, nothing of that sort," Hatteras reassured, shaking his head. "It's just that I was about to send the return letters back to the Siglo Swellow, and I was wondering if you wanted to add anything to them."

The Nidorina hardened her red eyes into a scowl and raised her barbs for a moment, before shaking her head and giving a dismissive wave.

"I don't think I have any business with that group. It's not _my_ children on that boat," the Nidorina grunted. "Just what is writing a letter for a daughter who is still lost supposed to accomplish?"

"Er… well," the Ampharos began uneasily. "If they _found_ her since the time they wrote the letter, they could always pass it along-"

_Thump thump_

The Nidorina cut off the sheep's words with a pair of forceful thumps against the ground with her hind legs, looking up with a glower at the Electric-Type as he took a couple steps back.

"You _know_ how I feel about getting my hopes up for nothing, Hatteras," the Poison-Type answered in a low tone. "And beyond myself, why should I work Teja and the kids up for something that may never come?"

"Because it's _not_ for nothing, Marley," Hatteras replied. "Surely you of all Pokémon would appreciate how even in grim times, hope can sometimes work miracles."

"I don't see what you're getting at by waxing romantic on me like this," the Nidorina scoffed.

"What about the way that we got rid of 'that cheating Dragonite'?" Hatteras questioned. "Would that have happened if we didn't have hope that we could somehow make things work in spite of the odds?"

The mention of the town's victory over Darzin made Marley pause and look down to the ground for a moment. Contrary to the stories the townspeople told their young nowadays, the odds certainly weren't in Bluewhorl's favor back then. Yet, despite that, they never gave up hope of ejecting Darzin from the island, even when things seemed their most impossible.

"Oh! There you are!" a chirping voice called.

The pair turned and saw an Unfezant flitting down to a rest in front of them. The creature preened a few loose feathers, before turning his attention to the black banded Pokémon in the duo.

"Eh? Pat?" Marley asked. "I thought you were still with your family down the lane from the burrow."

"Nope, I've been looking all over for the Guildmaster here!" the Flying-Type squawked. "When I heard you wanted to send out those letters earlier, I thought you'd be waiting for me at your office..."

"Ah, apologies, Pat," Hatteras said. "I got a little carried away earlier, but… I _have_ the packet with me, all that's left is to seal-"

"Wait!"

The Ampharos felt a nip at his arm and looked behind him. There, he saw Marley staring at him, her expression noticeably softened from the harsh demeanor she had maintained earlier.

"Give- Give me a couple of moments, Hatteras," Marley insisted. "I'll write something up."

* * *

Mengir's Mystery Dungeon was a maze nestled between tall and jagged walls of rock that carried on beyond a thick curtain of fog overhead. Perhaps that was what the Pokémon outside built all those stone spires around the town?

"You inkfoot defilers _better_ run if you think you can still show your face around these parts!"

Then again, considering the locals like the hissing Carnivine off in the distance downstairs, it made one wonder _why_ they would do so. Team Traveller slowed from their hasty flight up the stairs from the previous floor and looked down at some fresh scuffs about their bodies from their scrap with the Grass-Type. As the team panted and caught their breath, they heard the ground shudder them as the stairs sealed shut and the sounds of the stalking flytrap faded away entirely.

This mission was harder than Salvini had made them think it would be. The floors had been getting more and more treacherous, and that was already their second battle that had roughed them up. From the last floor alone, there had been the narrow escape from the ambushing Carnivine the team just had encountered, and a battle with a trio of Shroomish beforehand who had forced the team to use a Pecha Berry to cure Elty of poisoning.

"Nida?" Pleo asked. "Are-? Are we there yet?"

It had been seven floors into the dungeon, and the team still hadn't seen any sign of the mural chamber Salvini asked them to find. Nida saw that the white bird, much like the rest of her teammates, seemed to look rather worn. But the grounds were supposed to be somewhere between here and the next few floors, right?

"It should be any floor now, Pleo," she said. "Just hang in there a little longer."

Nida's reassurance was answered by a pair of groans at the back of the group, where Elty and Guardia gave back unamused looks as they intently scanned their prickly and uninviting surroundings.

"Ugh... this place is nothing like home!" Guardia grumbled. "These _yajū_ keep ambushing us!"

"That's because _you're_ an 'intruder' to them just like the rest of us," Elty scoffed. "Did you honestly think you were going to get a free pass?"

"That's not what I meant, mutt!" the Cubone snapped back. "I mean, yeah, there's driving an intruder off territory, but…"

The Cubone cast a wary glance at her surroundings, and after being satisfied that the four of them were truly alone, she turned back to the Fire-Type.

"The way they were so angry with us… Calling us 'defilers' and the like…," she murmured. "It was almost like they were trying to get _revenge_ for something."

The team paused and traded uneasy looks with one another. Now that they thought about it, the last feral _had_ mentioned something about them being 'defilers' as they ran off. But what did that mean? They hadn't messed up any graveyards or anything!

"You don't think that it has something to do with that broken-down shrine, do you?" Pleo asked.

"I... don't know, Pleo," Nida answered. "But let's try and be careful he-"

Before the Nidoran could finish her thoughts, she was cut off by Pleo excitedly chirping and gesturing off up ahead.

"Oh! Look! Look! It's another Wand!" he cried. There, up in a chamber down the corridor, was an a branch with the familiar whorl at the end and series of glassy layers. This time, underneath each layer, was the form of a vaguely spiral-shaped cone, pulsating softly with a faint silvery glow. After Guardia squinted her eyes and got a better look, she realized that she had seen such objects back in her old home before.

"An _eda_ , you mean," the Cubone corrected.

"Eh?" Elty grunted. "Pretty sure that's just called a 'Tunnel Wand'."

"I know what I said, Gardie! … but it certainly couldn't hurt to pick up something for cutting through a wall or two," she murmured. Pleo perked up, and with a beat of his wings, began to flutter over to the Tunnel Wand.

"I've got it, I've got it!" he cried, coming to a waddling stop just before the Wand. He stepped forward, towards a patch of dirt that on closer observation seemed to have a faint design of a split circle with what looked roughly like a face. Upon noticing the shape, Nida's eyes went wide and she cried out after her teammate.

"Ack!" the Nidoran squeaked. "Pleo, wai-"

Only for the little Guardian to carry on ahead, and a faint _click_ to reach his ears.

"What was-?"

**BOOM**

A sudden blast rang out, forcing the team down to the ground to shield their eyes as clods of dirt and stony fragments flew at their heads. A cloud of dust and smoke hung in the air as Nida coughed and tried to make sense of what had happened.

"Is- Is everyone alright?!" she cried. She was answered by the groaning affirmations of Elty and Guardia, who staggered back up, their ears still ringing from the explosion. Yes, everyone was here, except...

"Oh, no… _Pleo!_ "

The Nidoran ran for the still-settling cloud of dust and dirt, where she found Pleo crumpled up in a shallowly-breathing pile against one of the floor's stony walls. The blast had singed his feathers on his right wing, and the impact against the barrier's sharp stones had left scrapes on Pleo's back. The sorry sight coming into Guardia and Elty's vision as they darted up.

"A-Ack! The Protector!" Guardia cried.

"Spike ball, is he alright?" Elty asked, pawing uneasily at the bird's prone body.

Indeed, the little Lugia wasn't responding to their words or tugs at his feathers. Nida grew wide-eyed, and rummaged through her bag for a Reviver Seed, before prying Pleo's beak open and pushing it in and clamping his beak shut on it

"Come on, please get up…"

The little Lugia began to stir and twitch as Pleo coughed up a spittle-covered seed as he groaned a little about "No fire! No fire!" Suddenly, Pleo threw his eyes open and lurching up with a startled squawk, and latched onto Nida for dear life, his voice still thick with panic.

"A-Aah! N-Nida?!" he cried. "Wh-What happened?!"

"Oi! Don't rush yourself, _mewa!_ " Elty barked. "You just got yourself blown up!"

"Just stay calm and hang in there for a bit, Pleo," Nida said, trying to calm the white bird down with a nuzzle at his breast. "It takes a little bit for Reviver Seeds to kick in on wounds."

The little Lugia bobbed his head from side to side, nervously looking around to try and detect any further dangers around him. After looking and finding nothing, the little Protector pulled his head and wings close to his body and turned back uneasily to his teammates.

"Did- Did I do something wrong?" the Lugia murmured.

"Don't worry about it, Pleo," Nida reassured, shaking her head as she shook off some spittle from the now-plain seed Pleo spat up. "It was just an accident..."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Elty's voice grunted.

" _Elty?_ " Nida asked. "What are you going on about?"

"He might be onto something, actually," Guardia said. "I mean, my colony got you into that ambush by putting items around."

"Yeah, thanks for that by the way- **OW!** " the Growlithe yelped, cut off by an angry swat from his Cubone partner.

"Let me finish!" she growled. "Anyway, if these _majū_ in here really _are_ mad about something... what would've kept them from purposefully putting that _eda_ right next to the trap?"

A tense silence fell throughout the group as they realized Guardia raised a good point. After all, the ferals in this dungeon _did_ seem more hostile than the ones encountered on other islands... It really wouldn't have taken that much for them to set the Wand as a trap...

And if they were willing to do that… just what else were they prepared to do?

"I don't like where this is going at all," Elty grumbled.

"Maybe we should pack it in," Nida said, shaking her head as she put away the Plain Seed in her paws. "I mean, I know we told Salvini we'd help her friend, but can we really handle this mission?"

"E-Eh! B-But Nida!" Pleo protested. "I thought that we weren't going to give up! We promised each other!"

The Nidoran blanched and began to look down at the ground. She didn't want to break her promise to Pleo, but... was it really wise to continue if things seemed be spinning beyond the team's control? As she weighed the matter over in her head, Guardia chimed in with an argument of her own.

"We _do_ still have plenty of supplies, including that Escape Orb," Guardia added. "And if this is the local Mystery Dungeon, most of the jobs are going to be here."

"I mean, it _wouldn't_ do ourselves any good wasting supplies if we just had to come back here later," Nida murmured. "And we'd have to worry about food and lodging again."

Elty froze his tail and carefully mulled over the scenario that Nida had brought up. They had used up a lot of money since they arrived, and sleeping on the mats like they did in Boisocéan wasn´t exactly something he wanted to do again...

"Well when you put it _that_ way, it's kinda hard to argue against it," Elty sighed. "Let's be careful though, something really _is_ off about this place-"

The Growlithe flicked his ears as a noise caught his attention, and looked and sniffed around for a sign of the culprit. After a tense pause, the Fire-Type realized that it was the sound of not-so-distant footsteps passing nearby.

"We should moving along," he whispered. "Something's coming this way."

"Right, come on," Nida answered.

The team reluctantly carried on deeper into the dungeon, continuing their mission's search for the mural chamber. The original optimism and eagerness had now largely ebbed, and in its place came an ever growing sense of uncertainty and dread…

Just what would they find further ahead?

* * *

_Blip_

Back in Fensedge Village, the form of a Skarmory with wings interlocked with a Venomoth's appeared in an open, carefully cleared field next to the domed Guild Hall. After giving a ruffle of his metal feathers, the self-proclaimed 'Warrior of Life' gave his thanks to the teleporter and flitted off into the complex.

The Steel-Type landed and paced down the halls, striding past a sagely-looking Sawsbuck congratulating a Rescue Team consisting of a Pidgey, a Fletchling, and a Pipipek over a recent graduation to Normal Rank. The bird carried along the hallway, before coming up to a desk staffed by a drowsy-looking Slakoth. Trizano rifled through his bag and passed over a paper with a still-fresh footprint over as the sloth slowly but surely reached out to take it. Another day, another mission successfully logged in his stint at this stone-spired island…

"Hey!"

… and from the looks of the cheery-eyed Kabutops coming up behind him, another fellow explorer who had caught attention of him. Such recognition was a double-edged sword. On the one hand, too much attention could be a burden, but in other cases, as with the horseshoe crab before him…

"You're that Immortal… Trizano, right?" the crustacean asked. "Back from another mission so fast?"

… it was a welcome chance for the Skarmory to take a bit of the edge off his circuitous travels.

"The one and the same," the metal bird chirped back. "As for the mission… what can I say? When you're an Immortal, the rush of a job well done fills you with determination!"

Trizano fanned out his wings and gave a theatrical bow to the watching Fossil Pokémon, before bringing his head back up to the crab, giving it a curious tilt.

"And you are…?" the Steel-Type inquired. "I know that I've seen you around the past few days, but I don't believe I've ever heard you name."

"It's Dimitri, Terranaut of the _Khranitel Rod!_ " the crab answered, giving a proud nod of his head. "I've been stopping at islands in between my Rod's stops to bone up on becoming an explorer that neither sea nor land can hold back!"

"Ah, so you're from one of those sea clans... Well, it does seem like an admirable goal," Trizano chuckled. "Keep at it with an attitude like that, I'm sure you'll go far!"

The horseshoe crab paused before giving a wistful sigh and looking down at the ground, giving a shake of his head.

"Yeah… I've got my claws crossed a bit there," the Kabutops murmured, before examining the metal bird and giving a curious tilt of his head.

"Actually, since you're here… mind if I ask you for a few tips of the trade?" Dimitri asked.

"Well, now… not _everything_ has a simple answer, Dimitri," Trizano replied, giving a shake of his head. "But I'll bite. What did you want to know?"

"What's your secret for how you always come out so unscathed in this Dungeon?" the Kabutops inquired. "You've been taking missions left and right over the last few days, but the one time I saw you come out with so much as a scratch afterwards, it was gone by the time I saw you again at the end of the day!"

The Skarmory closed his eyes and shook his head, a small smile forming at the ends of his beak. The Steel-Type waved a wing to deflate the crab's inquisitiveness, and fed the Rock-Type an evasive answer.

"That's something that only my patron can share, I'm afraid," Trizano said. "Though I'll say that if you can get the attitude down and take a crash course or two in evading attacks, you'll be halfway there-!"

The Skarmory trailed off after hearing the young rescue team from earlier squawking in a panic followed by the sight of them darting over wide-eyed. Trizano followed the group's worried gazes, where he saw a number of other Pokémon with similarly unnerved expression further down the corridor he'd taken over to the Slakoth clerk. There, a Dragonite was looming over the Sawsbuck from earlier, the dragon all but cornering the hapless Grass-Type against a corridor wall.

"A-Administrator Darzin, surely this could wait?" the buck stammered. "I was just in the middle of-!"

"I don't _care_ what you're in the middle of Guildmaster Stewart!" the rough, deep voice of an agitated Dragonite snarled back. "This is an urgent matter, and I need you to discuss it with me!"

"Y-Yes, I understand," the stag gulped. "But- Perhaps we could continue this in my office?"

"Hurry it up, then!" the Dragon-Type snapped.

The reptile let the Grass-Type slip out, and then followed closely after him, lumbering down a passageway as worried murmurs floated around the gathered Pokémon. Trizano looked after the disappearing forms down the passageway, before turning his head to Dimitri, giving it a shake.

"I'll catch up with you later, Dimitri," he said. "There was something that I just remembered I needed to take care of."

The Kabutops paused and gave an uncertain tilt of his head, before casting a wary glance off in the direction that Darzin had disappeared to.

"... That's fair enough," the Water-Type replied. "I think it would probably be better if I steered clear of surface politics myself…"

Trizano waved a quick goodbye to Dimitri before darting for the outside of the guild. The Skarmory looked back towards the direction that Darzin and the Guildmaster had headed off to, and after spotting trees on the other side, realized that they must have gone to the opposite end of the complex, the furthest place from prying eyes.

The Steel-Type flew over to one of the trees, and paused to try and overhear any sign of the Guildmaster or the Administrator who had spirited him off. After hearing nothing he hopped to another and tried again, and then another, before finally…

"Stop beating around the bush, you old codger!" the voice of an angered Dragonite growled. "I'm not exactly asking you for a detailed assessment of my targets' battle potentials, I just need your teleporters to bring me into the Dungeon to intercept a few pirates!"

Trizano came to a stop in a tree outside of an office on the second floor of the compound. The bird quickly pulled himself behind the tree's foliage, cutting away a small branch with his wings to open a hole just big enough to peer out from.

"Pirates?" he murmured. The Skarmory peered through his camouflaging foliage and into a spartan office with rude wooden furniture. Inside, he saw that the Dragonite from earlier had cornered the Guildmaster within its confines, pinning him against a table and leaning over menacingly.

"A-Administrator! I don't have the faintest idea of what you're talking about!" the Sawsbuck protested. "Yes, the local guards mentioned that they needed us to specially approve a mission for sketching the murals in the local dungeon, but they didn't mention anything about you being involved in it!"

"Well, they did now! _I'm_ the one in charge of wrangling them when they come out!" Darzin huffed, shoving an ink-stained claw clutching a slip of paper with runes that looked to be scribbled in a hurry with an ink pen into the stag's face. "So unless you'd like me to arrange for Administrator Zorn to _review_ this guild's operations, you'll give me as much detail to work with as possible!"

Stewart blanched at the Dragonite´s threats, and stamped his hooves insistently as he desperately tried to explain his genuine ignorance of Darzin's operation.

"Administrator, I don't even know who you're looking for here!" the Grass-Type pleaded.

"Don't play dumb with me! The team is headed for the mural chamber in the dungeon where that Beautifly nesting ground is. You should have been given a specific list of species to watch for!" Darzin snarled. "There was a long-necked white bird, a Nidoran, a Growlithe…"

Trizano blanched as the Dragonite's rant continued on as he realized that the first few species sounded uncomfortably familiar. Wait a minute, it couldn't be that these pirates were-!

"Those are those kids from a couple days ago!" Trizano whispered to himself. "There's no way they could possibly be ready to take a mission to go to those grounds!"

Then, that meant that they were in serious danger right now! But what was an Immortal to do in this situation?!

"Answer me!"

As Darzin's interrogation inside grew more heated, the Skarmory realized he couldn't leave those kids alone for much longer. Trizano tore out of the tree, flying up and away from the guild compound with a loud rustle that made Darzin whirl his head in a panic.

"Gah! Who's there?!"

The reptile peered outside, only to see that there was no presence to be seen beyond signs of a Pokémon having been in the trees recently. The Dragonite twitched his antennae nervously and looked about, for any sign of the eavesdropper. Could it be a local Flying-Type passing by...? Or perhaps someone was watching...? Could it be that Zorn was growing wise to him?

One thing was for sure, he was clearly on thin ice, and there was no point in risking his chance at capturing the Protector by not heeding warning signs.

"Consider yourself fortunate," Darzin growled at the Grass-Type. "I have more pressing matters to tend to… far away from here."

The Dragonite stormed out of the trashed office, leaving a still-shaken Sawsbuck behind to wonder...

"W-What just happened?"

By chance, he turned to look out the window, where in the rapidly fading distance, the form of a Skarmory could be seen. Tearing away for the spiny peaks that poked out of the fog of the Mystery Dungeon north of the town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _vecherya (вeчeря)_ \- Bulgarian: "dinner" (BGN/PCGN 2013 Romanization)  
>  \- _Megayanma (_ _メガヤンマ_ _)_ \- Japanese: "Yanmega" (Official Romanization)  
>  \- _Livolt (_ _ライボルト_ _)_ \- Japanese: "Manectric" (Official Romanization)  
>  \- _Mou ii (_ _もういい_ _)_ \- Japanese: "enough" (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _tan a pecho_ \- Spanish: "so serious"  
>  \- _To nie nasza wina!_ \- Polish: "It's not our fault!"  
>  \- _eda (_ _えだ_ _/_ _枝_ _)_ \- Japanese: "branch", Japanese localization name for 'Wand'. (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _Khranitel Rod (Хранитeль Род)_ \- Russian: "Keeper Clan" (BGN/PCGN 2013 Romanization)


	38. It's a Trap!

Back in Mengir Island's Mystery dungeon, Team Traveller continued their mission to search for the murals. starting from the seventh floor, The team kept their eyes peeled, remembering Salvini's words about how the stable zone that held the paintings was at most two floors from them. Guardia walked slightly ahead of everyone because of her past experience ferreting out such zones back in Kenobi- and surprisingly enough, Elty seemed to have a sharp nose for them himself...

Except, the seventh floor only had a small stable zone while the eighth floor had no stable zone at all! They were now on the last floor, with not a hint of fog to be seen.

"I think we've been had," Elty grumbled. "No stable zone is _this_ hard to find!"

"This _is_ the last floor it could be on, Elty," Nida said. "Maybe we just aren't looking hard enough?"

"Then… does that mean that we _passed_ it?" Pleo nervously asked.

Both Nida and Elty blanched for a moment as they realized that the little Protector might be onto something. If the stable zone _was_ this hard to find, then it was entirely possible that they _had_ passed it earlier! Then they'd be forced to choose between finding a way to backtrack, spending the Escape Orb they'd bought from the Kecleon shop, or clearing the whole dungeon and return later...

"Hey! I found something over here!" Guardia's voice suddenly rang out.

Or it could be right in front of them. After poking a bit at a mat of vines, Guardia swatted it down with her club, revealing a thick fog which swirled and ebbed out slightly.

"Bah, knowing our luck, it'll be another dead end," Elty grunted.

"Elty, think _positive,_ " Nida snapped. "The third time's the charm, right?"

"Whatever, let's just get this over with," he sighed, rolling his eyes. "Pleo, you stay on my tail while I follow the bonehead."

"But what about Nida-?" Pleo began, only to squawk with a start as he felt a weight land against his back.

"Heh, being on top of you _does_ give a better view, right?" the Nidoran chuckled. "It couldn't hurt once we come out the other end."

"Oh!" Pleo murmured. "I… guess that makes sense."

The four Pokémon formed a line and began to make their way into the fog. Guardia was first, followed by Elty, who had latched onto Guardia's club with his mouth (much to her growling displeasure). At the end of the line was Pleo with Nida on his shoulders, his beak gently grabbing Elty's tail for guidance as the team carried on. The group continued trudging along as the fog started to thicken, when Pleo noticed a stone spire in the distance that looked much like the ones back in Fensedge Village. The sight made Pleo's mind turn back to the day they arrived on Mengir Island…

"Nida?" He asked muffledly.

"Hrm?"

"What does it mean to be 'dead'?"

The Nidoran froze and twitched her whiskers uncomfortably. What on earth had lead Pleo to bring up such a morbid topic now of all times?

"Er… why do you ask?" Nida replied.

"Well, Guardia said that Fensedge reminded her of a graveyard. And a graveyard is supposed to have 'dead' Pokémon in it," he mumbled. "But Fensedge had a bunch of Pokémon and the 'graveyard' place didn't."

The Lugia waited expectantly for Nida to give an explanation clearing the mystery up, only to be answered by a long and awkward silence, punctuated by the sounds of the team's footsteps.

"Nida…? How come you aren't saying anything?"

"It means that you aren't here anymore, but your body stays and won't move or breathe or talk again," Elty suddenly answered. Nida shook her head and shot a glare at the obscured Growlithe.

"Elty!"

"What, he was going to have to find out eventually anyways!"

"Maybe that's how _your_ dead work, Gardie," Guardia chimed in. "But for Karakara and Garagara like me, their spirits guide us, much like the Travellers-"

The fog grew thick enough to muddle the sounds of their voices from that point, which caused Guardia's lecture to come in erratic snatches before fading entirely. As Pleo continued on, he thought and realized that being 'dead' sounded an awful lot like being a Substitute…

It couldn't move… It couldn't breathe... It couldn't talk…

And it couldn't keep itself from being broken apart…

The sound of a flowing stream pricked Pleo's ears, followed by the sight of desiccated leaves and flowers on the ground. They must have gotten through the worst of the fog already, which brought another question to his mind…

"How does a Pokémon become 'dead' then?" he asked.

There was a deathly silence, and had it not been for the thinning fog, Pleo would have thought that Guardia had lead them back deeper into the fog. Finally, her voice answered from the front.

"It can happen in many ways," the Cubone explained. "Sometimes it happens when a Pokémon lives long enough… Other times, it happens when a Pokémon gets really sick or hurt."

Pleo trembled. He remembered the team's escape from Lyn's ship and the harrowing crawl through the Mystery Dungeon afterwards, and how everyone had gotten hurt. Could they have stopped moving... forever? And Nida had said the Crom was badly hurt... what if he-

"Hey, I think I see it!" Elty barked.

The Growlithe nosed off ahead, where there was a mural of a blackened, dead forest ringing a white, stone-like tree in the center. The four carried on a little, where there was another painting of a blue deerlike creature springing from the tree with a flash of light, followed by one where the stony tree in the center was absent and the deer roamed freely about a now lush and verdant forest.

"What's this island's Protector supposed to _be?_ " Guardia scoffed. "Aside from the color and the bigger horns, it looks just like that cart-pulling _yajū_ we saw back in the village!"

"Protectors _are_ supposed to come in all sorts of shapes and sizes," Nida replied. "Maybe this one is just a little different."

"Look," Pleo chirped. "There's more!"

The team stopped to take rubbings of the murals and labeling the different sectors for colors before carrying along. Nida, Pleo, Elty, and Guardia passed a few more murals with the blue Protector and repeated the process of taking rubbings as the fog started to thin. Eventually, the team came to a painting of a waterfall set against a burning sky. In it, there was a depiction of the deer being pierced with a pillar of burning light coming from a blood-red star in the sky. To the side, another mural showed the Protector falling dead to the ground in a burning forest.

The fog grew thinner and thinner with the next few murals the team recorded, going from the Old World's death to scenes from the new one. There came paintings of figures flying and swimming alongside a ship for an island with needle-like peaks surrounded with mist, and of Pokémon beginning to settle among tender-looking trees. As the team came out of the last stretch of foggy trail, they came before a final mural depicting Pokémon with scarves and without scarves moving an egg into a fog-surrounded clearing filled with tender saplings.

"Wait, this Protector…" Guardia murmured to herself. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that it has something to do with giving _life._ "

"It makes sense though," Nida said. "With the Wastes as dead as they are, wouldn't it be faster for them to be restored after the Protectors started to wake up if a few of them _could_ give life?"

As she pondered what a restoration of the Wastes might look like, her teammates pulled ahead of her. Pleo noticed her fall behind, and turned back to wave at her to move on.

"Eh? Nida, there's still more paintings up ahead!" Pleo squawked.

"Huh?"

The team drew closer to the pillars, where they saw that the shapes were crude and forceful strokes of various scenes. One showed Pokémon with blue and purple scarves coming into a grove of tall trees and driving various moth and worm-like creatures away from an egg. There was another one showing the blue and purple-scarved Pokémon exiting a cave's maw with the egg, the bugs from the earlier scene lying in disarray on the ground.

At the sight of the third pillar, Nida, Elty, and Guardia began to flush pale. In it were pictures of various Pokémon with scarves being attacked by the Bug-Types from the prior steles, some shown lying on the ground. One of the paintings was still fresh, of a Roserade being set upon in a crude depiction of Mengir's wrecked shrine.

"Why are these pictures so different?" Pleo asked. "And why do you all look so scared? What's wrong?"

"What's wrong is _you_ having the nerve to come here, Inkfoot!"

Team Traveller looked up and watched as three Beautifly and a Dustox swooped down from above and ringed the team. The four bugs were obviously agitated and erratic, their voices coming out in hateful chitters.

" _E-Esperen un momento!_ " Nida squeaked. "We didn't come here to cause trouble!"

"Yeah, we just wanted to look at some pictures for Salvini's friend back in the town!" Pleo cried.

"We've come to learn more about your Protector!" Guardia shot in.

The young Pokémon's earnest pleas drew bitter and derisive laughter from the Bug-Types, who started to flutter around their trapped foes, glaring and sneering all the while.

"'Come to learn about our Protector', huh?" one of the Beautifly, the apparent leader of the group, hissed. "Oh, that's rich coming from an Inkfoot like you."

"Wh-Why's that?" Elty stammered.

"You all stole our Protector from us!" the Bug-Type shouted. "Your vile village broke the Pact so you could take it all for yourselves!"

"And you didn't just move it into town either!" a lighter-colored Beautifly angrily chittered. "You sent its egg over the sea to a faraway island that we couldn't find!"

Wait- this island's Protector's egg had already been found?! Then- those paintings… they were of the _Company?_ But then why hadn't anybody heard about-?

"And now you've come to wreck our grounds again on top of all that!" the Dustox spat.

"That's- That's not-" Elty stuttered, looking around desperately for some way to escape. "L-Look, th-this is all a big misunderstanding! Isn't there something we can do to show you that we don't mean you any trouble?"

"There is," the last Beautifly, a grizzled individual with tattered wings, growled. "You can **die!** "

* * *

The prior night, Crom, Kiran, Ander and Pladur were at the Andaku Docks, continuing a fruitless search for clues of where Team Traveller had flown off to. Somewhere in this wretched hive of scum and villainy, there were the Yanmega, Manectric, and Marowak who had last sighted their blue-scarved friends.

After asking Pladur about the places he remembered of the district during the Siglo Swellow's last visit as free traders, the team figured this district's guild would be a good starting point for their search. Except… things did not go according to plan, with the night's search devolving into aimless wandering around in the shifty district. After a few hours of fruitless search and noticing that the locals were thinning out into ever more menacing-looking characters, the group chose to return to the Siglo Swellow to try their luck again after a safer rest.

Their attempt to resume their search the following morning had thus far been just as fruitless. Unfortunately the Fraxure seemed to be less familiar with the neighborhood than his words let on, especially when entering the district from the bluffs and not the docks.

"Pladur, what direction was that guild again? We couldn't find it last night, and we've been wandering around in this place for about an hour now!" Kiran squawked.

The Fraxure hesitated with answering, before his son interrupted with a tug at his father's shoulder and a question of his own.

"Dad… are we lost?" Crom prodded.

"I- I know it's supposed to be around here somewhere… I know it's in a group of buildings right along the sea," Pladur murmured as he scanned his surroundings puzzledly.

"Then why aren't we walking by the _water?_ " Ander asked skeptically.

"Because that's where all the pirate crews hang out! You don't want to get too close to any of them!" Pladur quickly countered before pointing a claw off down past some ramshackle shops. "Uh… pretty sure it was this way!"

The three sighed and followed after the Fraxure down a lane lined with seedy-looking shops. Now that they walked through Andaku during the day, they noticed how much of a contrast the district was from the rest of Aisle Town. The buildings in this district were noticeably gaudier than the ones they had seen in the rest of the town, and their clientele was similarly more… 'colorful'. Even some of mundane shops had a noticeably rougher crowd, as a Ledian with a golden scarf ordering at a "sushi" stand was chatting up a rather gruff looking Pangoro with leaflets.

The group continued on until the Scyther of the bunch noticed the scarf design of the Ledian looked awfully familiar… and then quickly pushed his teammates down a back alley.

"Gwark! Ander?! What's the big idea?!" Kiran demanded. "This is 60% rougher than you need to be to get us to go someplace!"

" _Más bajo!_ " the mantis hissed. "You'll give us away!"

The four Pokémon watched as the Ledian flicked out his elytra and flew off, the unmistakable Aggron-head pattern of the Iron Fleet on the scarf around his neck.

"Those pirates who raided the town are here as well," the Scyther buzzed. "And the last thing we need is for one of them to recognize us."

The young Druddigon paused, gears turning in his head as he realized how close they all had come to a nasty encounter.

"Right, we'll be more careful-" Crom began, only to be cut off by a sudden chirp.

"Pladur? Didn't you say that the guild was a group of buildings by the sea with a canvas-covered courtyard?" Kiran asked, before gesturing ahead and to the right. "Like that one over there?"

The team poked their heads around a corner, where sure enough, there was a collection of stilted shacks by the sea with canvas roofing over a corner. Pladur's eyes lit up immediately at the sight of the sorry collection of shanties, as he recognized them from his prior time in port.

"Ah!" He cried. "That's it, come on!"

The four hurried along the lane and ducked down the entrance of the seaside guild into a courtyard that had been dimly lit by candles in jars. The courtyard was still mostly empty due to the early hour, but even so, a few scruffy and shifty-looking characters roamed about. There was a Zubat and Stunky who chattered about a team that had come back soaked after failed attempt to drill through a ship hull. Over in a corner, a Lucario audibly fumed about comrades who took the lack of enforcement of the three-day limit on locals as an excuse to leave him behind. Crom chanced to look down a gap in the wooden planks and into the water below, which revealed a Tentacruel with a white and red scarf passing by, muttering about 'what's taking the captain so long?'…

"I'm telling you Eeden, we need to lay low for a while! Those square-necks have been coming around and asking questions ever since we got Valatos and his buddies out of the dungeon!"

In addition, there was a Drowzee and Beheeyem by a mission board, who both looked unsettled and deeply agitated.

"Yeah, well whose fault is _that_ , Zamora? _I_ say you'll look more suspicious if you bolt!" the Drowzee shot back. "Really, this wouldn't have been a problem in the first place if you didn't let that accursed dragonfly and the rest of those dweebs arm-twist you!"

Wait a minute, dragonfly? 'Valatos'? Then...

"Ack! Those two know the Pokémon that ran into Pleo earlier!" Crom exclaimed, pointing a claw off at Zamora and Eeden.

The Druddigon's shout caused several Pokémon nearby to turn to see what the ruckus was all about, only to see a party of four Company grunts and two startled-looking Psychic-Types. The two teleporters blanched and then soon closed their eyes and started making the sweeping motions of a teleport…

"Wait! Wait!" Pladur cried out. "You met a 'mon called 'Valatos,' right? Do you know where we can find him or the Pokémon with him?"

The two Psychics abruptly froze and turned to each other, blinking incredulously. Their expressions notably relaxed, as if a great weight had been removed from both their shoulders before Zamora began to speak back.

"Oh! You just wanted to know about _them_ ," the Beheeyem said, sighing out of relief. "And here I thought you were here to-"

The Beheeyem was cut off with a yelp as an unseen force knocked him down against the ground. Crom and his companions whirled their heads just in time to see a glow fade from the Beheeyem and his Drowzee companion, clearly displeased at the Cerebral Pokémon's talkativeness.

"Shut _up_ , Zamora!" The Drowzee growled, before turning to the four lavender-scarved Pokémon. "Look, I don't know what your game is, but there's no way-"

"We'll give you immunity for whatever you two have been up to if you tell us where to find these Pokémon," Ander cut in. Almost immediately, the Drowzee's demeanor became more amicable, as he hastily amended his words.

"Er… that we _wouldn't_ tell you where to find them!" he chuckled. As the tension thinned, the prying eyes of the other Pokémon in the courtyard shifted away and back to their various busywork, leaving the Drowzee to grunt and then pry a bit into his interrogators.

"So, what is it you need from them?"

Ander opened his mouth only to freeze and blanch. The mantis had been in such a hurry to find out where Valatos and his friends were that he hadn't thought through an excuse as to why they were looking for them! The Bug-Type stammered and fumbled with his words, only for Crom to come to his aid with a hasty interjection.

"Uh, well," Crom began. "They're in big trouble because, er…"

"They've been withholding evidence! Evidence about a witness for a trial!" Kiran interjected. "So we need them to cough it up!"

"Wait, those three helped with legal proceedings?" Eeden asked. "I thought all they did was shove crates ar-"

"Eeden, not now!" Zamora hissed. "Look, if you're looking for Valatos and his friends, you might as well try out that dump of a bar they like hanging out at. It's called 'bokuya or something like that."

"Ryūbokuya," the Drowzee corrected. "It's a little ways inland and to the north from here. You'll know as soon as you see it, like its name it's pretty much a lump of driftwood."

The two were answered by an agitated buzz, as Ander raised a scythe and pointed it accusingly at the two Pyschic-Types.

"N-Now hold on here!" Ander interrupted. "What sort of lead is that?! What are we supposed to do if we head to the bar and Valatos and the Pokémon with him are already gone?"

There was a noticeable pause as the two Psychic-Types traded looks with each other, before turning back to their questioners and quickly attempting to wave away their fears.

"Well, that barkeep over there has a bit of an axe to grind against them," the Beheeyem explained. "And he _is_ a bit of a neutral type, so if you wanted to say, pass on a bounty…"

"A bounty?" Pladur murmured. "He wouldn't happen to be able to take in other ones, would he?"

"I mean, if you make it worth his while, sure," Eeden said. "Though not sure who else you'd need to get at those backstabbing dimwits…"

"That's confidential," Kiran replied. "But thanks for the tip, we'll make sure it's worth your while."

The four turned and made their way out of the ramshackle guild complex. Crom briefly looked back and saw relieved expressions on the two teleporters' faces, which made the little dragon grow uneasy and turn a wary eye to his father.

"Do you think we can trust them?" Crom asked.

"We don't have any other leads right now," Pladur answered, shaking his head. "I think it's as good a shot as any."

The four trudged on, vanishing down the winding alleys of Andaku in their search of this 'bokuya', looking here and there for the 'pile of driftwood' the teleporters spoke of.

* * *

While a ray of hope finally dawned upon the four Pokémon of the Siglo Swellow, things were rapidly taking a turn for the worse in the dungeon. Nida, Pleo, Elty, and Guardia had backed into each other, the four Bug-Types surrounding them flitting their wings more and more aggressively, leaving the little Protector to turn nervously to his Nidoran companion.

"N-Nida?!" he cried. "Wh-What do we do?!"

The Nidoran froze, her eyes widening and her mind running blank as she saw no way to escape. She attempted to stammer something back, only to notice that orange and purple powder was beginning to accumulate on their assailants' wings.

"What are you waiting for?!" Guardia shouted. " _Rush_ them before they dump that powder on us!"

The Cubone leapt at one of the Beautifly and swung at him with her club. As the sound of a scuffle rang out, Nida, Pleo, and Elty likewise rushed ahead. Blindly sending spikes, gusts of wind, and cones of cinders at their assailants as they charged on.

Pleo felt a chitinous body tumble against his, and swatted desperately at the presence with his wings, only to feel air.

"A-Aaaah!"

Pleo, Nida, and Elty heard a loud scream come from back towards the entrance, where Guardia had been covered in orange powder and then knocked to the ground by one of the Beautifly. Her assailant had jabbed her with a long proboscis, which retracted from an ugly-looking mark on her left shoulder dribbling ruddy fluid at the end. To everyone's horror, a Dustox and a second Beautifly were closing in on her position.

"G-Guardia!" Pleo squawked.

"Ack!" Elty yelped. " _Trzymaj się!_ "

Nida watched as the dog spat out a cone of cinders, which drove the Beautifly off Guardia with a pained screech and cleared the way for Elty to rush to the Cubone's side. Pleo disgorged a glowing ball of light which caught the other Beautifly and sent him tumbling to the ground with a yelp, as Nida ran for the Dustox to fend her off from the Ground-Type...

"A-Aah!"

Only to pratfall as a sticky thread shot out and enveloped her body. The Poison-Type hastily stumbled back to her feet, only for a cry to come from behind.

"Where do you think you're going?!"

Much to Nida's shock, a third Beautifly dove at her from behind.. The Nidoran hastily flicked a spike at the diving bug, only for him to blow it away with a cutting gust of wind, which carried on straight for her.

"Augh!"

The spike ball went tumbling head over heels, her satchel opening and spilling a pawful of items all over the ground. Before she could get up, Nida felt a heavy weight pin her down and chitinous claws grabbing at her pelt. The Poison-Type raised her barbs in a panic, drawing a pained yelp from the Bug-Type above her. Nida felt her attacker fall off of her and darted forward, where down at her feet, she saw a scaled, orange seed. She hastily picked it up with her mouth, turned back as the sound of angry wingbeats fluttered towards her…

And bit down.

_**BLAM!** _

The sound of pained screeching rang out, followed by a dull thud as the Beautifly crashed into the earth, twitch and groaning. The Nidoran shook her head, panting, when the sound of Elty's cries came from further back.

"Eyaaah!"

Back at Elty and Guardia position, the Fire-Type reeled from a fresh spike in his flank still dribbling venom. His Ground-Type teammate was in similarly bad shape, struggling against unresponsive limbs to keep fighting while a Beautifly and Dustox circled and harried them with narrowly-missing cutting gusts of wind.

"P-Pay more attention, _Gardie!_ " the Cubone huffed tiredly. "You'll get us wiped out like that!"

"Worry about yourself, alright!" the Growlithe snapped back. "I'm fighting for two of us here-!"

"You're done for, lizard!"

The Growlithe turned and watched as the Dustox dove for Guardia. Reflexively, Elty ran in between them, and spat out a cone of embers, only for them to get blown back by a gust of wind. As the Growlithe watched the sparks fall back to the ground, he charged on undeterred as they fell on his body and kicked up flames along his pelt. Without thinking, the little dog somersaulted forward and vaulted his flaming body feet-first directly towards the moth's face.

_Thwack_

The sound of a loud smack followed by chittering screams rang out, as the Dustox attempted to flee, only to stall in midair and flop to the ground, unconscious. Guardia stared wide-eyed at Elty as he came to a gasping, skidding stop along the ground, the fire on his pelt finally dying down.

"Wh-What was _that?!_ " she cried. "You never told me you knew how to do that!"

"I didn't know that I _did_ ," he panted. "But it works great!"

"N-Nida! H-Help!"

Back towards the entrance, Pleo had managed to get himself chased and boxed in against the fog by one of the Beautifly. The Bug-Type fluttered here and there, his erratic flight thwarting many of the little Lugia's attempts to strike back at him. The Beautifly beat his wings together and sent a cutting gust along the top of Pleo's left wing, sending the young Protector tumbling out of the air with a squawking thud, landing hard on his wing against a sharp stone.

"A-Aah!"

The bird cried out and writhed as pain shot through his wing. He attempted to get back in the air, only for his wing to ache and grow unresponsive, leading him to pratfall as wingbeats approached him.

"Pleo! Stay down!" Nida's voice suddenly called.

The little Protector pulled his head low to the ground as an object sailed overhead and struck something with a _thwip_ and a yelp. The white bird watched as the Beautifly pursuing him staggered up the ground, a spike lodged in between segments of his exoskeleton…

"L-Leave us alone!"

And spat up a glowing ball of light, which sent the butterfly tumbling out of the air and falling limply against the ground. As the dust settled around the fallen bug, Nida and Pleo panted tiredly, looking around frantically to try and place where their fourth assailant might be.

"A-Aah!"

Following the sound of a loud _smack_ from the sound of Guardia's club swatting chitin, all became clear. The last Beautifly came to a pinwheeling, panting stop along the ground. The creature tried his best to get up, but staggered and flopped forward after discovering that his right wing was unresponsive and hurt to move.

"Ha! And _you_ said you were fighting for two!" Guardia jeered, tiredly poking a tongue out at Elty. "That was _my_ hit there!"

"Yeah, yeah, enough," the dog growled, shaking a weary head. Back closer to the entrance, Pleo raised his head warily, turning to Nida.

"Is… is it over?" he asked.

"Almost, Pleo," she sighed. Before raising her barbs and shouting over to the winded Bug-Type.

"Before you slink off!" she hissed. "Why did you _attack_ us like that?!"

"I'm… I'm not slinking anywhere," the bug spluttered back. "This is _our_ territory…"

" _Sure_ you aren't," Elty growled. "We're not the ones limping off with our tails between our legs here!"

"A-All the better," the bug coughed.

The four's breaths came out in ragged pants as they looked over at the felled Bug-Types, relieved that their ordeal was behind them. Just then, a humming sound began to roll in from the treeline.

"Wh-What's that noise?!"

"That's-"

It got louder, and louder, and louder, and with the sight of yellow and purple bodies tearing through the canopy, it became clear that they were not dealing with a few reinforcements, but a massive swarm.

"Run- AAUGH!"

A cutting gust of wind suddenly flew out, sending Guardia sprawled out over the ground. Elty's fur bristled, his tail folded tight against his legs, and likewise pinned his ears along his head. The Growlithe turned and bolted blindly back for the fog, only to be caught by a dark purple blob from behind and flop forward limply.

"A-Ah!" Pleo squawked. "Elty! Guardia!"

"Pleo! Quick! My bag!" Nida squeaked. "There's an Esca-"

The duo was interrupted by a cutting, cross-shaped gust striking the two and sending them tumbling along the ground. As Pleo struggled to get on his feet, he saw that Nida wasn't getting up, and worse still, the horde was nearly upon them,

"A-Aah! Wait! Stop!" the Protector pleaded. "If my friends get hurt too much, they might become 'dead'!"

"You should have run while you had the chance, Inkfoot!" the wounded Beautifly sneered. "It's _over_ for all of you _kirlivi paraziti!_ "

In the midst of the din and Pleo's frenzied attempts to evade the Bug-Types, Pleo heard the sound of soft voices piercing through. There was a tired-sounding voice that wished for the olden days where the shrine was there to visit… Exhausted groans from haggard Pokémon wishing that the Apricorn fields didn't exist… And voice after voice that wished for a Protector to watch over them again…

All of them wished for an end to the disturbed state of affairs that loomed over the island, the same state of affairs that was about to take his friends' lives. Unless, no matter how futile it seemed…

He didn't give up.

"St-Stop! You can't _do_ this!" Pleo cried. "We didn't _take_ your Protector! We came to look at pictures!"

In spite of his pleas, the only answers the little Lugia received were ugly taunts. A number of the Bug-Types were preparing sickly-looking globs and cutting gusts of wind, ready to shut up their intruder for good. Their attacks zipped towards the stricken bird when all of a sudden, a forceful burst of air forced the charging creatures back with yelps and cries. As the swarm focused back at the entrance near the fog, they saw that the white-plumed bird's markings were now glowing bright, and his voice had become a feral shriek.

"I won't let you make my friends 'dead'!" he shouted. The bird then brought his wings together, and a roaring column of air shot forth and swept up the Bug-Types. Their jeers and threats became panicked cries and screams, intermixed with the sounds of tree branches rending and bending. As Pleo drew back his wings, pain shot through his left wing, leaving him painting and flinching, expecting his assailants to swoop down upon him at any second.

"M-Monster! Monster!"

"F-Fly away! Fly away!"

Only to see that the shapes in the trees were fleeing as fast as they could. From deeper on, Pleo could hear frightened crying from younger-sounding Pokémon. The leader Beautifly with the wounded right wing had been blown up against a tree trunk and curled up, and was whimpering and shuddering out of fright at the sight of the strange white bird.

Did he... just really do that...? Was- Was that what evoking his true powers would do to other Pokémon?

_Whump_

Pleo craned his head, where he saw Nida groaning, stretched out before a glassy, black Escape Orb. The light was glowing bright, much brighter than it had when they bought it… Did- Did that mean it would work here? Then Nida must have been trying to use it to get them out! She, Elty, and Guardia weren't moving much. If they stopped moving… then- then they'd be dead!

"Nida! Elty! Guardia!" he begged. "Pl-Please! Just hold on a moment!"

The little Lugia limped over to the Escape Orb, picked it up with his beak... and then threw it against the ground with all his might as the sound of shattering glass rang out.

A bright, white light exploded from the shards, and enveloped the young Protector and his teammates in an overpowering gleam. There was a faint blip as the horrid clearing faded in front of his eyes, followed by the sound of branches gently swaying in the wind...

Joined with a long and pregnant absence of his friend's voices.

* * *

Outside Mengir's Mystery Dungeon, the foggy approach was its normal, eerily quiet self with branches and leaves swaying in gentle breezes. This all changed when suddenly, a bright white flash appeared, depositing the forms of a Lugia, a Nidoran, a Growlithe, and a Cubone onto the ground. Once the burst of light faded, Pleo flopped forward against the ground, panting. As his senses began to attune to their surroundings, Pleo slowly began to piece together that the Escape Orb had deposited him in front of the misty entrance to the dungeon.

The place was eerily silent, with the only companions being the mist, the jagged rock formations that formed the spires in between the dungeon... and of course the unconscious forms of a Nidoran, a Growlithe, and a Cubone up ahead.

"A-Aah! Nida! Elty! Guardia!"

The young Lugia tried to beat his wings and fly over, only to wince and gasp as he felt pain shoot through his left wing. The bird uneasily pulled his wounded wing back to his side, and darted along to the prone bodies ahead.

"G-Guys? W-Wake up," he pleaded, nosing at the unconscious Pokémon. "We're out of the dungeon now, we can go back…"

No matter how he pushed or pecked at them, there didn't seem to be any reaction from any of his friends. The Lugia began to grow uneasy as he started to realize that his friends were surely badly hurt- Wait a minute! He had something that could help them!

"H-Hang on!" he chirped. "I'll- I'll heal you, and then you'll be all better!"

The Lugia searched through Nida's bag, and came across an Oran Berry. After some clumsy attempts at peeling away the rind, the little Protector remembered that Crom had just eaten them in the past.

The Lugia quickly stuffed the berry into Nida's mouth, waiting for her to bite down on the berry… except she never did. The berry just flopped out, with a faint coating of spittle attached. The bird tried moving the berry over to Elty's mouth, and then to Guardia's, but none of them seemed to get any better.

Wh-Why hadn't it done anything?! Wh-Why hadn't the berry made any of them better like in the past times when the team was hurt?! The little Guardian then remembered that Guardia had said that Pokémon became 'dead' when they were hurt very badly… What had Elty said about being 'dead' again?

Your body couldn't move, couldn't talk back...

D-Did this mean that…? Nida… Elty… Guardia… They were all...

"N-No! You can't be 'dead'! You can't!" Pleo cried. The little bird futilely tried rouse his teammates, as his fears began to mount and tears started to well in his eyes. "W-We were gonna go home together! We- We were-"

The Lugia's voice hitched as he began to sob. He tried to save them! Why weren't they fine now? He was supposed to be a Protector... but he failed at protecting them… If he wasn't a Protector... what was he then? And what would he do without his friends?

"Ahoy!"

Pleo quickly turned around upon hearing a squawking voice behind him. In the distance he could see the shape of a large, metallic bird flying towards him, the light of the lowering sun reflecting of his metal feathers. This was a 'Skarmory', like the one Nida was afraid of the other day…

Wait a minute, this was the Skarmory Nida was afraid of the other day! The one who was the 'Warrior of Life'!

"Thank gods I ran into you before you-" the Skarmory began, only to clamp his beak shut as he noticed "Wait, what happened to your friends?"

"T-Those bug thingies!" Pleo sniffled. "They attacked, and now Nida, Elty and Guardia t-they're d-d-dea..."

" _Calmo! Calmo!_ " The Steel-Type reassured, before gesturing at the fallen Pokémon. "Nobody's dead yet! Your friends are still breathing, don't you see their chests rising and falling?"

Pleo turned and saw that true enough, his teammates' were still breathing, if barely. So- So they weren't dead! Then that meant…

"Then- Then they can get better?!" he cried. Trizano nodded before giving the young Lugia a reassuring pat with one of his wings.

"They should, but it looks like they've been hurt rather badly," the Skarmory answered. "Can you fly, little one?"

Pleo looked uneasily at his left wing, and attempted to bat it out to take flight. The little Protector grimaced as his wing began to throb, but still stubbornly hopped up and beat his wings. The Lugia gave a few beats, before the pain overcame him and caused him to cry out, tumbling to the ground with a pained squawk as Trizano fluttered over.

"It's alright! It's alright! Don't force a bad wing!" the Steel-Type squawked as he inspected Pleo's wounded wing. "Hopefully it's just a sprain, but I think it's probably safest to try and walk back."

The Steel-Type looked at Pleo's unconscious teammates. "We'll have to carry them," he determined, before he set off for Nida and began to hoist her limp body onto his shoulders.

"Looks like you're not in good shape yourself," Trizano muttered as he slung Elty and then Guardia one by one onto his back. "What _happened_ earlier?"

"We were doing our mission when we came to this stable zone full of trees and paintings," Pleo explained. "Then all these Pokémon came and hurt us like this!"

Trizano paused as he stooped to grab Guardia's bone from the ground. So Administrator Darzin's trap _had_ caught the children up...

"Ah, I see… but then how did you all get away?" the Skarmory asked.

"Well, I remember there being a glow, and then when I beat my wings, all of the mean bugs got blown back," Pleo answered. "Then I took the the Escape Orb from Nida's bag and-"

Pleo noticed that the Skarmory had abruptly stopped in his tracks and beaten his wings out in surprise. The creature tilted his head, with a wide-eyed curiosity as if he had just heard Pleo say that the Travellers were falling from the sky.

"Did- Did I say something wrong?" the little Lugia murmured, only to be answered with a wing spread over his right shoulder.

"... Don't worry about it, little one," the Skarmory reassured. "Let's just get you and your friends patched up for now."

As the two limped off down the path back to Fensedge, Trizano pondered what he had just observed. This Pokémon had to be something special...

The kind of special that he knew, from personal experience, would need a guarding eye to see him out of this Pyroar's den.

* * *

Back on Kenobi, while Crom and his peers from the Siglo Swellow looked around for this 'bokuya, other ne'er-do-wells were busy going about their routines in port. One of those was the Ledian the group noticed earlier, still wearing the familiar gold and gray patterned scarf of the Iron Fleet. The beetle fluttered throughout Andaku, zipping here and there until he came near a stretch of sandy shoreline where some ships had been shoved ashore.

The Bug-Type landed on the beach and folded his wings behind his elytra before making his way down the beach for a large, two masted caravel with golden sails surrounded by a flurry of activity. There were crewmates hard at work swabbing the deck and repainting some scuffed sections of the ships' trim, others set about examining the hull for any signs of damage or rotted timbers. The bulk of the activity however, focused around the stump of a mast that was being torn out, with a small crew of Pokémon waiting impatiently with a new mast that had been 'borrowed' on short order from a local shipyard.

"Where have you been, Kichiro?!"

And of course the ship's captain was also there right behind him, thumping his tail impatiently and glaring at the Ledian. A rough looking Aggron wearing the same kind of golden scarf as most of the other Pokémon currently tending to the stricken Mistral Marauder's repairs, and clearly in a less-than-chipper mood.

"Captain, it's _Keiichiro_ , and give this 'recruiting' thing a little time!" the Ledian buzzed back defensively. "I'm sure that something will turn up eventually once the rookies here forget about us pulling in with a missing mast… twice."

The Aggron growled and fumed at the Bug-Type's response, and stamped his feet angrily against the sand, giving the same pawing motion that he did before a charge.

"Don't give me that, Kichiro! My ship needs more recruits than a solitary Hoppip and we need them _today!_ " Hess bellowed. "It's the third day and not all of us have residence papers for this island to hide behind like you!"

The Aggron's shout drew the attention and quizzical stares of his laboring subordinates, including a Pawniard and a Voltorb who were hoisting several buckets of paint with ropes and pulleys up the ship.

"Eh? But it's only the second day!" the Pawniard protested. "We've only been here two days since we came back after that ocean clan broke the front mast again!"

"Wait, then why are we in such a rush?" the Voltorb added. "If we're allowed to stay here for three days in a row- Aaah!"

The duo were swiftly cut off by a number of rocks flung from under the sand, sending the pair tumbling along the beach along with the contents of the paint buckets. As the pair staggered up groaning and dripping pigment, the Aggron captain gave an irked stamp of his feet and glared at the Pokémon.

"Because we only get three days _a month_ to work with, you morons!" Hess growled, before stomping back over in the direction of an increasingly-nervous-looking Ledian who was backpedaling along the sand.

"N-Now hold on here! Just what am I supposed to do, huh?!" the bug buzzed. "I can't just magically make potential recruits change their minds, and the last time this crew tried press-ganging anyone, it was a total debacle!"

"He _does_ have a point there, captain," a Floatzel's voice added, its owner giving a sighing roll of his eyes at the whole exchange. Hess muttered under his breath, complaining about 'Couldn't you back me up _this_ time, Rodion?' before turning back to the Bug-Type before him.

"I don't care _what_ you do, Kichiro, just get me _something!_ " the Steel-Type demanded. "Or you can look forward to scraping the ship's hull! At _sea!_ "

Kichiro hastily darted off and took wing, buzzing up into the air and away from the beach. After losing his line of sight with the Aggron, the Bug-Type sighed, and came to a rest on a roof eave overlapping an alleyway.

"'I don't care what you do, Kichiro, just get me something!' Bah, who does that useless _debutcho_ think he is? He can't even get my name right!" the beetle angrily buzzed. "So what if I've been taking it a little easy? It's not like a recruit would just fall into my lap!"

"I don't believe this, how did we get rejected by the Strongjaw Gang?!"

The Ledian twitched his antennae and looked around after hearing a yipping voice from below. After a puzzled "Huh?" and failing to see any sign of Pokémon around him, Kichiro realized the conversation was coming from below. Down there he saw a Yanmega, a Manectric, and a Marowak in lavender scarves talking amongst each other in hushed tones

"We're tough enough to hold our own on a crew like that!" Alvise whined. "What gives?!"

"I _told_ you we should've done something about these Company scarves," Nori muttered, shaking his head.

"Well what are we supposed to do, huh?" Valatos snapped. "Administrator Farn's out for our heads, and the moment we get caught by another Company grunt, we're through!"

Wasn't that the group that had been hogging the stools at Ryūbokuya a couple nights ago? What were _they_ doing here? The Ledian paused and flicked his antennae as a devious smirk began to spread over his face with a dawning realization...

Maybe he _had_ gotten some recruits that had fallen into his lap. And the _Garagara_ in particular would _surely_ be just the sort that Hess needed after shoving him around like that earlier!

"Oi, you three down there!" the Ledian cried.

"G-Gih!" Alvise gulped. The three whirled their heads up to see the eavesdropping Bug-Type from above, who cheerily waved and carried on.

"You're looking to join a crew, right?"

The three blinked and began to shoot incredulous looks at one another, wondering all the while what this strange Pokémon wanted from them.

"Er… yeah? Why?" Valatos asked.

"Funny thing, because my crew's actually in need of some extra hands right now," Kichiro answered, before fluttering down into the alleyway. As soon as the Ledian landed, Valatos quickly pulled his friends aside to discuss what they should do here. After some hastily-whispered strategizing, the three decided to press further on Kichiro's offer, the Marowak of the group leading the charge.

"Wait, what crew is that?" Nori asked.

"The Iron Fleet," the beetle chittered back, adding a pair of emphatic punches with his right arms into the air. "The gold-threaded crew with fists of iron!"

"Wait, the Iron Fleet?" Alvise muttered. "Weren't those the losers that pulled in with the missing ma- Ow!"

Before the Manectric could continue he was cut off by a sharp gust from his Yanmega teammate. The dragonfly irkedly shook his head, and turned back to address Kichiro.

"As Alvise here was saying, we'd be thrilled to come aboard," Valatos hastily interjected. "Really, it's quite the lucky draw for both of us, we were looking for a change of pace."

"Oh, I know," Kichiro said. "And the Captain has been looking forward to getting a crewmate just like your friend there."

The beetle adamantly pointed out the Marowak, a wide, somewhat unsettling grin starting to creep across his face. Valatos and his companions blinked and traded looks with each other, before Nori cleared his throat and tried to respond.

"Er… like me? What do you mean by that?" Nori replied. "And what's with that grin on your face?"

* * *

"Heave!"

After shooing Kichiro off, the repairs of the Mistral Marauder had finally wrapped up, and the process of bringing the ship back into the water started. The Iron Fleet's more terrestrial members shoved the ship from the bow along with their captain, while the sea escorts tugged from the water. Except, as Hess' panting and labored breaths evidenced, something about today's pushoff seemed more tiring than normal...

"Hah, hah… what are those swimmers doing?! It's never this much work pushing the ship back into the surf!"

"I'm telling you, we need to put more backbone into this!" a Seadra's voice cried. The seahorse's call was answered with a snorting "some of us don't _have_ backbones!" along an indistinct mass of squabbling.

The muddy sound of the voices chattering off ahead reached the Aggron's ears, which prompted him to leave his place at the bow. The Steel-Type ignored the protesting grumbles from some nearby lackeys as he paced over towards the water.

"Eh?"

There, he saw the bulk of his sea escorts squabbling with one another. Their group was split into two camps: one who weren't tugging at their tow ropes… and another one that also was not tugging at their tow ropes and berating the others for not helping.

"You know what I meant!" the Seadra huffed. "If the Captain finds out about this, we're in for a world of hurt!"

"Relax, the ship is barely out of the water anyway!" an Octillery answered back, "No point in wearing ourselves out this early in the game!"

Suddenly, the Seadra and the other Pokémon gathered around the octopus went wide-eyed, and began to dart off in the water in a hurry. The Octillery looked around, puzzled at his colleagues' sudden change of demeanor...

"Uh... why are you all swimming aw- Argh!"

A change that was quickly felt after the octopus was swept up in a sudden wave, which drew a few yelps from some other unfortunates that had not swum out of its path in time. One by one, the sea Pokémon turned and came face to face with the culprit, the glaring form of their captain, lurking in the water.

" _Get back to work!_ "

The sea escorts hastily went back to their tow ropes, and even invertebrate Pokémon such as the now-bruised Octillery discovered that they indeed had a newfound backbone for their work. The ship tugged along a bit quicker now, as Hess left the water, still dripping along the beach sand as he made his way back to the ship's bow, growling all the while.

"The things I have to put up with from this crew..."

"Captain, I'm back! And I've got some recruits!"

The Aggron paused after hearing a Ledian's chittering voice. That must be Kichiro, and it sounded like all he needed to do his job properly was a good kick in the rear.

"Hrmph, about time!" he grunted. "Let's see who we've-"

Hess turned back, and saw that waiting for him was the expected Bug-Type, another that appeared to be a Yanmega, a Manectric… and a Marowak. The Aggron and the three Company Pokémon went wide-eyed and stumbled back, recoiling from each other as a mutual cry filled the air.

"A-AAAH! Y-You again!"

The four Pokémon traded incredulous glances with each other, until finally, after gulping and shaking his head, Hess turned his attention to a bemused-looking Ledian. The Steel-Type attempted a bellowing roar, only for it to come out instead as a whining squeak.

"Ki-Kichiro?!" he demanded. "Wh-What is the meaning of this?!"

"Well, you said that you needed new recruits, right?" the Bug-Type answered, giving a cross of his arms and a smug, satisfied smile. "Whelp, I got us a better batch than we've seen in ages!"

While the beetle and his captain began to argue heatedly with each other, Nori uneasily fidgeted around with his bone as the Aggron seemed all too familiar to him..

"Valatos," the Marowak whispered. "This is that 'mon who was glaring at me the other-"

"Nori, shut up!" the dragonfly hissed, before dusting his exoskeleton's segments off and flitting up to the golden-scarved Aggron. "Aherm, as your friend was saying… we've seen our share of action on the seas before."

"Yeah, so you won't be going wrong taking us aboard!" the Manectric chimed in. Valatos gave a strong beat of his wings as his partners puffed their chests a bit, hoping to make a positive impression on this… unexpected potential employer.

"N-No way! I don't need the likes of you on my crew! Take a hike!"

Only for their confident expressions to melt into wide-eyed panic as the Aggron shot back with a stammering rejection.

"Oh, but didn't you say you needed more recruits than just a Hoppip by today, Captain?" Kichiro demanded. "Are we _really_ going to shut them out when the only other recruit we've gotten was that loser Wilhelm?"

"Hey! I'm _right here!_ " a Hoppip protested. Some other murmurs started going around the gathered crew such as "is he _daft?_ " and "he can't be serious about turning away help, right?" The Aggron bit his tongue as he realized that no, he couldn't very well turn away help in front of his crew for no reason, but even so...

"Rgh… I'll take the bug and the wolf," he conceded. "I'm _not_ taking that lizard on board though-!"

"Um, Hess? Need I remind you that we'd still be around ten heads short from our losses back on Tromba?" Rodion interrupted, tapping at the armored lizard's flank for attention. "I mean, the extra strength offsets that a bit, but still."

The Aggron's eyes went wide and he gritted his teeth uneasily as he realized that these newcomers had put him into a bind with his crew. One which his Ledian subordinate was all too keen to spell out.

"So, as you can see Captain," Kichiro continued, a smug, satisfied look creeping over the creature's face. "Like Rodion pointed out, it looks like we're not in any shape to be turning down any extra hands, doesn't it?"

Hess shot a piercing glare at the Ledian, growling and grinding his teeth. That miserable bug _knew_ that those awful bone lizards made him nervous, and had done this on _purpose!_ How could he?! That ungrateful louse-!

"G-Gih!"

Hess recoiled as he felt a Marowak's bone prodding at him, which made him jump and backpedal against the side of his ship. After looking down, the Aggron saw Nori waiting, curiously tilting his head a short distance away.

"So, uh… we're on, right?" The Ground-Type asked.

Hess looked around, and became acutely aware that everyone around him was staring at him, with a few snickers starting to go about. There wasn't really a good excuse for rejecting the little monster in front of him… let alone one that wouldn't make him sound pathetic in front of his crew. The Aggron closed his eyes, shook his head, and resigned himself to the fact that he would be stuck with this Marowak until he could find a convenient raid to be rid of him.

"Ugh… fine, you're on," Hess groaned, putting a claw over his face.

Valatos, Alvise, and Nori collectively exhaled a sigh of relief. After all this digging and searching, they finally got a way off this accursed island... and even a way back into the old business! …

Sort of. But those details could be sweated later, and any port in a storm would do for now...

"Right, so… looks like we're pushing a ship out?" Valatos asked.

"Yeah, we can do that!" Alvise added.

"We'll finish that later, I need a break," the Aggron said, quickly making his way up the beach before turning back to his crew from a safely distant spot. "And a nice, stiff drink at Shuho's…"

The mention of 'Shuho' instantly electrified the Steel-Type's crew, as cheers and whoops broke out among the gathered golden-scarved Pokémon.

"Woo hoo! Break time!"

"Dibs on the counter stool at 'bokuya!"

"I call the corner booth!"

Hess screwed his eyes shut and shook his head before shuffling off for the crew's haunt, most of the other members of the Iron Fleet eagerly following after their captain. Valatos and his friends stayed behind as Rodion passed the trio a set of new, golden-threaded scarves from his satchel. After a quick 'Welcome to the team' the first mate followed after his captain, leaving three newly-minted recruits behind on the beach to slip into more appropriate attire.

As the three set to work replacing their Company garb, the crowd of crewmates thinned down to a handful of sea escorts who didn´t feel like making the trip on land. The beach settled down as the Aggron and his mob of cronies slipped off, emboldening the three to begin to chatter about their new superior.

"I think the new boss doesn't like you, Nori," Alvise said.

"Gee, you _think?_ " the Marowak grumbled, putting a claw over his face.

"Mrph, whatever," Valatos buzzed. "We've got our way out of here, let's just go get that drink."

The three finished tying up their scarves, leaving Nori to grab and ball up the group's Company lavenders and stuff them into their bag. The Yanmega and his comrades then set off after the Iron Fleet. There would be safety in numbers if other guards came for them, and besides, after such a long day, the lot of them could stand for a well-deserved drink at 'bokuya.

* * *

Back in Mengir, Pleo had managed to make his way to the medic's hut in Fensedge Village along with the Skarmory who had aided him. The little bird and his unconscious teammates were quickly whisked to a windowed room on the second floor where berries and bandages were applied, and a Luxio carefully examined each of the four members of Team Traveller, going on about "doesn't look like anything's broken".

After a while, things began to die down as Nida, Elty, and Guardia's bandaged forms were moved into freshly prepared bedding, and the Electric-Type applied the last few bandages to Pleo's wounded wing.

"You've all gotten roughed up a bit more than normal," the medic murmured. "But I don't see any wounds that can't be fixed by a few days of bed rest."

The corners of Pleo's mouth lifted, and hope returned to his eyes at the lion's words… Then… did that mean?

"Th-They'll be alright?" the Lugia pressed.

" _If_ they don't exert themselves. And that includes you, little bird," the Luxio instructed. "Your wounds might be less severe than your friends', but I don't want you stressing yourself if you can help it. Do you hear me?"

Pleo looked at his now-bandaged left wing and reluctantly nodded, it wasn't like he _wanted_ to make his wing hurt more…

"Okay…"

The lion made his way past the doorway, where after a few indistinct words outside, the metal-feathered form of a Skarmory came into the room. Trizano sidled up against the young Lugia's form and ruffled his feathers before speaking to the little bird.

"You and your friends really ought to be more careful next time," Trizano sighed. "That mission of yours wasn't something that a band of rookies like you should've accepted."

"It… wasn't?" Pleo asked.

"No, and I'm not sure who put it in your heads it was a good idea to head into feral grounds on this island," the Skarmory squawked, shaking his head indignantly. "It was quite irresponsible of them!"

It… was? But if this mission was _that_ dangerous, why didn´t Salvini tell them? She just wanted to help her friend!

... didn't she?

"But- But Salvini said that it was to help the town fix their shrine!" Pleo cried.

The Lugia's outburst made the Steel-Type jerk his head back and ruffle his feathers uneasily. The little Protector nosed with his beak at a satchel that rested on the back of a softly breathing Nidoran, which made Trizano pause and blink uneasily as he realized there was another explanation for how Team Traveller could have been duped...

Could it be that Darzin and the Company's scheming had exploited the goodwill of a bunch of unwitting pawns?

"She said it meant a lot to her friend…" Pleo murmured, his head beginning to droop. "We even got all the pictures…"

"What pictures?" Trizano pressed. Pleo paced over uneasily and stuck his beak into Nida's bag, fishing out the rubbings they had taken along with the team's mission listing and placed them on the floor.

"These ones," he answered. "The ones we got for our mission…"

Pleo's eyes widened and his expression sank as he realized that if he were to stay in bed like the Luxio wanted him to… then- then they'd never be able to get their mission done! Unless...

"Er… could… could you help deliver it for us?" Pleo asked.

Trizano gave a startled squawk and raised a wing in protest, only to see the white bird's pleading gaze. Now that he thought about it… if he _were_ to have the listing delivered now it would be safer to do it in person…

And the guild wasn't _that_ far away...

"It's not that much of a hassle. Just take it easy for now, okay?" the Skarmory reassured, giving a soft pat at Pleo's head. "I'll come back afterward to keep an eye on you and your friends until you get back on your wings."

The young Protector's anxieties eased a bit, and he settled down into his bedding. While it was comforting to hear that Trizano would be there to help for a little while, something nagged at him about the matter...

"But why?"

Trizano paused a moment, and seemed to be ready to say something only to close his beak. After shaking his head, the creature sported a small, reassuring smile on the corners of his mouth, and gave a reassuring wave of his wings.

"I suppose you could say it's because I sensed that you're a bit like me," the Skarmory said. "That we both have something a bit different than normal about ourselves."

Pleo blinked and tilted his head curiously. Something… different about themselves? The little Lugia wondered if perhaps the Skarmory knew about his nature, but then if he did…

What was different than normal about him? Was he also a Protector?

"Er… thank you," Pleo replied. "But, I don't really understand-"

"Ngh…"

Pleo's words were cut off by a weak groan and the sound of stirring. The two birds turned, and saw that Nida was shifting, her little red eyes starting to open.

"Ah! Nida! Nida! You're awake! You're awake!" Pleo chirped excitedly. Trizano for his part sized up the little Poison-Type, and after pausing in thought, turned to the little Protector.

"I'll explain another time, but it looks like I should get going for now," the Skarmory answered, before shaking a feather loose onto the ground. "Ciao, little one. Though do explain the calling card before I come back, alright?"

Before Pleo could squawk in protest, the Skarmory hopped along and quickly ducked out of the room just as Nida started to open her eyes. Trizano hastily slipped into the hallway, but not fast enough for the Nidoran to miss the glimpse of something metal passing by the door and go wide-eyed.

"H-Huh?!" the Nidoran squeaked, jolting up with a start. "Pleo, who was that?!"

"Oh? It was Trizano!" Pleo said. "The Skarmory that helped us all get here!"

"The- The _what?_ " Nida exclaimed. The Poison-Type looked ahead and saw that on the floor was the unmistakable, jagged plume of a Skarmory resting on the ground. A- A _Skarmory_ helped them?

"He was really nice and everything! He even said that he'd be keeping an eye on us!" Pleo replied. "But… I don't know why he left so suddenly…"

Nida stared ahead blankly at the feather, trying to make sense of Pleo's words. Before she could think about the for too long, her train of thought was disrupted by the tired groans of a nearby Growlithe and Cubone.

"Urgh, keep it down, you two…"

"Yeah, the noise isn't helping this killer headache…"

Their teammates had roused as well, making for a complete, if sorry-looking team of sore and battered Pokémon once more. As Elty and Guardia chattered on about idle nothings trying to piece together what had happened, the Nidoran shifted and turned to Pleo, folding her ears back uneasily.

"Pleo, I don't know if that was a good idea," she said.

"Huh?" Pleo asked. "Why not?"

"B-Because you don't know if you can trust him!" she cried out. "What if he comes back to hurt us while we're still weak?!"

"But he _helped_ us, Nida!" Pleo squawked. "Why would he hurt us?!"

A dead silence fell over the room as Nida and Pleo traded fixed, uneasy gazes with each other. Guardia and Elty looked at each other, before turning their attention to their teammates.

"Eh? What are you two going on about?" the Cubone asked.

"Yeah, I think I'm a little lost here-" Elty added, only to freeze and flare his ears as the sounds of heavy footsteps and a commotion in the hallway broke out.

The sounds lead up to the entrance of the room, where a Leafeon with a Company scarf and the telltale blotch of a Marked burst in growling.

"Alright, pirate scum!" the fox exclaimed. "You're under ar-ah-ahh-"

The Grass-Type's eyes widened in terror and her fur bristled, her words coming out as incoherent stammers. The fox backpedaled a few steps at the sight of the white bird in the room, before turning and bolting for the door with a frightened whine, headlong into a group of three lavender-scarved Pokémon.

"Ow!"

The Leafeon bowled the Company Pokémon over, sending them tumbling over one another into the room in a rough pile, drawing a chorus of yelps and cries.

"Phyllis, _kakvo pravish?!_ You're supposed to run _towards_ them!"

"Agh… my nose…"

"H-Huh?! What's-?!" Pleo squawked. As he sized up the groaning Company Pokémon who were getting back up from the floor, he noticed that among them was none other than Salvini.

"S-Salvini?! Wh-What's going on here?!"

The Protector noticed that Nida and Elty's fur was standing on end, and that Guardia was grabbing for her club. As the lot of them attempted to stumble out of their bedding, the sound of heavy, lumbering footsteps coming into the room made the four freeze and go wide-eyed.

" _Sit down!_ " a voice interrupted. After looking up, the four saw that the hulking form of an Armaldo entering the room. The anomalocaris made his way over to the increasingly pallid members of Team Traveller, before giving a satisfied smirk.

"To answer your question, little bird. They're here to put an end to your little adventure."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _(¡)Esperen un momento!_ \- Spanish: "Wait a moment!"  
>  \- _(¡)Más bajo!_ \- Spanish: "Keep it down!", lit. "more low"  
>  \- _Trzymaj się!_ \- Polish: "Hang in there!", can also be used as an expression analogous to "Take care"  
>  \- _kirlivi paraziti (кирливи паразити)_ \- Bulgarian: "filthy parasites" (BGN/PCGN 2013 Romanization)  
>  \- _Calmo!_ \- Italian: "Calm down!", "Take it easy!"  
>  \- _debutcho (_ _でぶっちょ_ _)_ \- Japanese: "fatty" (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _kakvo pravish?! (Какво правиш?!)_ \- Bulgarian: "What are you doing?!" (BGN/PCGN 2013 Romanization)


	39. Helping Hand

"They're here to put an end to your little adventure."

Pleo looked around in panic for some way the team could stand against the Armaldo, Mienshao, Grovyle, Ariados, and Leafeon that had cornered them in the medbay. Nida and Elty's fur bristled, their eyes widened, and their backs arched, while Guardia held on to her club for dear life. The air seemed to thicken around them as the four braced themselves for the oncoming attack.

"N-Nida? What do we do?" the little Lugia stammered. Before the Poison-Type could respond, the sound of heavy, approaching footsteps drew Pleo's attention to the Armaldo. He locked eyes with the hulking sea bug, petrified.

"Look, I'm a _reasonable_ Pokémon, so let's be frank," the anomalocaris answered with a smirk. "The best course of action for you four is to surrender _peacefully._ "

"Commander?! Wh-What are you doing?!" a fox's yelp interjected. "W-We can't take them with us!"

The sea bug's smirk abruptly faded, replaced with a frustrated grimace as Phyllis fearfully protested. Briggs whirled around to see the shaken-looking Leafeon ringed by her stunned-looking Mienshao, Ariados, and Grovyle counterparts.

"Huh?!"

"Phyllis?!"

"What are you going on about?!"

"That b-bird with them's a demon!" she insisted. The Armaldo's blood boiled, and the fossil Pokémon raised a claw to strike some sense into the Marked Leafeon when a cry came from the four Pokémon.

"Pleo! Quick! The window!"

The Company Pokémon turned just in time to see the young Lugia spit up a glowing ball at the window, splintering the wooden shutters as the rest of Team Traveller clumsily clambered onto his back.

"Pin them down, now!" the Plate Pokémon bellowed. The Armaldo's right claw began trailing flickers of whitish light as he readied a slash at the white bird. However, as soon as Briggs raised his claw, his Mienshao subordinate pre-empted him by fishing out a Petrify Orb from a bag around his shoulder, and hurling it at the wall above the broken window.

"A-Aah!"

A shower of shards and sparks fell onto the team, sending them toppling over onto the floor, twitching as the orb's effects rendered their bodies unresponsive. As the four cried out and fought futilely against their paralysis, Briggs shot an ugly glare at Phyllis, before turning his attention to Hertsog while the hapless Leafeon shrank back.

"I told you that she wasn't fit for this mission, Hertsog," he snarled. The Fighting-Type visibly paused and gave a disappointed look at the leafy fox, before hardening his gaze and turning back to his superior.

"Commander, they're _subdued_ ," the weasel grunted, shaking his head. "Let's worry about tying them up before they can move again."

"Fine," the Rock-Type scoffed. "Let's get to it, then."

Pleo felt his friends get dragged from him one-by-one, as cries of protest rang out in the background. There was Nida's "W-Wait, stop!", Elty's defiant "Agh! Let go of me!", and a panicked "A-Aah! That's my bone!" from Guardia. Suddenly, he found himself tumbling to the floor, coming face to face with Salvini standing over him.

There, in his numbed helplessness, one question burned over and over in his mind, until he could hold it in no longer.

"S-Salvini!" he cried. "Wh-Why are you doing this to us?!"

The gecko said nothing, looking away as she tied up the immobilized Lugia. As she finished tightening the last knots, the Grass-Type was suddenly interrupted by a stern growl from the Armaldo.

"Make _sure_ you cut his flight feathers."

The tree lizard's claws slipped from the rope, and she uneasily got up and faced the stone-faced anomalocaris.

"Come… again?" she murmured.

"He's a bird, Salvini," Briggs snapped. "Birds _fly_ when they're free unless something is done to _prevent_ that."

Salvani hesitated at the Bug-Type's words, shaking her head.

"Commander, he's a _wounded child!_ " the Grovyle protested. "Be reasonable!"

"I _am_ being reasonable! This is standard procedure for transporting scum of their lot to the cells back in the fort!" Briggs bellowed. The Armaldo opened his mouth to continue, only to suddenly be interrupted by a yelp from the back of the room.

" _T-Ti si lud!_ Y-You can't bring that _thing_ back with us!"

The Commander whirled and saw Phyllis wide-eyed, cowering in the corner. Briggs' nostrils flared and his tail batted impatiently against the ground as the seething Armaldo towered over the shaken Grass-Type.

"I have _had_ it with you!" Briggs roared. "This whole arrest you've been nothing but _dead weight!_ "

"That creature will _destroy us!_ You can't just bring him into the fort!" Phyllis cried. "I w-won't stand for it! And neither will the others like me on the force!"

Briggs froze at the Leafeon's words. It would be trivial to have the fox discharged from the ranks like she ought to be, but if the other Marked among the guards or in the town saw the Guardian, they would surely not react any better. And what if word leaked out from them to the rest of the villagers? Could the Company really keep things under control if they connected the dots to a Marked's "demon"? Worse still, what about the Imperials who would surely notice an unexplained disturbance…?

"Commander, I don't know what's gotten into Phyllis. But you did say this was supposed to be discreet," Hertsog pressed. "If there's a reason to think that moving this group would draw attention, wouldn't it be better to keep them here?"

"And surely it would be best to treat them like _patients_ to preserve a cover, Commander?" the Grovyle added.

The Armaldo paused, before hissing in frustration and giving a dismissive wave of his claws.

"Fine. Bar the door and the window, and make sure every exit is watched around the clock," Briggs said. The creature shook his head, before casting a glance over at Pleo. "Commissioner Lyn should be in port before dawn to pick the bird up anyways."

At the mention of the Samurott's name, Pleo, Elty, and Nida's irises shrank to pinpoints. Guardia, seeing her teammates' reaction, began to quiver in dread as her teammates cried out in one voice.

"L-Lyn?!"

"Ah, I see you're all familiar with him," the Armaldo answered. "Your bird friend here will be going on a little trip with him. As for the rest of you, you'll be treated like any pirate that shows their face on this island… You'll be collecting Apricorns for us, indefinitely."

Nida gasped as a sudden realization came to her. Elty had said that Fensedge was a bad place to get caught, so those fields they saw on the way to the Mystery Dungeon earlier...

"A-Ah! Then those Pokémon up the hill!" Nida cried. "They're-!"

"Scum like you that we've put to use," the Commander sneered.

Nida tried to summon an urge to fight, only to find that her limbs were still rigid and unresponsive, and her mind blank of any ideas on what to do. The Armaldo gave a satisfied smirk at the petrified Nidoran and her teammates, gesturing at the group with a claw.

"Anyhow, this is the part where I should take my leave," Briggs said, before turning his attention to his subordinates. "The rest of you, I want you watching every way in and out of this room with reinforcements in shifts.

The Armaldo left the room, leaving Hertsog to hastily hand down assignments as Team Traveller weakly fought against their bindings. It was decided that Payak would guard the door, while Salvini and Phyllis would tend to the exterior as Hertsog pulled other guards off for reinforcements.

After that, the window was blocked with a table and gummed up with some silk from Payak; Hertsog and a still-shivering Phyllis then left the room, the Mienshao signaling for Salvani to follow him out. As the Grovyle began to make her way for the door, she heard a hurt-sounding squawk.

"Salvini! Pl-Please!"

The Grass-Type paused, and reluctantly looked back where Pleo stared at her, his eyes tearing up and beak quivering.

"You're not a bad Pokémon like this!" the Lugia pleaded. "H-Help us!"

The Grovyle froze and tensed up, her breaths coming softly and shallowly. The Grass-Type looked silently at the bound children, and then at her teammates, before turning back reluctantly to Pleo and his friends.

"... You're right. I'm not," she replied, shaking her head. "And that's why I have to do this…"

The tree lizard hurried out the door at the sound of Pleo's whine. She passed Payak settling down next to the door, and made her way down the hallway with a knot in her stomach.

Outside the building, Trizano sat perched on a tree branch in a small grove at the far end of the hut, overlooking an alley downhill from the neighboring taverna. There, the Steel-Type stared at the now-blocked window in the side of the Medic's hut, shaking his head bitterly after watching the scene in the room unfold.

"I should have known something like this would have happened," he said. He had to somehow set this right, and free the kids from the trap they had walked into. But... before he could do that, he had to learn more about his enemies.

"Hang in there, Pleo," he murmured. "I'm not out of moves just yet."

* * *

Back in Kenobi, Crom and his peers from the Siglo Swellow had finally found the "'bokuya" that Eeden and Zamora spoke of... a sorry-looking shack made of worn and pitted orange wood with a tiled roof.

"Well the place is certainly at home with the rest of the district," Kiran murmured.

Ander paused and poked skeptically at a few timbers, half-convinced that the rickety shack might collapse at any moment. After some unease and false hopes that the proprietor might come out to tend the shop's front, the team conceded that there would be no avoiding entering the uninviting bar.

"Let's go inside," Pladur sighed.

However, before the team could take another step forward, a Linoone flew through the door, followed by a gruff "And stay out!" from further inside. The ferret got up, shook some sense back into his head, and hastily darted off with his tail between his legs.

The four Pokemon looked at each other and blanched for a moment before Crom spoke up

"Are we really going in there…?"

"Well… it should certainly be an… interesting visit," Ander added.

The four Pokemon made their way into the bar past the clothing hanging by the door. The interior was revealed to be a dingy room that reeked of cheap spirits, filled with rough-hewn round tables and stools. The place was mostly abandoned, barring the exception of a Meowstic and a Cacturne with orange scarfs bearing white jaws talking about how much time they had left in port, and an obscured figure sitting alone in a corner. And finally, a Throh was making his way towards the other side of the counter.

"I don't see this 'Valatos' anywhere" Crom muttered as he scanned the bar.

"Maybe we should try chatting with that barkeeper," Ander said. "Those teleporters did say he had an axe to grind with them."

Perhaps sensing he was being talked about, Shuho lifted his head from his work cleaning the bar and turned his eyes towards the group.

"If you're here for something, either take a seat or make it quick," the Throh snapped. "I don't _have_ all day."

Crom and his companions faltered a second, but then approached the bar and sidled up against the counter. The four looked warily at the stone-faced Throh, before Pladur cleared his throat to try and start up some small talk.

"Erm, well, what was that whole ruckus about earlier?" the Fraxure asked.

"That's something between me and that Linoone," Shuho huffed. "Why don't you go and ask him yourself?"

The Fraxure paused and traded uneasy looks with his fellow lavender-scarves. This bartender wouldn't even answer a little question like that?

"Fair enough," Ander muttered, shaking his head. "Anyhow… we were hoping you'd have seen a group of fellow First-Ranks consisting of a Yanmega, a Manectric, and a Marowak?"

"They're not here _now_ if that's what you're after," the barkeep grunted.

"Yes, I can see that," the mantis sighed. "I meant if you knew where they were right now."

"Look, I don't talk stuff about Pokémon unless if someone from their group's in my establishment," the Throh spat.

"Uhm, aren't they fellow Company Pokémon like us?" Crom asked. "Doesn't that count as being in the same group?"

"Last I knew, they didn't hang out with punks like you, and their boss was a _Sidon_ ," the Fighting-Type retorted "So no, you're not."

"So you really _are_ a neutral type," Kiran said.

"Around these parts, you'd be wise to not make many enemies," the Throh answered. "It's bad for business."

"I see," the Swellow murmured. "Then perhaps we could come to a little understanding about something we needed taken care of…"

"And what would that be?"

Kiran rifled through his bag and pulled out a small collection of folded-up leaflets before sliding them across the bar. The Throh picked up the papers, unfolded them, and leafed over them one by one… Until he paused and suddenly went wide-eyed. The Fighting-Type vigorously shook his head and hardened his gaze before turning back to Kiran.

"Is this a _joke?_ " he demanded. "You're telling me that that group with the mutt who came in here without money to pay their bill had a _god_ with them?"

Crom put a claw over his face and shook his head at the mention of Elty attempting to get food without paying, before pausing, and realizing…

"Wait, they were here?!" the young Druddigon cried.

"Yeah? And?" Shuho scoffed. "That doesn't explain why you're passing this bounty around! Your employers put one out for two of those kids a few days ago, and now you're going out and saying the last one was a god?"

"Look, I understand that this may be hard to swallow, but this is no joke," Kiran said. "That bounty might be the most important sheet of paper the Company has had to issue in its entire history. Top-secret and issued by orders of the Board."

"Because we need to find someone to hold onto this until the time is right to make it public knowledge," Ander added. "Someone who would obviously be rewarded if they were found to have led to the Guardian's retrieval."

Shuho paused, giving his chin a few idle strokes as he mulled over the claim of the Company strangers in front of him.

"I see," the ruddy fighter answered. "And you chose to trust this with some guy running a hole in the wall why?"

"Because you seem to know quite a few Pokémon around these parts, and _you_ said that you weren't fond of making enemies," Ander retorted.

"Make no mistake," Kiran added, shaking his head. "If you take this and the Company hears of you running your mouth off before the time is right, you'll have no shortage of those. This outfit doesn't suffer _liars_ particularly well, especially with stakes like these."

Shuho narrowed his eyes at Kiran, before glancing down at the paper again. The Fighting-Type paused a moment in contemplation, before giving a shake of his head.

"Fine, I'll bite," the Throh grunted, before stuffing the bounties into a lockbox under the counter.

"As for Valatos and the rest of his buddies, I _still_ don't know where they are," he said. "I _do_ know that they've been looking for a way out of here lately. Seems like they've crossed someone really high up in your organization."

Crom drew a sharp breath. Pleo had angered Lyn alright, he knew… but had _Valatos_ as well? How worse could things get?

"Right, we'll keep that in mind," Pladur replied. The four quickly turned and filed out of the door and out of the sordid little shack, leaving the bar to return to its prior sleepy atmosphere.

"What was that all about?"

Only for a chittering voice to suddenly speak up, and a worn-shelled Clawitzer bearing a white scarf with a red saltire to hop out into the middle of the floor. The crustacean stood up on her tail and looked off in the direction of the doorway, before turning to give Shuho a stern, but curious look.

"Nothing that I feel like talking about," the Throh snorted. "If it's something you're interested in, why don´t you ask them yourself? They can't have gotten far."

The two Pokémon glared at each other, the Clawitzer up at the Throh, and the Throh back down to her. After a long, pregnant silence, the impasse broke as a small smile began to creep over the shrimp's face.

¨Maybe I will," the Water-Type answered, before hopping along on her tail. "I left the pay on my table. _Do svidaniya._ "

Nagant began to scuttle for the door and cast a glance back towards the counter, where Shuho had already made his way back to the bar while counting the money she had left on her table. The shrimp turned back and pushed her way past the white noren over the doorway, out into the streets of the teeming hive outside and after a most familiar-looking quarry.

* * *

While Shuho and his most inquisitive client were chatting inside his establishment, Crom and his fellows from the Siglo Swellow had made their way towards an intersection a short way down from 'bokuya.

"What do we do now?" Crom asked. "That 'Shuho' Pokémon barely gave us anything to work with!"

"Well we managed to give out the bounties at least…" Pladur sighed. "But I really don't know how we're supposed to narrow down where this 'Valatos' went."

The team made their way past the colorful, dingy shops on the lane over to the sea. They walked past a Shelgon-shaped Box Buster shop, its draconic proprietor hard at work bashing open a stack of pilfered crates. Afterwards came a shifty-looking store tended to by a grizzled Blastoise with metal-tipped harpoons displayed on a wall with some improperly hollowed logs lying in a discarded pile in an alleyway. Finally, the team came to an intersection with a small pagoda, where at the far end sat a Reuniclus' shop that was filled with maps and navigational tools, and surprisingly enough, a Kecleon market, if with a duo of extra and particularly surly-looking chameleons keeping a steely watch around the shop.

For a second, the team thought they saw Valatos inside the map shop after seeing a flying, chitinous form. The four ran up to wave down the creature, only to discover to their disappointment that it was simply a teal beetle with long, jagged mandibles, and an abdomen that flickered with yellowish light.

"Well, wherever they are, we don't have much time," Ander said. "That barkeeper did say they were trying to leave town."

"But how would they do that? Given the neighborhood the only way of doing so would be by joining a pirate crew…" Kiran murmured. The Swellow suddenly froze as his eyes went wide, as an uncomfortable realization crept into his mind.

"Wait a minute!" he squawked. "They _were_ trying to join a pirate crew! They were even talking about it when we ran into them!"

The four Pokémon abruptly blanched for a moment as they realized that if Valatos and his buddies had been looking for a crew for a full day, they might not even be in port by now! But even if they hadn't...

"If they did join a pirate crew and they're still here," Crom began. "How would we even find the-?"

"What's taking those new guys so long?" a heavy voice asked. The sound of footsteps approaching rang out, followed by a yapping sigh.

"Don´t tell me they bailed already because of your outburst..."

"Well hey, look on the bright side," a buzzing voice answered. "This way we get to pick seats before them!"

"Huh?"

Crom, Pladur, Kiran, and Ander turned and felt their blood run cold as an Aggron with a golden-yellow scarf followed by a host of like-scarved cohorts rounded the corner. Both the Pokémon from the Siglo Swellow, and the metal ruffian froze and widened their eyes in shock before a shared refrain filled the lane…

"Ack! _You_ again!"

Kiran turned to Crom and then at the gathering of golden-scarved Pokémon right before him. The other Pokémon also staring at group in exchange, though many of them seemed far more puzzled than the Aggron.

"Uh… Captain, who are these dorks again?" said a Floatzel in the group.

"Yeah," a Ledian piped up. "I don´t remember seeing these guys before."

At the pirate's remark, memories of the fateful encounter with the Aggron came flooding back to Crom's mind. The young Dragon-Type suddenly felt aches all over his body, unpleasant reminders of the wounds the captain had inflicted on him.

"Y-You're that pirate captain that raided our home last month!"

Pladur gulped and grimaced, such an outburst was hardly the thing to say to a lot of hardened criminals! Much to the group's horror, the band of pirates slowly and carefully spread away from their captain. The golden-scarved mob began to circle the party from the Siglo Swellow as the Aggron captain gave an audible crack to his neck.

"That's _right_ ," Hess snorted, the hulking Steel-Type lumbering closer to his trapped quarry. "And it looks like things are finally going my way for once!"

"Wait, they… are?" Crom asked, the Druddigon starting to grow increasingly unnerved as to what the brigand's answer might be.

"Well now, thanks to your freaky gull friend, I'm short a few deck claws," Aggron explained as he pointed to the group accompanying him. "And here you go through all the trouble of coming out here! Just when I needed to find a few extra claws to swab the deck of my ship!"

Some of members of the Iron Fleet caught on the commentary and started laughing at the trapped 'Company grunts', already understanding of what was coming next for the quailing square-necks before them.

"H-Huh?! Us join _you?!_ " Kiran squawked. "Y-You're dreaming!"

"Oh really now? I seem to remember that it was because of your blasted town that I lost a mast and over a dozen deck claws!" the Aggron angrily snarled. "Sounds like you've got a debt to pay, and I'm in the perfect position to collect!"

Crom and his companions flinched, expecting the hulking captain and his cronies to be upon them at any moment. There was a tense, breathless wait, followed by a realization that the Aggron was extending a claw, with a predatory smirk spreading on his maw.

"But I'm a _reasonable_ captain," he offered, giving a call forward with his outstretched claws. "Come _peacefully_ and we'll hash out the details over some drinks."

The four did not spend much time deliberating the matter. The situation clearly looked hopeless, the choices stark… with only one answer left to give.

"N-No! We're not pirates!" Crom growled, beating his wings out in trembling defiance. "We- We'd never work with the likes of you!"

The mood of the gathered pirates suddenly turned sour, as murmurs and a jeer of 'well this will be fun' floated around. Hess' mood darkened and he hastily drew his claw back to his side at the refusal, and shook his head, shooting an overpowering glare at the four Pokémon from the Siglo Swellow.

"So be it. Looks like I'll get to show the crew why this job gets to be so _enjoyable_ sometimes!" Hess roared. The Aggron snorted, eased into a battle position, and pawed his feet, ready to charge

"Because every so often, I get to beat the tar out of pests like _you!_ "

* * *

Back in Fensedge Village, Trizano had dutifully circled the medic's hut from the shadows ever since watching the raid on Pleo's room, searching for possible ways that he could make his way in. A subtle, but noticeable presence of guards had taken up positions around the exterior of the hut along the of the guarded room. There were guards patrolling around the medic's hut perimeter, guards standing underneath Team Traveller's window, and a lone Marked Leafeon looking out anxiously from the roof...

"Captain, about what happened earlier…"

And of course the pair he was currently watching, a Grovyle and Mienshao who seemed to both be deep in uncomfortable thought.

"Did we really do the right thing? Restraining those children like that?" the Grovyle asked. "And the way Phyllis reacted..."

The mustelid shifted an uneasy glance at the ground, before shaking his head and facing his charge.

"Look, Salvini… I understand that sometimes carrying out the letter of the law isn't pleasant," he offered. "But there's surely a _reason_ why Commander Briggs thinks those children are more than what they seem to be-"

"You there!"

Salvini and Hertsog looked up in a start at the sound of a booming, interrupting voice. From the main lane up to the guild, they saw a Dragonite wearing a lavender Fourth-Rank scarf swoop in impatiently with an irked expression etched into his face. The two tensed their stance upon noticing the superior, as the Dragon-Type came lumbering along to them, in a clearly agitated mood.

"Wait a minute," Trizano murmured from his perch in the trees behind the hut. "Wasn't this…?"

"Administrator Darzin, sir. You still haven't flown back to Canalhouse?" Mienshao prodded. "Is something the matter?"

"What exactly is going _on_ here?" the Dragon-Type demanded. "No medic's hut has a detail this large posted to it!"

"We have some Pokémon of interest detained inside, and we have reacted accordingly," the Captain answered.

"What sort of answer is that?!" the Dragonite spat. "I need _specifics!_ Who is in there, and why have they not been transported already?!"

Hertsog and Salvini blinked and traded uneasy looks with each other. Here before them was an Administrator from the Company board demanding that they divulge the identity of the pirates they just captured, but...

"Er… I'm afraid that we're not allowed to talk about that, sir," Salvini replied. "Direct orders from Commander Briggs."

" _I'm_ your superior here! I _outrank_ Commander Briggs!" the dragon roared. "So either spit it out or let me in!"

"Administrator Darzin! How can you demand that I endanger my subordinates like that?!" the Fighting-Type exclaimed. "Surely Administrator Zorn would have been notified of the matter! Can't you ask _him_ for a debriefing?"

The Skarmory realized that Darzin had to be talking about the Protector from Tromba- no other prisoner would warrant this fuss. But then...

"I don't understand, don't you already have a lackey coming to pick him up?" Trizano murmured. "What's the point of rushing like this?"

Focusing a little too intently, Trizano accidentally squeezed the branch tighter and tighter, until it fractured with an audible _snap._ The subject of his observation heard the noise, and spun his head around to check for the source. The Skarmory hastily braced his wings and fanned out his blade-like feathers, bracing for a sudden battle.

After a tense, breathless pause, Trizano realized that the Dragonite seemed startled and apprehensive. Slowly, the creature turned back to the Mienshao and Grovyle, his adamance for getting a better picture of what was going on in the hut having evaporated.

"I… remembered that I had other matters to tend to," the Dragonite answered. "But I will be back later, and don't you forget it!"

Trizano watched as Darzin hastily turned and stormed off, exhaling with a sigh of relief that the fractured branch hadn't given him away. Even so, a realization began to creep up on him about the scale of the task before him...

"This will go easier if I have help," the Skarmory grunted. "But posting a job would take too long, and alert the powers-that-be to what I'm up to..."

Trizano jumped from his place in the treeline behind the building, before taking to the skies. The Armor Bird's mind swirling with possibilities for who to reach out to…

"There has to be somebody there with the courage to stand with Trizano against injustice! I just have to find them myself!"

And there _was_ a place where someone would surely have the courage to stand up… The Mengir Island Guild. All the while on the route over, one detail bedeviled him…

Where would they be able to hide the children?

He thought of attempting to spirit them to Kenobi Island, but there were far too many grunts there. Leaving sleepy Fensedge for Canalhouse City was hardly an alternative, as it would just be leaping from the pan and into the fire. Otvaga Island was a better option since that atoll was neutral, but as a sudden stiff and gusty wind reminded, the waters en route would surely be patrolled, and there was a storm due to come in tonight.

The Skarmory landed in front of the guild and went inside hoping he could find someone who would be up for an arduous task. But… did ferrying the childern to another island have to be one? Perhaps he just wasn't thinking far out enough? Though, if his suspicions about the one named 'Pleo' were right, he would surely not have rest on any island in Anyilla for long, and possibly not any others… Except for one place…

Home. It would certainly be safe, and already shepherded its own secrets, but it was all the way on the other end of Anyilla! There would surely be a wall of obstacles just to get there even if he stayed with the children all that time…

If only there was another way, a nearby place he could get them to where the Company wouldn't look for them…

"Yeesh, this gummi chest is hefty… Good thing it's only a ten minute walk after I get into the Subway."

Trizano turned, and saw a Kabutops pass by, pressing a red chest in between his scythes to dump into a netting bag. Wasn't that Dimitri from the other day?

Wait a minute! There was a frontier to work with all this time quite literally under his beak! And Dimitri was a Pokémon who would be in the perfect position to take the kids there!

"Oh, it's you again!" the horseshoe crab exclaimed as he took notice of the Skarmory.

"That's right, but aren't you supposed to be back at your clan?" Trizano murmured.

"Eh, being a little late never killed anyone. Besides, this mission will take me straight to them!"

"Hm?" the Skarmory asked, tilting his head. "Mind explaining that to me?"

"I was gonna meet up with my _rod_ at the Seaspear Station along the Subway passages to Otvaga," Dimitri explained. "It's where I have to deliver these Gummis for my current mission."

The Subway... the maze of breathable passages and Mystery Dungeons that crisscrossed the Cradle's seafloor. It was only about fifty fathoms below the waves, but it may as well be another planet for most Pokémon. Wait...

" _Davvero?_ " the Steel-Type asked. "Would you like to make a little extra on the side?"

The horseshoe crab gave a quizzical tilt of his head at Trizano, a curious demeanor coming over the creature as he began to wonder what sort of errand the Skarmory needed help with.

"Eh? What do you need me to do?"

"Well, first off, how good are you with stormy waters?" Trizano wondered.

Dimitri crossed his scythes and gave a bemused chuckle back at the Steel-Type. _Him?_ Have a problem with stormy waters?

"Pfft, if I _wasn't_ good, would I be taking a mission the day when one's set to blow in?"

"... Touché," the bird cawed. A small smile began to form at the ends of Trizano's beak. If Dimitri was a strong enough swimmer, then that would mean that all would be needed to get the kids underwater was a place to dive...

"And I take it you've been using the diving spot next to those rocks offshore to the west to get down into the Subway?"

"Well, yeah. I don't need those purple-scarves getting involved in my rod's matters," the crustacean answered.

Along with a little skill...

"Do you know how to Dive with other Pokémon?"

Dimitri paused and blinked at Trizano's question. It seemed like an odd detail for the bird to be prying into, but...

"Er… _da_ ," the crab responded. "Why do you ask?"

The Skarmory paused for a moment and went quiet, before looking up into the Kabutops' eyes with a surprisingly stern and serious expression.

"It's the mission I need help with," Trizano explained. "It involves taking a party of four into the Subway."

* * *

Meanwhile on the dingy streets of Andaku, Crom, Pladur, Kiran, and Ander circled in tighter and tighter as the Iron Fleet closed in on them. The four backpedaled until they felt their tails touch each other and realized there was nowhere left to retreat.

"Err... what now?" Ander buzzed anxiously.

The four desperately looked around for a way out, but couldn't seem to see anything that could help them. Suddenly Kiran noticed the Kecleon shop up across the intersection had a number of goods on display behind the counter, including what looked to be a few orange, scaled seeds.

"Maybe we have something…" the Swellow murmured. The Flying-Type hopped up, and as the Pokémon around them began to charge, beat his wings and sent a slicing wind at the counter…

"Close your eyes!"

**BOOM!**

… which set off a Blast Seed on display, followed up by a Blowback Orb that burst with a gust of air ejecting merchandise from the stall and into the nearby navigation shop. A Sandy Orb smashed against the ground whipping up a localized sandstorm, as one after the other orbs shattered and seeds flung out from the shop along with bits of signed timber and canvas.

"Aargh!"

The gathering quickly devolved into a chaotic cloud of sand and confusion, with disoriented cries, and the sound of angry shouts from Kecleon coming from further off. After sending a Liepard tumbling back into the dust with a swipe from his tusks, Pladur saw an opening, along with the muddled form of Shuho's bar in the background.

"Th-This way, quick!" he yelped. The four quickly bolted through the confusion and exited the plume of dust kicked up by Kiran's distraction, fleeing as fast as their limbs could carry them. They sprinted back past the arms dealer and the box buster, and made it to 'bokuya when they heard a hacking voice bellow out behind them.

"Don't let them get away!"

Crom, Kiran, Ander, and Pladur looked back and saw Hess storming out of the sand cloud, calling up and flinging a hail of large rocks from the ground at the crewmates from the Siglo Swellow. With a yelp, the four ducked down the side, and into a narrow alleyway with broken down planks laying around as a barrage of bulky, heavy stones slammed into the side of the orange-wooded shack.

As the four lavender-scarved Pokémon slipped out of view, Hess and a number of his cronies ran in, looking around restlessly for their foes. Towards the end of the pack, Valatos flew in from high up with his companions trailing him, the Yanmega catching the forms of creatures moving swiftly down a back alley.

The dragonfly flew down and settled against the ground, just in time for Nori to give a questioning prod to his teammates with his bone.

"Valatos, you see anything?" Nori asked.

"Yeah," the Bug-Type buzzed back. "Those Pokémon the new Captain's after headed down our old shortcut for the big shopping street."

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Alvise exclaimed. "Let's get a move on!"

"Yeah!" Nori added. "Let's tell the others and get them!"

The two turned to call out to their new teammates, only to be cut off by Valatos raising a foreleg and motioning for a stop.

"Actually... I've got a better plan…" the dragonfly began.

The sound of an angry "That's _my_ shop!" from 'bokuya's Throh proprietor rang out, followed by yelps and running from the Pokémon up ahead, which drew a pair of gulps from Nori and Alvise.

"I'll explain while we move!" Valatos cried. "The others will be catching up with us fast enough anyways!"

* * *

The confused shouts of the Pokémon behind them dulled and grew fainter as Crom and the others zipped through the alley. They turned left upon stumbling across an intersection, and hurried along past some upended timbers onto a large street lined with shops, panting out of exhaustion.

"I… I think we lost them," Ander said. For a second, the four paused and sighed, starting to brush off some dust and sand from their bodies as the passerbys traded askew stares before continuing on.

"There they are!"

Until a shout rang out up ahead and the forms of several golden-scarved Pokémon darting out from a side street came into view. The four quickly turned and bolted down the lane, as yelps and the crash and clatter of disturbed merchandise rang out behind them, with more flightworthy members of the Iron Fleet pursued from the air.

"Th-They're all over!" Pladur yelped.

"Quick! Down that alley there!" Kiran exclaimed. "It'll give us cover!"

The team ran past a modest shack watched by a Sawk bodyguard with a Cinccino handling a clay pot among bunches of spiky, reddish-orange berries dangling from the rafters. Up in front, the addled customers lazily turned as the sound of the four squarenecks rushing past reached their ears. Suddenly the sound of a crash and the clerk shrieking rang out as a jet of hot, steaming water sailed into the shop. The scream was soon followed by the Lansat pot smashing into syrupy pieces against a wall, which jolted the clients at the counter into a blind panic.

"A-Ack! It's the fuzz!" a Lapras yelped. "They made me do it officer, I swear!"

"I'm too pretty to do manual labor!" a Vanillish cried.

"Let's resist arrest!" a Bastiodon shouted. "That'll show 'em!"

The dazed Pokémon sprang up out of their seats as the crewmates of the Siglo Swellow ducked down the alley, the sounds of confused Pokémon tripping each other up and trading blows resounding in the background. At the head of the group, Kiran noticed that the cliffsides were looming up ahead, then that meant…

"We just need to make it to the cliffs!" the Swellow squawked. "Once we get out of this district, the Iron Fleet won't be able t- AUGH!"

Only to be cut off by a slicing burst of wind that sent the four into a tumbling stop tripping over each other. As the four stumbled up to their feet, they came face to face with a Yanmega flitting back and forth smugly with a golden scarf around his prothorax.

"Aren't you in a hurry?" the Bug-Type sneered. Crom backpedaled at the sight of the great dragonfly, only to realize… the eyes… the wings… the voice… This was the same Yanmega from the other day!

"E-Eh?!" Crom stammered. "You're-!"

"Right where we want you!" a voice shouted from behind. The team looked back and saw a Manectric and a Marowak rushing up the alleyway. The three quickly boxed in Crom and his companions, shooting malicious sneers with the four all the while.

"Heh, nice work, Valatos," Nori said. "And here I thought we'd have to chase 'em into a dead end to corner them like this."

The assailants slowly closed in, flashing their natural weapons menacingly as they herded Crom, Kiran, Ander, and Pladur into an ever-tighter group.

"Valatos, wait!" Crom cried. "You saw a white bird, didn't you?"

Valatos scoffed, turning to trade a bemused glance with his companions.

"What are you getting at?" The Bug-Type buzzed.

"It was as big as me, and looked strange, and-"

"Tch, how should we know?!" the dragonfly chittered, leaving Crom to drop his jaw agape in disbelief.

"H-Huh?! But you saw him!" Crom protested. "Those Cubone said so!"

"Yeah, we did, but we don't know where he went," Nori grunted, before tightening his grip on his club. "But that's not really relevant right now."

"There will be plenty of time to get to know each other once you're down for the count!" Valatos sneered. "Alvise, finish them!"

"On it!"

Alvise hunched up and sparks began to fly along his coat and coalesce into a sparking mass. As the wolf prepared his Discharge, Ander noticed a stack of flour-dusted sacks against the wall of a wooden shack to his right and threw out a scythe in a panic. As he slashed open the sacks, a plume of white dust suddenly blinded the Manectric, causing him to send his Discharge forward and draw a litany of yelps.

"Gah! You weren't supposed to shock me too, you dimwit!"

Including one that wasn't supposed to happen.

"Agh! It's not my fault!" the wolf protested. "I can't see- Yeow!"

The Electric-Type slammed against an alley wall with a yelp after being struck by a claw swipe from Pladur, trailing jagged flecks of greenish energy. The attack on his teammate prompted the accompanying Marowak to charge forward with his club raised.

"I've got 'em! I've-"

Before Nori could retaliate against the Fraxure, he was cut off by a gust of wind from Kiran brushing past him. The burst of air struck a tall pile of flour bags, which promptly toppled onto Alvise and Nori below with a loud thud and a chorus of dazed groans.

"Urgh…"

"Ow… my back..."

The Yanmega darted back as static still danced on his exoskeleton, falling back panting from the cloud of flour dust and hastily calling up some rocks ringed with purplish auras out of the ground.

"Do I have to do _everything_ around here?" he hissed, only for a young voice to suddenly cry out.

"Hey! Look over here!"

"Huh?"

Valatos turned and instinctively fluttered backwards as white powder was thrown against his face, covering his eyes. The Bug-Type blindly launched his stony projectiles, only to feel the sensation of claws smacking him down out of the air. Valatos hit the ground hard, leaving him to hack and wheeze angrily after the fleeing presences.

"A-Argh!" he cried. "G-Get back here where I can see you, you dweebs!"

The demand came to no avail, as Crom, Kiran, Ander, and Pladur continued to hurry down the alleyway, if with labored and heavy movements. The running battle had taken its toll, leaving scrapes, bruises, and electrical burns over the increasingly ragged group.

"I can't take much more of this," Kiran panted.

"Just hang in there, Kiran," Ander pleaded. "I can see the cliffs getting closer! We must be getting near to-!"

" _Checkmate_ , chumps!"

The team came to an abrupt stop as they ran square into a stony wall, knocking them back and onto the ground. The group rubbed at their heads and limbs until they realized that to their horror, the wall they had run into wasn't a wall at all…

" _A-Aah!_ "

But the looming form of an Aggron in the middle of an intersection of alleyways. Behind him, various forms poked their heads here and there to try and get a view of their leader's trapped quarry.

"Still running?" he taunted. "I think that my crew's colors on your necks would fix up that tired look of yours just fine!"

Laughter and jeers came from the lackeys behind Hess, as the team slowly began to realize how dire a situation they were actually in. The Aggron prepared to call up stones from the ground with a Rock Slide, which froze the four in fear as their hopes sank along with Hess' stony form. Until suddenly, the jeers were pierced by a voice from behind.

"I think _not._ "

"Huh?! Who said-?! Agh!"

Before Hess had a chance to finish his attack, a pulsing burst of water zipped in and struck him in the face, knocking back into his mass of underlings. The sound of yelps and cries came out from the gathered lackeys behind the Steel-Type captain, as Crom and his companions looked back, and saw a Clawitzer jumping down from an overlooking rooftop.

"A-Aah!" Crom cried. "You're that Clawitzer from-!"

"Don't just _stand_ there! _Run_ before he gets up!" the crustacean hissed. "There's a warehouse you can cut through on the right!"

"R-Right!"

Crom, Pladur, Kiran, and Ander hastily followed their rescuer to the right alleyway, leaving Hess to stumble back up and rub at some fresh bruises and cuts on his side; meanwhile, right under him a Pawniard half-embedded in the ground dragged himself out of a Pawniard-shaped hole, groaning and muttering a half-curse along the way. A moment after, the mob of Pokémon stopped cold and looked around... to realize that his quarry was nowhere to be seen.

The Aggron whirled around and after failing to catch any hint of where the fake Company grunts had gone, angrily stamped his feet and bellowed out in challenge.

"Grr! Stand and fight you cowards!"

"Oi, Hess!"

The Aggron blanched for a moment and turned around to see an angry mob flecked with faces Hess had seen at the various shops, with Shuho at its head. Hess reflexively took a step back from the horde of shopkeepers, only for the Throh to lunge forward, grab the Steel-Type by his scarf, and yank his head down.

"Agh!"

"We need to have a little _talk_ about that property damage you've been causing," the Fighting-Type snarled.

"P-Property damage?" the Aggron nervously began. "I think you're- Hey!"

From the corners of his eyes Hess noticed that his fellow golden-scarved Pokemon all began to quickly slipped away from the intersection, clearly not wanting to be a part of any 'aggressive negotiations' that the shopkeepers might have in mind.

"Wait! Where do you think you're going! Stay here and _help-!_ "

A blow followed by a sudden pain shot through the Steel-Type's head as his jaw slammed hard against the ground. The creature gasped for air and hacked up spittle, and desperately pulled his head in to counter with a steely headbutt, only to feel his head get yanked back up by his scarf, and to come face-to-face with the Fighting-Type drawing an arm back for a punch…

The Captain's fighting spirit quickly evaporated, and he hastily amended his words.

"Okay! Okay! I give! I-I'll pay!" he squeaked. "I-I've got leftover Poké from my last raid!"

"Glad to hear, "Shuho said. "There's the matter of my wall, the shop my brother watches over that you smashed up, and the lizard shop here isn't happy about all their merchandise going up in smoke..."

As the Fighting-Type went through a list of damages that seemed to never end, Valatos, Alvise, Nori came around the corner dazed and in within sight of the crowd. Although the lot were still covered in flour, the golden scarves around their necks could clearly be seen, prompting a Sawk from the crowd to speak up.

"Oi, bro!" the Sawk cried. "Aren't those the deadbeats you keep complaining about?"

The Throh relaxed his stance for a brief moment as the Karate Pokemon called out to him, and shifted his attention from Hess to the flour covered 'deadbeats' as they traded back confused looks.

"Oh, so you're _their_ captain now? In that case, I'm going to need to call in the debts of some of your new recruits," Shuho grunted as he turned back towards Hess.

The Aggron shot an angry glare at three, who in return gave back sheepish grins. Before the Steel-Type could focus on them for too long, Shuho tightened the grip around his scarf, prompting him to hastily turn back to him.

"Now, are you gonna pay all of this up front, or do we need to talk about installments?"

Gah… why hadn't he listened to that lippy bug about press-ganging earlier? Hess grimaced and closed his eyes, before giving a gulp and a muttering squeak back to the snickering group of shopkeepers

"Ulp… Wh-Why me…?"

* * *

After a hurried chat with Dimitri at the guild, Trizano found himself back staking out the medic's hut, alternately scanning the building and shuffling along to new vantage points whenever the guards seemed to get suspicious of him. So it was that he came to his current perch in a tree overlooking the roof of a bustling juice bar, the raucous noise inside providing cover for the sounds of his movements among the trees along the far side of the roof.

"If I can just keep those guards outside a little busy, my wings should be able to make short work of that barricade," Trizano murmured to himself. "Then, it's just a matter of getting in and getting Pleo out to the water…"

It was certainly an audacious enough plan, but there was still one part which he couldn't seem to square… Where exactly were the guards positioned inside? And even if he got to Pleo, would he even be able to fly out of there? Gah... if only he had some way of getting a better picture of what was inside that hut!

The Skarmory shook his head frustratedly, before suddenly bolting upright after noticing movement coming from the lane. It was the form of a Grovyle, who made her way up the path with heavy and fatigued movements, before stopping at the door to the juice bar below.

"… Isn't that one of the guards from the hut's security detail?"

The gecko shook her head and muttered something inaudible before pressing on into the taverna underfoot, leaving Trizano to blink out of surprise.

"Maybe if I talk to her…"

The Steel-Type hopped down into an alley, and rounded the corner to the juice bar's entrance. After pushing aside the rude door at the entrance, he made his way into the taverna to discover a stone-walled space with simple wooden timbers for pillars and rafters bedecked with small bells. As the Skarmory made his way inside to search for Salvini, he found that the inside was every bit as busy as the noise from outside had hinted. He passed a Whimsicott and a Haunter playing a game of cards at a table together, and then a trio of Wormdam trading gossips over drinks of a "dorky Company Mothim" one of the three had run into several days ago. And finally, at a lonely bar stool in the corner of the juice bar, was a Grovyle with a lavender scarf and a dispirited expression. Trizano tilted his head, bounced a little in his steps, and paced over slowly, sidling next to the Grass-Type at the seat beside her as the Spinda barkeeper labored away in the background.

"Don't you have a shift over at the medic's hut right now?" the Skarmory asked.

"Whuh?"

The Grovyle looked up in surprise, but upon seeing the metallic bird beside her, her face drifted back into its previously sullen expression.

"Oh, it's you. That 'Warrior of Life' guy," she sighed. The Grass-Type shook her head, and returned her attention to the clear and strong-smelling liquid inside her clay cup. Trizano noted the cup's decidedly-not-water contents, and blinked before clearing his throat to speak.

"Not that I'm one to pass up a drink, Salvini," he said. "But won't you fall afoul of your superior for doing this?"

The Wood Gecko Pokémon gulped down some of her drink wrong at the Skarmory's question, and sent herself into a fit of coughing. After recovering, the Grass-Type whirled to face the prying bird, eyes widened.

"How do _you_ know that?!" she demanded. "And who told you my name?!"

"I've seen you around since I came here," the Skarmory explained. "As for the name, it was just what I heard others call you. I assumed that that was what you'd be most comfortable with."

The Grovyle grumbled a little and turned back to her drink, dismissively waving off the surprise of not being addressed by species name first as was the custom with strangers among the Cradle's residents.

"Yeah, well, it's _rude_ to address someone you don't know by their name," she growled. "So be a little more mindful of custom next time!"

"Hm… fair enough, though it seems like you already know a bit about Trizano the Immortal," the Skarmory answered, shaking out his feathers. "Though since we're on the topic of customs, might I ask if it's also custom on this island to give guards drinking breaks during their shifts?"

Salvini drew in her arms and sat up straight defensively, giving a glaring scowl back at the metal-feathered interloper.

"My supervisor gave me a short break," she spat. "I've been having a headache."

"Vollezeese Jenever sure seems like an interesting… 'cure' for a headache," Trizano replied, giving a skeptical tilt to his head. "Are you certain you're making the right diagnosis there?"

The lizard gave a sour look back at the Armor Bird Pokémon, before grunting and returning to her drink.

"Mrph, mind your business."

"You know, a medic can't treat what ails you if you don't tell them about it," the Steel-Type insisted.

"I'll pass," Salvini huffed. "Last I was aware, 'Valiant Knight Skarmory' weren't medics."

"I wasn't aware that Pokémon who wore Company lavenders were either," Trizano retorted. "Or at least not until you stopped by that room on the south side of the medics' hut earlier today."

_**TAK** _

The Wood Gecko slammed her cup against the counter as she whirled and shot a fierce glare at the nosy bird beside her. The Grass-Type balled her claws into fists, as the reptile became determined to know...

"Have you been _spying_ on me?!"

"I prefer to call it 'the observations of a concerned citizen,' but that is where your headache is from, isn't it?" Trizano asked. "The layout inside was a bit much to handle? Or did you see something in there that didn't quite sit right with you?"

"Don't worry about it," the Grovyle snapped. "It's nothing that I haven't seen before in a day's work."

"You sure don't _sound_ like that right now," the metal bird insisted. "Why, if I didn't know better, I'd say you sounded more like you don't know what to do about-"

At this, the Grass-Type lost her temper, and hopped atop her stool, extending the leafy blades along her arm and visibly seething. Why was this bird _doing_ this to her? She didn't _like_ what had happened in that hut, but it had happened for a _reason..._

"I _do_ know what to do about it!" she shouted, thrusting an angry and accusing claw at the Skarmory's face. "To follow the orders I was given and protect this town!"

A dead silence filled the bar, which prompted Salvini to look around and notice that her outburst had caught the attention of everyone else in the room. Trizano shook his head and realized that prodding the Grovyle for more information would probably not deliver any further progress. After awkwardly shuffling his feathers, the Skarmory cleared his throat and turned back to his Grovyle neighbor.

"Listen, Salvini," he began. "I might not be a doctor, but I think that if you really meant that, you wouldn't be here right now with that cup of jenever."

"You're trying to get at something, aren't you?" the lizard grunted.

"I was, actually," the Skarmory replied. "It's a question whose answer I think will clear that headache of yours better than that drink ever will."

"Which is?"

The metal bird deposited a small stack of papers containing charcoal rubbings of various scenes of a deer with branch-like antlers. The gecko's black eyes widened a moment, as she recognized that these must have been the pictures that the bait mission asked for. The Grass-Type looked up uneasily at the stern-faced Skarmory, who responded with a simple question.

"What do you _really_ want, Salvini?"

The Grovyle went silent at the Trizano's words, and reluctantly drew her blades back against her arms and uneasily returned to her seat. The Steel-Type sighed, shook his head and turned to the still-staring patrons in the bar.

"Apologies for the disruption," he said. "I'll take my leave now."

Trizano hastily made his way over to a small side door at the end of the taverna, where he passed through and slipped out of the bar. Little by little, the chatter of the bar started to return to its normal, raucous atmosphere, if flecked with occasional blurbs 'What was that all about?' and 'Think that was over a tax dispute or something?'

Salvini looked down at the drawings and thought of the other day when she gave Team Traveller their mission...

Of how carefree and trusting they had been…

Of their betrayed looks back in the medic's hut...

Why was she here drinking anyways? She had followed her brother's footsteps into the force to begin with to help other Pokémon, but… how was snookering a bunch of kids helping anyone, especially when the higher-ups couldn't keep their stories straight? From the moment this mission started she had a feeling something was wrong about it, a feeling that had only gotten stronger since.

Her brother had mentioned that there were times when he had to go against the grain of his orders… Was this was he meant? But what was she supposed to do? He was all the way off on some podunk island and those kids would be taken care of in a matter of hours.

… Actually, maybe she didn't need her brother's advice to make this decision. She had joined the Company in order to help Pokémon like the ones that lived in this town. So then if the Company was making that impossible, there was only one logical thing to do...

The Grass-Type thrust the stack of drawings into her bag, and hopped off her stool. As soon as her feet hit the floor, the gecko turned and bolted for the side door after the so-called 'Immortal'.

"Hey! You didn't pay for your jenever!" the Spinda barkeep cried.

"Put it on my tab!" she shouted back. The Wood Gecko dashed into a cluttered alley uphill of the taverna, only to find no sign of Trizano. The Grass-Type looked around desperately, and bolted for the treeline to try and find a perch. The reptile dug her claws into a trunk, and scampered up it, vaulting over the limbs and onto a bough where she caught a glimpse of the so-called 'Immortal' on another tree preening at his metal feathers.

"Hold it right there!" she exclaimed. The Skarmory raised his head and turned back in the direction of the Grass-Type, giving a quizzical tilt.

"Hrm? Is something the matter?" the Armor Bird answered.

"You're _planning_ to do something with those kids, aren't you?" the Grovyle huffed.

The Skarmory turned and beat his wings, before settling down and giving a firm, determined look back at his questioner.

"I think you should already know the answer to that question, Salvini," he said.

"Well, what _is_ it?" she demanded. There was a long pause between the two as Trizano tensed his wings to be ready to strike at a moment's notice, before the tension suddenly evaporated with five simple words…

"And what do you need?"

The Skarmory blinked and lowered his razor-feathered wings at the gecko's words. Did… she just offer to help him? But this was no Elekid's play, and he couldn't in good conscience accept help from someone who had so much to lose.

"Are you _sure_ about this, Salvini?" he asked. "You're aware that it could get you in just a _bit_ more trouble than that drink back there, aren't you?"

"I think you should already know the answer to _that_ question, Trizano," she replied. A smile began to creep over the Skarmory's beak, there were more brave souls in this town than he had expected to find on such short notice. The two volunteers he'd accrued so far would do just fine.

"Well, then… why don't we start with a little privacy?" Trizano volunteered. "Time is short, and we've only got one shot at this."

* * *

After a nerve-wracking shortcut through the warehouse, and a tense journey through Andaku's shadowy alleys, the four Pokémon of the Siglo Swellow and their Clawitzer defender made their way up to the cliffside path in fits and starts. The party carrying along haphazardly until they eventually made it to a panting stop just past the sturdy wooden gate.

"Hah… hah… that was way too close," Crom gasped.

"Why don't we pick a place with a little privacy, hm?" Nagant chittered, while gesturing at a nearby alley. "Sounds like you four could catch your breath a bit."

The four Pokémon traded wary looks with each other, before looking back at their rescuer. While she _had_ helped them greatly just a short time ago, something was…

Amiss.

"Weren't you that Clawitzer from the bar back in Seahive?" Kiran asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Hmrph, could ask you the same thing," the Water-Type harrumphed. "Weren't _you_ skulking around Boisocéan in white scarves just a couple-"

Crom, Kiran, Pladur, and Ander's eyes went wide at the shrimp's words, which prompted the ever-jittery Fraxure to hastily interrupt with a startled cry.

"A-Aah! Don't say that so loud!" he yelped. The four grimaced and hastily scanned their surroundings, and discovered that mercifully, no other Pokémon in lavender scarves seemed to overhear Nagant's nonchalant accusations. After seeing the coast was clear, the group turned their attention back to the now-scowling Clawitzer.

"Hrmph, aren't you high strung today?" Nagant grunted back. "So then we agree a little privacy is good, yes?"

Pladur and Ander exchanged warily looks for a moment in a stunned silence. Kiran was quick to catch up with the situation while Crom, far less experienced in such things as machinations, blinked at his father. Pladur and Ander quickly reached a wordless agreement, and the insect turned to Kiran, who nodded and relaxed his posture.

Crom stared at his father, and after a moment he managed to read his pleading expression to play along the Clawlitzer's words.

"That's… fair enough, but do make this short," Kiran sighed. "Conversations when one's fatigued are 50% harder to get through!"

"Well, then, I suppose we should get started," the Water-Type answered. The shrimp gestured at the alley, and after waving them on ahead with her smaller claw, Crom and his companions warily made their way down the secluded lane. The five came to a stop with Nagant a short distance from the entrance amidst some alley clutter. The shrimp balanced atop her tail to get a better view of her audience, and chanced to notice a dusty, tattered checkerboard lying in a heap of worn and disused litter.

"So now that we agree that the matter of where we've personally been is irrelevant," Nagant said as she clamped onto the tattered board. "I notice your missing 'crewmate' gets around quite a bit."

"Er… you could say that," Ander buzzed. "He's technically closer to a missing person."

"Ah… I'm sorry to hear," the shrimp replied, as she dusted off the checkerboard and began to absent-mindedly move her little claw along the board manipulating imaginary pieces. "But what lead you _out_ here?"

"Well... we heard that another Company ship was looking for him," Pladur explained. "So we followed them here."

"Yeah, Commissioner Lyn's!" Crom added. As soon as his words left his mouth, Crom bit his tongue and grimaced after realizing that he had spoken too much. The Clawitzer seemed to pick up on the Dragon-Type's words as well, as she looked up abruptly from her tattered checkerboard.

"Hrm? If a Commissioner's already looking into the matter," the shrimp murmured, giving a forced tilt of her head. "Then aren't you a bit out of your league?"

A faint smirk flickered over the wizened crustacean's face and drew nervous glances from Crom and his companions. There wasn't anywhere to run if they needed to, or at least nothing that would shield them from the Clawitzer's Water Pulses…

Then perhaps, it would be better to try and deflect with something that Company members would surely be all too familiar with...

"Er… well, we were hoping that if we found him first, we'd be able to get something out of it," Ander buzzed back.

The shrimp shot back a withering glare at the four square-necks, before giving an unimpressed grunt and shaking her head.

"Hmph, I should have expected as much from your type," Nagant muttered. "Though I suppose if nothing else, the Company's taught you how to _take risks._ "

The four collectively let out a sigh of relief, grateful that their rescuer seemed satisfied with their deflection. Though, now that the Clawitzer's curiosity seemed to be sated for now… perhaps they could return the favor a bit.

"So, since we're asking," Kiran said. "Why did _you_ come here?"

"Yeah, you kinda saved our hides back there earlier," Pladur added.

The Clawitzer paused, and nudged quietly at the checkerboard a little. With a shake of her head, she turned her attention back to her questioners and began to speak.

"I'm a 'mon who gets around here and there with some associates," she answered. "You could say it's our job to stay privy to current events here in Anyilla."

Crom, Kiran, Ander, and Pladur traded flummoxed looks with each other at Nagant's response. That hardly seemed like a detailed answer! Ander shook his head, before attempting to press the Water-Type for a bit more information.

"Er… what do you mean by that-?"

"Oi! There they are!"

Only to be interrupted by a shout coming from the direction of the barrier. The five Pokémon whirled around, and saw that much to their surprise, there was a glaring Ledian and Floatzel with golden scarves poking over the wooden palisades. The Pokémon from the Siglo Swellow grimaced at the sight, as Nagant hastily leveled her large claw at the two pirates.

"Yeah, you'd _better_ look scared!" Rodion snarled. "We're going to-!"

"Is something going _on_ here?" a gravelly voice interrupted. Suddenly, an Arbok and a Golem with Company scarves rushed in from the path along the palisades at the end of the alleyway. The pair came to a hasty stop, trading glares with the golden-scarved Pokémon at the top of the palisades.

"Yeah, you _know_ what happens if your little disputes leave the barrier," the Arbok hissed. Nervous murmurs started coming from other pirates behind the wall, as Rodion's face contorted into a scowl, begrudgingly accepting that this wasn't a battle the crew would do well to fight.

"Urgh, fine," the Floatzel growled. "But you pests won't be so lucky next ti-!"

" _Chotto matte!_ I'm _from_ here!" the Ledian fumed, flitting over the wall. "I have every right to leave Andaku whenever I wan- Gack!"

"Get _moving_ , Kichiro!" Rodion huffed, yanking the Bug-Type back over the palisade before the situation could escalate any further.

The pair from the Iron Fleet hastily ducked back over the wall, and the sound of hastily fleeing footsteps could be heard as the pirates slinked back for safer territory.

"Well, that was a speedy resolution," Nagant scoffed. "Shame, I could've used the target practice."

"You guys alright?" the Arbok asked. "What was that all about?"

"Um… just a little argument we got into in Andaku," Kiran explained. "Nothing major."

As the Arbok and Golem traded skeptical looks with each other, the Clawitzer turned and sized up the two new Company guards… and decided that perhaps she had stuck around in the alley for long enough.

"Well, it seems you have work to get to," the shrimp said, hopping and turning for the alley exit. "Looks like I'll have to explain the matter another time. I've got a feeling we'll cross paths again."

"We will?" Crom answered. "What makes you say that?"

"Call it a sailor's instinct," Nagant replied, before giving an unimpressed scowl back at the group. "Oh, by the way, you're _welcome._ "

The shrimp hastily scuttled off grumbling about "Courtesy these days," past the Golem and Arbok as they traded blank and incredulous with each other. Crom and his companions warily headed out, and came face-to-face with the skeptical-looking duo.

"Friend of yours?" the cobra wondered.

"Er, I'm not sure, actually…" the little Druddigon muttered.

"Well, whatever you were up to in there, be a little _smarter_ next time!" the Golem snapped. "And make yourself useful instead of just standing there!"

"R-Right!" Pladur stammered.

As the skeptics carried on past the wall, Crom and his shipmates let out a collective sigh, before looking down the lane where Nagant had disappeared off to.

"She's up to something, isn't she?" Crom asked.

"She almost certainly was," Ander sighed. "But let's not worry about it too much right now."

"Yeah, we're not going to get anything else looking around in this state!" Kiran exclaimed. "Let's go back to the ship and patch ourselves up and try and figure out where we haven't looked yet."

The four tiredly looked back at the gate for Andaku, before setting off down the hill back for Aisle Town's docks for a return trip to the atoll. Had… had all of the work, the running and searching for the past two days been for nothing? If it was, then how _were_ they supposed to find Pleo, Nida, and Elty? And where could they be?

* * *

The sun set early that day on Mengir Island, as the winds picked up and dark, ominous clouds rolled in over the horizon from the Cradle's edge. Night soon followed, the inky, churning sky blotting out the moon and stars, prompting shopkeepers to close their shops early, and chasing townsfolk home early as rains and the sounds of distant peals of thunder came.

_Rumble_

A flash of lightning lit up the halls of the medic's hut as the Continent Tower´s Traveller began coming over the horizon. There, Salvini made her way for the room Team Traveller was held in, recounting in her head the plan she and the alleged had talked through.

It sounded simple enough: make up an excuse to take over the current guard's shift, and then enter the room. From there, she'd free the kids from their restraints and give back their belongings. Trizano would then distract the guards outside with some Blast Seeds to draw them away from the window, before coming back around and using it as an entrance. Finally, they'd exit via the third room from the right along the tree-lined back of the hut, and fly to a diver who would take them to the Subway before the storm outside grew too strong.

_Rumble_

A plan that was so simple, and yet so risky, with its first major test right in front of her. Directly in front of the room she needed to get to was the current guard on shift: Payak, who was dangling from a silk strand from the ceiling and keeping a sharp watch over the door.

"Well… here goes nothing," the Grovyle quietly murmured. Salvini approached her teammate, who upon seeing her, tilted his head and gave her a surprised look.

"Salvini?" the Ariados asked. "What are you doing here? Are you here to keep me company or something?"

"Captain Hertsog told me to take over your shift," the Grovyle said. "We've apparently needed to shift some positions around thanks to the storm picking up outside."

"Huh? _Veche?_ But my shift doesn't end for another hour," the spider protested. The Ariados gave the Grass-Type a puzzled look, which made Salvini uneasy for a moment, before she cleared her throat and doubled down on her ruse.

"That's just what he told me," the reptile shrugged. "I don't make the rules any more than you do, I just pass them along and enforce them."

"Well you don't have to tell me twice," Payak chittered. "This wouldn't exactly be the most fun job even without the storm, and I could use a drink if Everbloom hasn't closed down already."

The spider shook himself loose of a silk mooring he had attached to the ceiling and scuttled away from the door, turning to the Grass-Type.

"Take care of yourself, alright?" he said. "I've had a bad feeling about this mission all night, as if something was about to happen."

The Grovyle faltered momentarily, before shaking her head and attempting to deflect her partner's misgivings.

"Don't worry about it," Salvini responded. "You know me, if something comes my way, I won't be going anywhere without a fight."

The answer seemed to satisfy the Bug-Type, who after a quick nod carried along, and disappeared down a rough staircase at the end of the hall. The Wood Gecko waited until the sounds of her companion faded away, and only the sound of faint snores, movements by other guards downstairs, and the storm were left behind.

Salvini drew her right blade and slipped its tip into the keyhole of a padlock placed over the door. The Grass-Type whispered the instructions Trizano had given her earlier, feel for the pins, push them up, and...

_Click_

The gecko felt the padlock open, and instinctively yanked it off before pushing the door open, the wood creaking faintly as it moved. The Grass-Type quietly returned the door to its place minus its padlock, and crept forward towards the forms of four Pokémon who seemed to be uneasily dozing as the door closed behind her.

_Creeeeak_

The once-proud team had clearly been run ragged, their bodies still weak from their wounds earlier in the day. On a few of their faces, there were trails left behind from dried tears, and some of their bindings had shown stretch marks and streaks from fruitless attempts to wear through the ropes. The Grovyle began to extend the blades along her arms and made her way forward as...

"Ah! S-Someone's in here!"

A squeak from the Nidoran stopped Salvini in her tracks, the group evidently being less asleep than she assumed. A flash of lightning lit up the room, and cast the shadow of a figure with sharp blades jutting from its arms against the back wall, which raised a chorus of frightened squeals from the bound children. The Grass-Type's eyes widened at the sudden racket, which prompted the reptile to hastily attempt to shush Team Traveller.

"It's alright! It's alright! It's me, Salvini," she reassured.

"Wh-What are you doing here?" Pleo asked.

"If _you're_ here, then that means Lyn-" Elty began, only to be cut off by a whisper from the Wood Gecko.

"Will be too late to pick you up," she said, as she bent down, grabbed Nida, and pinned her down. The Nidoran went wide-eyed as she saw a blade towards her flank and froze out of fear.

_Snip_

The Nidoran flinched at the noise and instinctively bolted up and clutched at her flank, only to realize that she was unharmed, and… Wait a minute!

"I can move again!"

The Grass-Type quickly made her way to each of the remaining members of Team Traveller and with a few swift motions and snipping sounds, similarly cut them loose. Nida, Pleo, Elty, and Guardia traded blank stares with each other, before looking back at this most peculiar Company grunt.

"E-Eh? You're that _Juptile_ from earlier," Guardia pressed. "What are you doing here?"

"Getting you out of here, what's it look like?" she snapped. The gecko hastily dumped out some items from her bag, which on closer inspection were a stained, folded up bag; a bony club; a map and astrolabe; and three glinting, misshapen badges.

"A-Aah! That's our stuff!" Nida cried. The four instantly set upon their belongings: Nida shook out the bag and slung it over her shoulder, Guardia latched back onto her club, and the lot of them began to repin each other's badges, only to notice that something was amiss with the sparse pile…

"Where's the rest, though?" the Poison-Type asked.

"I wasn't able to get it back in time," the Grovyle answered, shaking her head. "And, you there. Pleo, right? Can you fly right now? It'll be important for figuring out how to get you guys out of here."

Pleo tried to get up and started beating his wings to lift himself above ground; it took a couple of tries to even get that straight, and managed a short impulse onward. Suddenly, Pleo's expression turned to one of blunt pain and he forced himself to land, unceremoniously but at least not crashing hard on anything.

"Nrgh!"

"Ack!" Nida exclaimed. "Pleo, _estás bien_?!"

"I- I mean, I flew," he murmured. "But when I stopped thinking about the singing outside, then my wing started to hurt again."

"Singing?" Salvini wondered.

"It's what he calls thunder and the sound of storms," Elty said. "Don't ask."

"It'll have to do," the reptile sighed. The four members of Team Traveller skeptically looked at each other, as one burning question was on their mind...

"Why are you helping us like this?" Guardia prodded. "Didn't you say earlier that you had to hurt us?"

"Well… I happened to run into an old friend of yours," the gecko began. "And while I do want to protect this town… I realized that I didn't want to have to destroy the lives of some kids like you in order to do it."

"An old friend of ours-?" Nida asked.

**SLAM**

The five Pokémon flinched at the sound of the door being thrown open, and watched with horror as a pair of glowing yellow eyes appeared high off the ground with strong, sharp claws embedded into the wood of the door. A large, lumbering draconic creature with stubby wings entered the room, as Team Traveller and Salvini started to turn pale.

"I said I'd be back before returning to Vollezee," a rough, draconic voice voice growled. "I didn't expect that I'd encounter a common First-Rank like you in the middle of active treason."

"A-Administrator Darzin?" the Grass-Type gulped. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to take care of a few loose ends before setting off for the Capital," Darzin answered, shooting a steely glare at the five Pokémon before him.

"And I'll be taking that bird with me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _Ti si lud! (Ти си луд!)_ \- Bulgarian: "You're mad!" / "You're crazy!" (BGN/PCGN 2013 Romanization)  
>  \- _Sidon (_ _サイドン_ _)_ \- Japanese: "Rhydon" (Official Romanization)  
>  \- _Do svidaniya (До свидания)_ \- Russian: "Goodbye" (BGN/PCGN 2013 Romanization)  
>  \- _Davvero?_ \- Italian: "Really?"  
>  \- _Chotto matte! (_ _ちょっと待って_ _!)_ \- Japanese: "Wait a minute!" (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _Veche? (Вeчe)_ \- Bulgarian: "Already?" (BGN/PCGN 2013 Romanization)  
>  \- _Juptile (_ _ジュプトル_ _)_ \- Japanese: "Grovyle" (Official Romanization)  
>  \- _(¿)estás bien?_ \- Spanish: "are you alright?"


	40. Up in the Air

"I'm here to take care of a few loose ends before setting off for the Capital, and I'll be taking that bird with me."

As the growling words of Administrator Darzin reverberated in the small room in the medic's hut, the blood in Team Traveller's veins went cold. The only thing standing in the way of the towering Dragonite was the much shorter and similarly startled-looking form of a Grovyle.

Salvini hesitated as she cast a quick glance at the nervous faces of the kids behind her, and back at the glowering face of the Administrator in front of her. She knew she was both outranked and outmatched by the Dragonite, and that she wouldn't last long in a fight. But if she didn't do _something_ , he'd walk out of the room with one of Team Traveller's charges before Trizano could rescue them!

"I-I was just moving the prisoners," Salvini hastily answered. "They were direct orders from Administrator Zorn himself!"

"So that's why you unbound them?" Darzin sneered. "Even if your little tale was true, it wouldn't matter."

"Wh-Why is that?" the Wood Gecko stammered.

"Because what Zorn doesn't know, Zorn doesn't worry about," the Dragon-Type huffed. "And last I was aware, he wasn't worried about _anyone_ coming here."

Salvini and Team Traveller blanched as the Dragonite started moving towards them and blue sparks of electricity started crackling along the antennae on his head.

"If you want your little secret to stay just that, you'll hold that bird still as I- Graah!"

Darzin felt a sharp pain at the base of his neck, and jerked backwards by reflex. After running a claw along his neck, he felt a long, fresh scrape with lukewarm, sticky liquid oozing out of it. The dragon growled and looked up to see Salvini had positioned herself in between him and Team Traveller, the three leaves on her right forearm now extended into a long blade.

"I'm sorry, Administrator," she said. "I'm afraid that I can't be party to that."

"Then I'll have you rewarded as a traitor _deserves!_ " Darzin snarled. Flecks of a fiery, bluish aura began to sprout among his scales as the Dragonite charged at the Grovyle, only to come to a skidding stop as the gecko rolled and clambered up a wall. The Grass-Type planted her claws into the timbers and vaulted up, attempting to bring a blow with her blades down on the dragon's head in between two antennae that were starting to spark-

"Ack!"

Before the Wood Gecko could react, she felt a hot, numbing flow of electricity run through her body, which sent her pratfalling to the floor with a loud _thud._ As the Grass-Type desperately fought against her unresponsive and wobbly limbs to get up off the floor, she saw a claw balled up into a fist trailing bright-orange fire…

_**THWAM** _

Nida and the others watched as Darzin's flaming punch caught Salvini in her snout and sent her flying into a side wall with a sickening crash. The hapless Grass-Type fell against the ground, and slumped over, her burned and bruised body breathing weakly as the hulking dragon prowled closer and closer for the children. The still-shaken members of Team Traveller hastily dug their feet in and prepared for battle, the futility of the gesture from the worn and battered children eliciting derisive laughter from Darzin.

"I see that that Tromban defiance is strong with your team, spike lump," he sneered. "Well unfortunately for you, it looks like your little rebellion here is short on both numbers and strength!"

The Dragon-Type balled up his right fist, which began to smolder with orange embers. Darzin drew his fist back for a forceful punch, only to jump with a start at the sound of explosions outside to rock the room, intermingled with a commotion from the guards outside.

"Ack! What was that?!"

"It was coming from behind Everbloom!"

"What on ear-?"

Nida, Pleo, Elty, and Guardia flinched as the sound of a great crash and wood splintering came from overhead. The table Payak had propped up along the window was forced in and flung forward in splintered pieces intermingled with silk tatters. As the dust settled, Team Traveller's members blinked incredulously as it became apparent that there was a presence with glinting, jagged feathers on the floor in front of them.

"'Numbers and strength?' Your accounting is rather sloppy for an Administrator, Darzin!"

"A-Aah!"

Nida froze and her limbs went rigid as she saw that the creature in front of them was none other than the Skarmory they had run into at the square! Darzin quickly regained his footing, and charged his unwelcome intruder with a fierce howl and a flaming punch.

"Get out of my way!"

The reptile bore down on the Armor Bird, his balled-up claw connecting with a satisfying thwack against Trizano's left wing. The Steel-Type rolled along the ground, only to right himself, and lob a cutting gust of air back at the Dragon-Type's face.

"Perhaps you should change your direction instead!" the Skarmory retorted.

"ARGH!"

Darzin lost his balance in a daze, and after a further cone of cinders from Elty, the Dragonite veered headlong into one of the side walls with a loud thud. As the dust settled, Trizano was left behind panting to inspect the room, along with a left wing whose metal feathers had become scorched and whose blades had melted and bubbled.

" _Seguimi!_ This way!" the Skarmory squawked. "Before he gets back onto his feet!"

The Steel-Type darted for the opened door, Nida watching as Elty and Guardia charged ahead as best as their still-dull wounds would allow them. The Nidoran was snapped out of her petrified state by a squawking shove from behind.

"Nida! Come on!" Pleo cried. The little spike ball shook her head and without thinking ran after Pleo's fleeing form, the two having made it to the doorframe when a crash and the noise of wooden planks snapping sounded out from behind.

" _No!_ I won't have victory snatched from my claws like this!"

The Nidoran and Lugia whirled around and saw charging with a fiery, bluish aura starting to wreath Darzin's body. Nida went wide-eyed in panic and flicked a barb at the Dragonite, while Pleo shrieked and desperately brought a churning wind together between his wings.

"A-Aah!"

_Crash_

The two looked ahead and saw Darzin embedded in the smashed window frame. The Dragonite seethed, and attempted to pull himself free only for the wall to suddenly creak and the timbers to give way and snap. At once, the wall came down with a loud crash, sending the Dragon-Type falling backwards into the alleyway outside with a bellowing yelp. Pained cries of "I've been hit!" and "My leg!" came from outside intermingled with the storm's howling winds and rains, leaving Nida and Pleo to stare, still shaken by the close call.

"Oi! Hurry it up, you two!" Guardia called from behind. The Nidoran and the Lugia hurried along after her, ducking out into the hallway as the room's door slammed behind them. The now-trashed room in the medic's hut went back to its silence punctuated by confused cries outside...

"Nrgh…"

… along with the weakly stirring form of Salvini. As the Grovyle fought to parse the contours of the still spinning room with her distorted sense, she heard voices and hasty footsteps coming from the hallway.

"Down there, that room on the right!" a harsh, elder voice barked.

"Ack, it's been ransacked already!" a yipping, vulpine voice exclaimed.

By the time she was able to lift herself up from the floor, a pair of guards had already burst into the room, and swooped down upon her. The Grass-Type felt a pair of paws with long wisps of fur drag her up, as Hertsog and Phyllis' faces filled her vision, worry etched on their visages...

"Salvini!" Hertsog cried. " _Dobre li si?!_ "

"What happened here?!" Phyllis added.

The Grovyle wearily raised her head up to meet her teammates, only to shift her gaze away from their eyes. She had gone against them in order to help Team Traveller escape, and what with Darzin still around, she would be hard-pressed to maintain her cover. If they found out… When they found out... would they understand?

"It's alright," Salvini answered, giving a tired smile. "I was just doing my best to do the right thing."

* * *

The four members of Team Traveller quickly followed Trizano into an empty room further down the hall. Nida hastily closed the door behind them and helped her teammates barricade the door with the room's furniture, as Trizano hopped over to inspect the window at the other end of the room. Having a small moment of peace, Nida took the chance to ask their rescuer a question that surfaced to her mind now that her breaths were coming slower and more controlled.

"W-Why did you come back?" she demanded. "And what do you want from us?"

"Because I promised your friend I would keep an eye out for all of you," the Skarmory answered "And-"

Before Trizano could finish, he and the other Pokémon in the room could hear sounds coming from down the hallway. Trizano reluctantly shook his head, and turned towards Pleo

¨Pleo, can you fly again?¨

"I… I think I can," Pleo stammered as he beat his wings.

"Good, that will make this easier," Trizano murmured as he turned back towards the window.

He took a step back and beat out his wings, sending several sharp gusts of wind towards the window. After a series of cracks and snaps, the Skarmory's attacks reduced the cross-bracing and the shutters into splintered fragments, intermingled with the tatters of drapes dangling in the front.

"At least he handles those drapes better than you do, bonehea-" Elty whispered, only to be cut off by a swat from Guardia's bone.

"Shut your trap, mutt!" she hissed. "If I wasn't injured right now, I'd give you worse!"

"Enough!" Trizano squawked. "We can worry about that after we get into the-!"

"L-Leave us out of this!" a squeaking voice suddenly cried. All eyes turned to Nida, who had her back arched and her barbs fanned out. The little rabbit staring wide-eyed at the Armor Bird all the while.

"N-Nida?!" Pleo exclaimed. "I don't-"

"Pleo, this Pokémon _betrayed_ us!" she squeaked. "He's the reason why we got brought here in the first place!"

Nida's teammates paused for a moment. He brought them to the medic's hut… where the Company was waiting for them… but...

If he really did betray them… Why did he come back?

"I didn't _know_ about the ambush!" Trizano squawked. "And we can still get out of here if we hurry!"

"A-And he seemed nice when we were coming to the hut!" Pleo added. "He couldn't be bad, could-?"

_CRASH!_

The team flinched as noises from the hallway were now much louder and closer, with muffled shouts of "check the next one" now intelligible from the outside. They turned to look at Trizano again, who was wide-eyed and breathing faster.

"Look, I can't help Pokémon that don't want to be helped," Trizano pleaded. "Please, don't just throw everything away here!"

"N-Nida," Pleo stammered "Y-you said we wouldn´t give up until we're home... right?"

Nida paused and hesitated… She didn't really trust Trizano, especially because of what had happened with the last Skarmory she crossed paths with… But there really wasn't any other way out of this situation.

Staying here in the medic's hut would mean they would get caught for sure. So then it was a choice between trusting a shifty and scary Pokémon, and giving up…

Wait- Giving up? Nida's mind turned back to the fateful first night the team spent in Boisocéan, of the promise that she and Pleo made to each other to not give up on going home even if things looked impossible. Then... maybe she had to put her fears aside... for Pleo's sake.

For everyone's sake.

"No, we won't," Nida finally admitted, giving a hesitant nod. The Nidoran hastily hopped up the white bird and helped pull Elty and Guardia aboard. " _Venga, vamos!_ "

"Alright, then hurry then!" Trizano cried, as he lept onto the shattered window and hopped out. Pleo followed and took his place at the windowsill. There, in the midst of the sound of Pokémon just outside the room and Guardia's low whimpering, there was the harsh rain and the fierce winds of the storm...

And that beautiful, soothing song carried along by the winds. The little Protector crouched, spread his wings, and leapt out into the raging storm ahead of him.

_**CRASH!** _

Back in the room, a Sudowoodo and a Stantler had forced their way into the room. At once, they noticed the sound of the winds howling from outside and saw the rain puddled on the floor under the smashed window.

"Ack! They came through here!" the Stantler exclaimed. As the alarm was sounded and their compatriots in the hall bolted to call for aerial support, the reindeer and his partner went to the window as a flash of lightning lit up the sky.

There, off in the air ahead, were the forms of two birds, charging ahead into the stormy night.

* * *

Out in the skies over Fensedge Village, Trizano tore along with Pleo and his passengers in the pouring rain. The winds were growing strong, and flashes of lightning in the churning sky lit up drenched lanes that had been abandoned by townsfolk seeking shelter from the inclement weather. The flightless members of Team Traveller clung tightly to their perilous perches atop Pleo's back, breathing fast and shallow as the wind and rain whipped against them.

"What do we do now?!" Nida cried.

"Just follow me!" Trizano shouted back, doing his best to overcome the sound of the heavy wind and rainfall. "Once we´re a few knots offshore, we'll see the diving spot to get you-"

Before the Skarmory could finish his explanation, a Hyper Beam sliced through the air, narrowly clipping his wings. Pleo squawked with a start, and the group of five Pokemon looked back to see the burning column had come from the Medic's hut. There, a few dark figures were dashing down the lanes, with several fliers who were alerted by the beam giving chase in the air.

"Hang on!" Trizano exclaimed. "We're gonna have to outrun them!"

Pleo weaved to dodge a fiery bluish beam from an Altaria. Then came a near-miss from a slashing gust of air, followed by a crackling bolt of electricity. Despite their best efforts, the airborne pursuers were catching up fast and the attacks were growing tighter and tighter.

"Agh!"

Including the Flamethrower from a Fletchinder that scorched Trizano's tail feathers. The Skarmory lurched forward and fought to maintain his momentum, he couldn't let the kids down, not when they were all so close here!

_Woosh!_

A sudden gust of turbulent air ripped through the sky and sent Trizano jerking up as muddled cries rang out from behind. The Steel-Type fought with the whistling winds and the torrential rains and was finally able to work his way out of a stall. A seed of panic grew in Trizano's gut as he whipped his head around wildly to try and catch a glimpse of Pleo below. An inexperienced flier like the kid would surely not have held his altitude-

"Eh?!"

Only to see that the white bird was sailing along every bit as smoothly as when he'd first taken flight from the medic's hut!

"Since when did you learn to fly like that?!" the Skarmory squawked. The Lugia drew his good wing up to his beak and chirped back a response that, although muddled by the howling winds, still managed to reach Trizano's ears.

"The song in the air makes it easier to fly!" he cried. The Skarmory blinked incredulously, a 'song'? As in this racket the storm was kicking up?

"Whatever you meant by that, just keep it up!" he called. The Steel-Type redoubled his efforts and with a bit of work was able to pull ahead of Pleo again… only to fall behind shortly after thanks to having to fight the weather to regain his position over and over again.

The 'song' of the storm was hardly 'invigorating' to Pleo's passengers either. Between furtive glances at her teammates, Nida saw Guardia was fixed to Pleo's plumes with her eyes screwed firmly shut to block out the ordeal. Elty similarly wasn't taking the storm well, as Nida saw the Growlithe was balled up and shivering from the drenching rains.

But… there weren't any more attacks coming their way coming. Yes, the wind was howling and the rain was pouring buckets, but their airborne pursuers weren't attacking them for some reason… After the Nidoran looked behind, she gave a surprised squeak when she discovered that their pursuers were nowhere to be seen. The storm must have driven them off! As scary as flying through the tumultuous cloud was, it did have quite the silver lining...

"Ah! Pleo you- you did it!" she cried. "We're free! We're really-!"

The festive atmosphere was suddenly cut off by a loud peal and a bright flash from above, sending Pleo jolting downwards. Nida shrieked and Elty yelped, the two of them instinctively jerking from the light and din, and almost rolling off of Pleo. The young Lugia hastily corrected himself, as a concerned squawk came from the Skarmory ahead.

"Ack! Are you alright?!"

Which prompted the two to look behind them wide-eyed to see a warily peeking Cubone with static dancing on her hide and helmet, clinging tightly to her club and Pleo's back.

"Wh-What was that?! I-Is it over?!"

"... _B-Bądź tu mądry._ I had forgotten about you being one of those living lightning rods," Elty spat. "Next storm, you're swimming on your own."

"F-Fine! You can take the hit next time!" Guardia snapped back.

Nida breathed a sigh of relief. Pleo was soaring with ease now, and even the storm seemed to be letting up, the parting clouds revealing a cluster of sea rocks just ahead in the choppy waters. Maybe they weren't quite home free yet, but the bickering was a sign that things were starting to return to normal...

… until Pleo suddenly gave a pained cry. The young Lugia's left wing froze and stiffened mid flap, causing the white bird to pitch, roll, and fall out of the sky alongside his passengers.

" **AAAAAAAAAH!** "

Nida tumbled head over heels through the sky, her shrieks along with those of her teammates piercing the din of the fading storm in the background. Suddenly, the Poison-Type felt a heavy metallic claw trying to grab her, one that reminded her of that fateful trauma in the Mystery Dungeon back home. The spike ball screamed and instinctively flailed to try and escape it, breaking the claw's grip. The Nidoran then attempted to sprint away for cover, only for her feet to find empty air...

_**SPLOOSH** _

And to feel the wet smack of seawater as she was swallowed by the churning waves. The Nidoran felt the seawater seep into her ears as she sank deeper, but soon felt her body rise again and her head break the surface of the water. Nida gasped for air, only to get hit in the face by a wave and sent back under the surface.

As the Nidoran drifted back under the waves thoughts of Bluewhorl, Crom, and her family flickered across her mind. All of the worries they had about her, all the prayers they had surely said… and here she was, drowning in the sea far away from home as the fates deigned to sneer at their hopes and dreams.

_Sploosh!_

Nida heard something slicing into the water and felt her body get pulled upwards. Her head left the water, then her back, and even her legs. As Nida coughed and spluttered, she realized that she was airborne, and that metallic claws were clamped tightly around her shoulders.

"Don't worry, I've got you now!"

As Nida blinked away the seawater from her eyes, she felt wet, stony ground underfoot and rolled to a stop after the claws let her go. The Nidoran looked down and saw she was on an outcropping of worn, wet stones. The Poison-Type weakly raised her head and saw the form of a Skarmory heading away from her and back out into the ocean, when she realized…

She was completely alone. Pleo... Elty... Guardia… not one of them was with her on that rock.

Nida jerked herself up and looked around, her only company being the churning waves and the departing storm in the distance. The Nidoran thought of Elty, of Guardia, of the promise she had given to go home with Pleo… would she be able to keep any of those now?

Tears began to well up in the Poison-Type's eyes and she curled her ears and body in into a pathetic ball as the awful enormity of what had just happened came upon her. Just as she felt a sob rising from her throat, Nida felt a gust of wind blow by her. Glancing up, she found Trizano skidding to a stop on the slick rocky shore.

"Never fear, fellow hunter!" he called, over the din of the storm.. "It's under control!"

Trizano pointed a wing offshore with a grin. Squinting, the Poison-Type realized she could see Pleo timidly paddling back to shore. A second later she also resolved the forms of Elty and Guardia... but they weren't on Pleo's back. There was a brown, fast-moving creature with a chitinous shell, a small chest in a bag made of twine netting slung along his back, and scythe like arms swimming aside Pleo, carrying their other two teammates coughing and shivering from being abruptly dropped into the sea.

"You- You saved us…" Nida murmured.

"All in a day's work for a Warrior of Life," the Skarmory chirped. "And I _did_ have a dutiful sidekick."

The Skarmory gestured over to Dimitri as he drew near along with Pleo to soggy sea rocks. The creature scrabbled up the stony outcropping with his scythe-like claws, and left Elty and Guardia to tumble off his back onto solid ground panting as Pleo uneasily waddled up the rocks with his left wing hanging awkwardly at his side.

"You didn't tell me that I'd have to _fish_ your team out of the sea too, Trizano!" the horseshoe crab chittered. "Make your mission details a bit clearer next time!"

The Nidoran paused and stared at the large creature with the sharp claws, before blinking and turning uneasily towards Trizano.

"Trizano?" Nida asked. "Who is this?"

"An ally, but there will be time to explain later," the Steel-Type answered. "You've had a rough landing, and we should get you dried off a bit first."

* * *

Back at Mengir's medic hut, a Luxio medic was inspecting Salvini's wounds as she laid down on a disturbed, but still functional bed of straw. There, her Mienshao, Leafeon, and Ariados teammates ringed around her anxiously, attempting to get a better understanding of just what happened earlier.

"All I remember is feeling something burning, and after I took a swing with my blades, I got slammed against the wall," the Grovyle said.

"And you're sure you didn't see _anything_ at all?" Hertsog asked skeptically. "If those pirates slipped past our defenses, we'll be back to square one if we don't know who rescued them."

"And if we _don't_ put that demon away, just think of all the chaos it could cause!" Phyllis cried. "And what if it comes _back_ here?!"

"I'm sorry, that's really all that I know," the Grass-Type sighed.

"But you were right there with them in the same room!" Payak chittered. "I mean look at these ropes! They were cut through with something sharp! Didn't you hear anything spiky coming down the hallway or anything?"

The gecko looked down at the ground. Lying to her friends was far from favorable, but after what she had done it was necessary if she wanted to save herself. She looked back up to her teammates and reluctantly spoke up.

"Well-"

"There she is!" a bellowing voice suddenly interrupted. The four Pokémon flinched as a livid Dragonite barged into the room with an Amoonguss and Magnemite in Company garb at the door's entrance. As Hertsog and his charges sized up the new arrival, they noticed that the Dragon-Type bore an Administrator's scarf and a fresh laceration along the side of his neck.

"That's the traitor!" the dragon roared. "Arrest her!"

"Eh…?" the Magnemite asked. "But it looks like the Captain has this under control."

"Yeah, if you knew he was already here, what was the point of dragging us along?" the Amoongus pressed.

"Tr-Treason?" the Mienshao spluttered. "Administrator Darzin, I'm not sure if I under-"

"I found your subordinate cutting your prisoners loose!" the Dragon-Type snarled. "And _this_ is how she repaid me!"

The Dragonite gestured at a ruddy laceration on the side of his neck, and after looking back at the cut bindings, Phyllis and Payak turned their attention to their Grovyle teammate…

And noticed that the ends of the leaves along her right arm were stained a deep red.

"A-Aah!" the Marked Leafeon cried "You really _did_ let them go!"

"Salvini, what is _wrong_ with you?!" the Ariados hissed. "How could you just betray this town like that?! How could you betray _us_ like that?!"

Salvini faltered and shifted her gaze to the ground. She had hoped that she would have been able to get an understanding audience from her companions. That they would understand why she let the kids go if she explained what was happening, but... perhaps it just wasn't possible.

" _Stiga!_ "

The sound of a Mienshao's sleeve whipping through the air rang out, as Hertsog bared his teeth and glared at the Pokémon in the room, before turning his attention back to the Administrator.

"Administrator Darzin, even for someone with your rank, these _aren't_ accusations to be making lightly!" the weasel piped. "Charges of treason can _end_ someone in our ranks!"

"They're not accusations, they're the _truth!_ " the Dragonite snarled back. "And if I don't see her leaving this room in binds in the next thirty seconds, I'll have _you_ reported for abetting her!"

The Fighting-Type paused, and turned reluctantly back to his Grass-Type subordinate. After an uneasy pause, Hertsog finally spoke.

"Salvini, you don't have anything to hide from the rest of us..." he prodded. "Do you?"

The Grovyle froze upon hearing her captain´s words. She didn´t want to lie into the same face of someone who has been such an inspiration to her, but... she probably couldn´t deny Darzin´s accusations forever, meaning she had to come clean at some point.

In that case... maybe she technically didn´t have anything to hide after all.

"No, I don't," she replied.

"Then I apologize if this proves to be premature," the weasel sighed, before turning to Payak and Phyllis.

"Restrain her," he ordered. "I'll see if Administrator Zorn is available for a spot judgement tonight, hopefully we can get to the bottom of this."

Hertsog pulled Salvini's arms behind her as Phyllis guarded her from the front, still wide-eyed with betrayed incredulity. She felt Payak spin silk around her wrists, and then around her snout, clamping them firmly shut against sticky bindings.

"Hrmph, good riddance," Darzin harrumphed. "And I'll be-"

"Getting that wound of yours treated so you can testify, I presume," Hertsog finished. The Dragonite huffed and pulled his antennae back against his head as he gave a displeased snarl.

"I'm _running late!_ " he fumed. "I would think that a mere Second-Rank as yourself would know better than to try and tell me what I ought to prioritize my time on!"

"Administrator Darzin, you're the lead witness in this case," the Fighting-Type insisted. "If it's really such an open-and-shut matter, what would Administrator Zorn think about some complication that came up because of your absence?"

Darzin froze and gritted his teeth. If the traitor were to single him out for being in the room, it could splash unwanted suspicion from Zorn on him. On the other claw, suddenly backing out now would be even more unseemly in appearance...

"Rrgh, fine," the dragon spat. "But you can rest assured that you _will_ regret wasting my time like this!"

The Dragonite stormed out of the room, as the Magnemite and Amoonguss who had accompanied him continued to poke their heads into the room along with a growing cohort of uneasy-looking guards.

"What are you all doing just standing there?!" the Fighting-Type snapped. "Get out there and search for those pirates!"

The guards flinched at their captain's rebuke, and hurried down the hall as Hertsog shook his head with a sigh, prompting Phyllis and Payak to turn to Salvini and shove her along.

"Come on, we're _going_ ," the Ariados hissed. "And we _are_ getting an explanation for this!"

As Salvini marched alongside her teammates, she looked back where the storm continued to churn outside the shattered wall. She had done her part, now the rest would be up to the kids and that 'Immortal'. She shook her head, and under the bonds of her muzzled snout, mouthed the little support she could still give.

"Good luck out there..."

* * *

After a tired, limping walk down to the less seedy piers of Mossaisle Town and a ride on the Siglo Swellow's Mantine sea escort, Crom, Kiran, Pladur and Ander found themselves back at the Company's shipyards on the ringing atoll. There, they made their way back to the Siglo Swellow, where they patched up their wounds, and gathered tiredly at the docks beside their craft.

"Spending the entire day in a district full of pirates just to hit a dead end. Just our luck," Ander sighed. "Where exactly do we try looking now?"

The team looked down at the ground, clearly at a loss on what to do next now their trail had run cold. The lead that they'd gotten from the Cubone seemed to be so promising, and they had even found the Pokémon that tried to ambush Team Traveller… only to discover that Valatos and the others were just as clueless as the bone lizards about where Nida, Pleo, and Elty had gone off to!

Wait a minute… _Were_ they really so clueless? Suddenly, the Swellow of the group ruffled his feathers uncomfortably, as a dawning realization crept upon him.

"Wait a minute," Kiran said "Those three Cubone we spoke to earlier…"

"Eh? Those ferals we ran into sneaking around town?" Pladur asked "But they're the ones who sent us on this fool's errand in the first place!"

"That's the point, Pladur. They knew about Pleo but pointed us towards someone who didn't know where he went," Kiran insisted. "If I were to make an educated guess, I'd say that they know 100% more about where he _really_ is than what they told us."

"Wait, does this mean we have to go look for them in the Mystery Dungeon?" Crom asked. The young dragon's words drew a collective blanch from the four Pokémon. Traversing Mystery Dungeons was already an ordeal in itself, but having to find three specific ferals who knew the dungeon better than they did on top of that? Why, even tracking down outlaws and pirates at least had the benefit of a scarf to help identify them!

Before the four could dwell on the daunting task ahead of them for too long, a voice called out to them from above.

"Oh, there you are!"

A whooshing sound caught the four Pokémon's ears and prompted them to look up. There, coming in for a flapping stop was the lavender, leathery-winged form of none other than...

"Oh! Kellner!" Crom cried. "What are you doing here?"

"Your day's been better than ours, I hope?" Pladur sighed.

"I've been looking all over for you!" the Rock-Type exclaimed. "I heard that some of our own got chased all around Andaku earlier."

The group shifted uneasily and traded sheepish looks with one another at the Flying-Type's question. After a few false starts, a deflated sigh came out before the Marked Scyther among them finally responded to the Aerodactyl guard.

"Yeah, that was us," Ander finally sighed. "That lead that we got didn't quite pan out."

"Ah, I see…"

The Aerodactyl gave a tired shake of his head, and now that Crom and the others noticed it, he seemed to have a grim look on his face. Kiran bobbed his head quizzically and decided to try and press the matter.

"You never _did_ answer us about how your day went," he said.

"It was… fine, really," the Rock-Type answered reluctantly.

"That hardly sounded like a convincing answer," the Swellow grunted. "You're sure everything went alright?"

"... I don't think it really matters," Kellner sighed. "At the least it didn't involve getting chased around by a bunch of brigands."

The Aerodactyl attempted to put on a brave face and wave the matter off, only for his burdened and tired movements to betray him. Kiran thought about what might be gnawing at the creature before them, and after thinking back to their time in Aisle Town, realized that there was something that could explain Kellner's mood.

"Does this have anything to do with that talk we had earlier in town?" the bird pressed.

"It… might have something to do with that, yes," Kellner admitted. The pterosaur shook his head bitterly and stamped his feet against the wooden dock before turning back to his questioners.

"It never ceases to amaze me that in a town with literal 'mons of fortune on our shores, that our own ranks would be so completely lacking in backbones to actively extort the townsfolk that go out of the way to stay innocent of those brigands' dealings," the Aerodactyl fumed. "Honestly, if I didn't know any better, I'd think they were but a bunch of fellow pirates running our lavenders through the mud!"

"Er… but aren't some of the Company Pokémon here _actually_ pirates though?" Crom asked. "I mean, they're _former_ ones, but still."

"Also, do be mindful that some of us _literally_ don't have backbones here," Ander retorted with an unimpressed buzz.

"... You know what I meant," Kellner sighed. "I don't know, I know that there's other Pokémon like me on the force who are trying their hardest to actually protect this town… but in between all the petty extortion and bullying going on, I sometimes wonder if our efforts really matter."

"Huh?" Pladur said. "But why _wouldn't_ they matter?"

"... What do you mean by that?" the pterosaur replied, blinking a few times in uneasy surprise.

"If Pokémon like you didn't _try_ to help others out, then it would just be letting awful Pokémon fill the void in your place!" the Fraxure cried. "Does Aisle Town really need _more_ bullies?"

"No, it _doesn't_ ," the Aerodactyl growled emphatically. "This order keeps the town from falling into an abyss of lawlessness and the Empire's caprices, but there's so many things that just sit here and fester… and nothing ever seems to change."

"That didn't seem to stop you from helping those ferals earlier, did it?" Kiran chirped. The Aerodactyl paused, taken aback at the Swellow's question. After giving a puzzled tilt of his head, Kellner gave a gruff-sounding grunt in response.

"I'm not sure if I see what you're getting at," the Rock-Type answered. "I was being a good 'mon there, and having Company lavenders doesn't preclude me from that."

"That's my _point._ I don't really know about everything that goes on here in this town, but maybe the best thing to do for now is to just do what you can along with those Pokémon like you," Kiran explained. "To show by example to the Pokémon in this town that there _are_ souls in the ranks who aren't just out to squeeze them for berries and Thalers, and cut deals with pirates for short-term peace."

"Is that what they've been doing where you're stationed?" Kellner asked.

"Er… well, we _try_..." Crom began, only to pause and remember a promise they had made to Margi and Daraen. A promise to clear their names, and to do the right thing while in Company lavenders.

"Uh… actually," he murmured "There was kinda something about the 'doing what we could' that we needed a little help with."

"Care to elaborate?" the Rock-Type pressed.

"Well, before we pulled into port here, we made a stop at Boisocéan," the little Druddigon answered. "When we were there, we ran into a Marked Hydreigon who was packing up to leave because of a Commissioner who falsely accused her of piracy."

"Wait a minute, but I've _seen_ this bounty before," the pterosaur replied, giving a skeptical raise of his brow. "You're telling me that it's a false accusation?"

"I know it sounds ridiculous, but that's really what happened!" Crom insisted. "And that Hydreigon said that she got a bounty issued against her as revenge and that she was having to fly away with her child-"

"I will see what I can do about it," Kellner interrupted.

"Huh?"

Crom and the others noticed then that a serious look had swept over the Aerodactyl's face. The pterosaur grit his teeth in indignation, and his eyes burned with a fiery determination at the young dragon's words.

"The Hydreigon. Even if she's guilty as charged, her child shouldn't be brought into this at all," he growled. "I might not be that high up in the ranks, but I can still point out a flawed bounty when I see one!"

"It really _would_ mean a lot," Pladur said.

"Well, then don't worry about it," the Aerodactyl insisted. "It's something that I can handle."

The Rock-Type turned and spread his wings for take-off, only to pause and falter. The creature had gave a skeptical, hesitant glance, but after a moment, the creature shook his head and turned back to face the four Pokémon of the Siglo Swellow.

"Actually… since you seem to be trying to doing your own part to try and do what's right in those lavenders…" Kellner began. "There _was_ one other thing that I might be able to help with."

"How so?" Ander asked.

"I overheard the Cubone chattering among themselves on the way back to the Mystery Dungeon. One of them mentioned that that 'Pleo' Pokémon you were looking for earlier moved on to Mengir," Kellner explained. "I was actually about to update the bounties at the main hall with that information so the wannabe bounty hunters on the force would get back to work and leave the townsfolk be."

As soon as the words left Kellner's maw, the four members of the Siglo Swellow jumped with a start. Crom, Kiran, Ander, and Pladur all chattered wildly and incredulously at the implications of the Aerodactyl's discovery.

"Ah! Those Cubone _were_ hiding something!" Kiran squawked. To the side, Crom sidled up against his father and tugged at his arm curiously.

"Wait, Mengir?" Crom whispered.

"It's a sleepy island that lies closer to Cradle's edge than most others," Pladur explained. "A lot of storms blow in there from the Wastes."

"I'll admit, it's not the most solid of leads," the Aerodactyl replied. "But I figured that if anyone needed the advance notice, it would be you."

"There's supposed to be a morning fog tonight," Ander said. "If we start loading now, we might be able to beat it out of port."

"Right!" Pladur cried. "I'll go tell Captain Beatrix!"

As the Fraxure hurried off, Kiran turned back to give his thanks to the Aerodactyl, who now seemed unburdened of his earlier gloom.

"Thank you so much for that, Kellner," the Swellow chirped. "You don't know how important this i-"

"Hey!"

Before the Swallow Pokémon could finish with his thanks, he was cut off by the sudden arrival of Natrix and Philips. The Servine and Raichu duo casually carried along the docks waving to Crom and his companions up ahead, and turned to notice that their acquaintance from the grounds had come by again.

"What's all the fuss here about?" Natrix asked.

"Yeah, and where's Pladur? Philips added.

"Kellner here just told us where Pleo and the others are!" Crom exclaimed. "He's out at Mengir Island!"

At once, the color began to drain from the pair's faces and the two went rigid and wide-eyed, as if they had seen a ghost.

"He's… out on Mengir?" Philips murmured.

"What's with that look? It's great news, isn't it?" Crom said. "Now we know where they are!"

"Well, we heard around the docks that there was a suspicious ship spotted offshore, until it set off eastward around sundown!" the Servine exclaimed.

"Wait, but why is that an issue for us?" Ander asked.

"Because when Natrix and I thought that maybe the ship would be a lead, we asked around ships who had come and gone recently," the Raichu answered. "And we found out that Lyn's ship left just before that shady ship did, and going the same route!"

Crom, Kiran and Ander blanched as an awful realization began to dawn on them. Pleo was out on Mengir Island, which was east of Kenobi, but if Lyn was also heading eastward...

Then he too had discovered where Team Traveller fled to.

"We need to get moving," Kiran murmured. "We need to tell the rest of the crew about Lyn. Pat should be back by now, so we can push the ship off and-"

"Why are you in such a rush?"

The team froze and stared blankly for a moment, realizing that in their rush to get moving they had just blurted out everything in front of Kellner. Crom turned to the Aerodactyl with an expression that betrayed his discomfort with further questioning, and attempted to stammer a response to deflect his curiosity.

"Uhm… er… that's because..." Crom began. The little dragon tried to come up with some excuse, only to keep fumbling over his words, lacking the gift of gab that Guildmaster Hatteras might have had.

"Because…"

"It has to do with those bounties, doesn't it? Is there something wrong with what's written?"

"Huh?!"

"Were the others also falsely accused?" the Aerodactyl demanded.

"Yeah, they were," Kiran answered. "And if we don't catch them _first_ , their lives are going to get ruined over stuff they never did!"

"And you're off to go and try to do something about it?"

At that, Kiran and the others remained there in silence, trading anxious, intent looks with the Aerodactyl. The fossil Pokémon looked at one and another for a moment, then craned his head and gazed away from them.

"Well, I'll let you get to it. After all, I'm going to need all the help doing the right thing from inside the service that I can get, aren't I?"

The team let out a collective sigh of relief, giving their thanks to the Travellers above that Kellner took them at their word in spite of how outlandish it must have seemed to him.

"Thanks Kellner," Crom nodded. "We won´t let you down! We promise!"

Kellner watched as the Pokemon from the Siglo Swellow waved him off and ran down the docks. As the group faded into the busy masses, the Aerodactyl turned to go back to his same old post, to the same old job, on the same old schedule...

Except, for the first time in ages, he went back with hopeful spirits and the wind under his wings.

* * *

"Ow! That hurts!"

The sound of a startled cry came from the lonely sea rocks offshore Mengir, as Pleo sat on the worn sea stone catching his breath with the rest of Team Traveler as they recovered from their splashdown. The young Lugia hastily jerked his left wing back against his body and gave a fussy glare at Trizano before nudging at it with his beak as his teammates watched under the light of a waxing moon, Guardia taking particular care to shift her gaze from it. The Skarmory guide tilted his head and gave a final inspection at the injured wing before shaking his head with a sigh.

"It looks like our little escape might have worsened your sprain," he said. "It's nothing that won't get better with a little time, but you really do need to stay off your wings for a few days."

"Eh?" Guardia asked. "But if his wings were really so bad, how come he was able to fly us all this time? How come he didn't crash as soon as he jumped from the wall-hole?"

"Well, I didn't really notice how much it hurt until I couldn't hear the song anymore," Pleo answered, casting a glance back at the storm continuing to recede in the background. Nida flicked her ears puzzledly and cast a glance over at the dark clouds in the distance, when a realization caught her.

"Pleo didn't seem to have any trouble up until the storm started to let up," she murmured. "I mean, it sounds kinda crazy, but what if there really is some sort of 'song of storms' that he can hear?"

"So then he really _is_ a god of storms," Guardia murmured. As the Cubone gaped and prodded awedly at the young Lugia before her, Elty's expression started to turn sour. The Growlithe realized that there was a huge complication for the team's efforts to leave Mengir for a safer place, one to which there didn't seem to be any immediate solutions...

"Well _that's_ just great," Elty huffed. "But how exactly does that help us get away when the _mewa_ can't fly?"

"That's where _I_ come in," Dimitri said. "Trizano told me you four needed a dive down to the Subway."

Elty's ears instantly flattened out along with a disgusted "Ugh, are we _really_ doing this?" at the mention of the Subway, as his teammates gave puzzled glances at the horseshoe crab. Guardia in particular seemed to be a bit unnerved at the idea of diving, which prompted her to press a bit more about this 'dive'.

"Dive? As in in the _water?_ " she demanded accusingly. "Just where are you taking us?"

"Hm? Don't you know what the Subway is, _yashcherka?_ " the Kabutops asked. "It's a network of air tunnels on the seafloor for airbreathers like you. After accounting for changes in air pressure, I should be able to get you there in seven to eight minutes."

"S-Seven to eight _minutes?!_ " she cried, hoisting her bone defensively. " _M-Masaka!_ We'll _drown_ before you get us down there!"

"Don't be so sure about that," Trizano answered. "Any diver who would be willing to take passengers knows how to use Dive and form an air bubble. Care to give them them a demonstration, Dimitri?"

"With pleasure," the Water-Type chittered.

Dimitri leapt into the water and began to swim in a circling arc around the sea rocks as his bag clung to his back plates. After the seas calmed for a moment, the Kabutops began to cut through the water faster, leaving a growing bubbly trail in his wake.

Elty and Guardia traded puzzled stares with each other, only for Dimitri to swing around and suddenly throw his scythes out in a spreading motion. The bubbly wake suddenly opened up into a large trough that the crab swam down, which with a great crash closed over him.

"Oh yeah, _that's_ real confidence inspiring," Elty snorted, only to be cut off by an excited chirp.

"Wait! Elty, look!"

The little Lugia gestured with his healthy wing at a small trail of bubbles reaching the surface. Below them swam the form of Dimitri, bobbing along with a much bigger bubble attached to his back.

The four stared mesmerized, as the shape came back up from the depths, and the bubble burst as the horseshoe crab reached the surface.

"See, nothing to fear," he insisted, before moving a scythe under his mouth and giving his head a puzzled tilt. "Er… once I figure out how to _fit_ all of you on my back."

Team Traveller looked at each other hesitantly, unsure what to do. Undaunted, Trizano ruffled his feathers and cleared his throat.

"Hrm… Well... I remember that in my past travels, I occasionally ran into Pokémon who would form towers atop each other so they could pool their strengths when exploring," he said. "If _you_ did that, you'd easily fit on Dimitri's back!"

"Sounds more like a great way for someone to drown," Elty spat. "If we all made a tower, we wouldn't be able to fit inside some dinky bubble!"

"Eh?" Pleo asked. "But wouldn't you just be riding me like always?"

Elty blinked before folding his ears back out of embarrassment. How had the _mewa_ thought of that on the spot but not him?

"Oh, so _that's_ what you meant," the Growlithe sheepishly replied. "Well, I _guess_ it could work …"

Dimitri lowered himself against the rocks to allow Pleo to latch onto him. The little Lugia pushed Dimitri's bag up along his shoulders to provide a resting place for his head, and struggled for a moment to put his left wing in place. Afterward, Nida, Elty, and Guardia made their way onto Pleo's back and hunkered down, just in case Dimitri's bubble was smaller than expected. As the vampire crab flattened out and pushed off into the choppy waters to circle the rock, Pleo looked back at Trizano on the stone outcropping… and shifted uncomfortably as a nagging worry surfaced back up to his mind.

"What about Salvini...?" he murmured.

Pleo and his companions listened for some reassurance from Trizano, only for the Steel-Type to remain speechless, a serious look coming over his eyes. Nida and the others were quick to see this as a signal that, in the end, something had gone wrong. They traded concerned looks with each other, until Pleo turned his attention back to the Immortal.

"Trizano?" Pleo pressed.

"She took a risk to help you all escape…" he finally admitted.

"Eh?!" the Lugia cried. "You mean she's in trouble?!"

"But we can't just leave her like that!" Nida exclaimed.

"Fear not. The Immortal Trizano doesn't forget a Pokémon in need," the Skarmory reassured. "If I can help her, I will. But if I can't…"

The Skarmory shook his head and ruffled his feathers uncomfortably, evidently thinking of all the same what-ifs that were troubling Team Traveller.

"You need to honor her wishes," he said. "And make the most of the risk that she took for you."

Nida and the rest of the team lowered their heads and assumed the certainty of the situation, ones more than the others. Pleo shifted uneasily, reminded of how others had put themselves on the line for him.

"I don't know what we can really do anymore," Elty answered. "But we'll try."

"Yeah, for the _Juptile_ 's sake…" Guardia began. The Cubone trailed off until, all of a sudden she noticed something amiss with Trizano's left wing. Hadn't that Darzin _majū_ hit it with a burning punch earlier? But the wing looked flawless, with nary a sign of any scorching or melting to be seen!

"Eh?! Your wing!" the Ground-Type cried. "I thought that it got burned earlier!"

"Now that she mentions it," Dimitri said, giving a puzzled tilt of his head. "I could've sworn that your tail feathers were messed up, too."

The Skarmory looked down at his mysteriously healed wing and tail and gave a bemused, knowing shake of his head.

"An Immortal can't divulge all of his secrets. I will say though, that you four have already seen a glimpse of the truth back in that Mystery Dungeon," he replied. "I'll explain when our paths cross again, and knowing your friend, they _will_ cross again. But until then…"

Trizano turned to glance back at the island they had escaped, the silhouettes of its needle-like peaks coming into view with the moonlight as the storm began to slowly recede.

"I have a partner to try and help," he said. "Farewell, fellow Hunters."

"Goodbye, and thank you," Pleo replied.

The Skarmory gave one last wave, before turning around and flying off back towards Mengir and the storm. Dimitri began his journey away from the rocks, weaving here and there in search for stiller waters. During the journey, the Kabutops noticed that his passengers had grown quiet, prompting him to look over his shoulder in concern. There, he saw Guardia fixing her gaze on the churning sea below as Nida, Elty, and Pleo looked back and watching intently as their metal rescuer flew back against the moonlight for the stone-spired island in the distance.

"What exactly did he mean by that bit about you 'seeing a glimpse of the truth' anyways?" the Kabutops asked.

"Err... well..." Nida began.

"Ah, don't sweat it," the fossil crab sighed. "I'll have plenty of time to ask once we get you out of here."

Dimitri's pace suddenly picked up in the water and the team began to notice a trail of bubbles in his wake. The Kabutops swung around and spread out his scythes, causing the four to hunker down as they suddenly felt their carrier's body drop.

_SPLOOSH_

The four flinched as they heard a watery crash overhead, only for the expected cold, wet seawater to never come. They looked up and saw that a translucent, ebbing bubble had formed overhead, just large enough to accommodate the group. Guardia hunkered down uneasily against Pleo's plumes as her teammates peered on above, the three gazing as the moon and stars faded away as they went further into the deep.

* * *

Around midnight, the sea fog started to form in wisps offshore Kenobi, and the lavender sails of the Siglo Swellow were raised and the craft set off. The shipyards on the atoll grew smaller and smaller until they were but a few flecks of grey and brown against the backdrop of a pair of green and golden-brown mounds. The deck hummed with activity as lavender-scared Pokémon moved back and fro, and the craft bobbed along the sea current that would take them to Mengir.

Unbeknownst to the merry crew, off on the horizon, a two-masted caravel with golden sails was lurking in wait behind them. Its captain: a glowering Aggron peering through a scope at the edge of a railing as some of his underlings traded traded skeptical looks and unenthusiastic grumbles.

"Captain, why are we still here?" Rodion said. "Wasn't our port call in Andaku _enough_ humiliation?"

Hess' memories of the debacle that 'press ganging' turned into unwelcomely returned to his mind, as that Druddigon brat from earlier flickered across the lens of his scope. Even before that fateful visit to Tromba, life had been precarious and lurching from one debacle to another, but the repeated encounters with those Pokémon had just made things much worse.

As if losing a dozen underlings wasn't enough, Hess was now indebted to the shopkeepers of Andaku, and he had had to part with all the extra loot that hadn't been split with the crew... in what was merely the first of a long schedule of future payments.

Hess followed Crom on his scope... just for a little longer, letting out a growl. That haul he had taken from Tromba could have been his breakthrough to moving on up in Orleigh… Probably. Maybe. But thanks to those meddling kids, he would never know!

They had to pay. Life had to pay. But now, he could do something about it, and he felt like being the one doing the collecting this time.

"That's _exactly_ why we're following them," the Aggron growled. "We're getting _even!_ "

"With a _Company_ ship?!" a Hoppip with a fresh Iron Fleet scarf cried.

"Captain, you can't possibly think that's a good idea," a Seadra insisted from the water. "Company ships are tough prey even for better crews than us!"

The Steel-Type gave an irked snarl which rapidly shut up the chorus of protests. After winning a reprieve, the Aggron shook his head and began to address his crew.

"That's _not_ a Company ship!" he huffed. "It's a _fake_ run by those twerps that got us into trouble earlier!"

To his dismay, the Aggron's insistence was met by disinterested groans and unamused stares. Even the new dragonfly, wolf, and the little bone-headed monster didn't seem to be enthused by the suggestion. Then… maybe they all just needed a little motivation to get whipped into shape...

"Don't you get it? This is our chance to show that we won't just _take_ getting humiliated like that!" Hess bellowed. "That the Iron Fleet doesn't take getting made to look like a bunch of fools by a crew of nobodies!"

_Chirp chirp chirp_

The intended rousing speech seemed to miss its mark, an awkward silence filling the air instead. The sole disruption to the quiet was a lone Kricketot obliviously humming in the corner until a Pawniard prodded the Bug-Type for silence.

"Psst, Chirpy!" the Pawniard hissed. "Knock it off, you're making the boss look bad!"

The cricket hissed back at the Dark-Type before bringing his chirping to a halt, throwing the gathering back into silence. Hess's smile froze on his face, as the Aggron slowly sucked in a breath through gritted teeth. He dropped the expression, shaking his head as he tried to connect with them a different way.

"... also, we'll split the loot we grab from them on the way back to Orleigh over rum," the Aggron sighed.

"Now _that's_ more like it!"

"Yeah, can't go wrong with some extra pay on the way back to Rosequartz Town!"

"And we can clear out their rum for some refreshments after our work's done!"

The Aggron buried his face in a palm at how easily his crew got persuaded over a promise of a few bottles of rum. Well, it was _one_ way of getting them motivated… Though he would have to do something about his crew's misplaced priorities.

But that could wait. The Steel-Type felt his Mistral Marauder lurch forward, and gusts of wind fill his sails as they shadowed the lavender-sailed ship ahead. All that was left was to follow those chumps, and keep an eye open. Eventually the conditions would be right- they would grow groggy, they would become too tired, or too dumbfounded by what lied ahead of them to remember to check their backs.

"It's _payback_ time, twerps."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _Seguimi!_ \- Italian: "Follow me!"  
>  \- _Dobre li si? (Добрe ли си?)_ \- Bulgarian: "Are you alright?" / "Are you okay?" (BGN/PCGN Romanization)  
>  \- _(¡)Venga, vamos!_ \- Spanish: "Come on, let's go!"  
>  \- _Bądź tu mądry_ \- Polish: Expression roughly analogous to "Go figure", lit. "Be smart"  
>  \- _Stiga! (Стига!)_ \- Bulgarian: "Enough!" Interjection. (BGN/PCGN Romanization)  
>  \- _yashcherka (ящeрка)_ \- Russian: "lizard" (BGN/PCGN Romanization)  
>  \- _Masaka (_ _まさか_ _)_ \- Japanese: Interjection communicating disbelief. Used here to roughly mean "No way!" (Hepburn Romanization)


	41. Under the Sea

As clouds obscured the moon and stars from the night sky, Nagant's frigate powered through the choppy waves in the southern sections of the Spear Stream, the green-sanded shores of Mengir Island beginning to poke over the horizon. Although it blotted out the expected waxing moon for the season, the blanket of clouds provided much-needed cover for the ship and its teeming deck. Every deck hand's claws were occupied, including those of the Clawlitzer perched on her tail at the bow of the ship, peering intently through a scope that had been mounted onto the railing.

Through the spyglass, Nagant spotted a large three-masted vessel bearing lavender sails approaching a needle-spired island flecked with faint lantern-lights and a few signaling flares lit on bluffs. Ahead of the ship and near the town was the form of a metal, flying creature, most likely a ship notary. The shrimp watched as the ship pulled along into port and movement broke out along its deck, before giving a low grunt and hopping back to her feet to scuttle back to a waiting Beedrill with an indigo scarf bearing a twin-leaved design.

"Have the anchor dropped and get everyone around the bridge," the Clawitzer huffed to the Beedrill. "I have an announcement to make before heading ashore, and I only want to give it _once._ "

The hornet buzzed back an affirming 'aye, Captain' and quickly barked out orders to the other Pokémon as the crustacean made her way back to the ship's bridge. Along the way, the splash of the stone anchor hitting the water rang out, and the escorting flyers and swimmers quickly whipped up currents and gusts to slow the ship to a halt. As the deck settled, the various Pokémon aboard began to crowd around the bridge to hear their captain speak. The escorts in the sky and sea also began to take their places, including a Tentacruel and Sharpedo who sidled up against the ship with their peers looking up curiously.

"I wonder what this is about?" the Sharpedo began, only to be cut off by a shush from the Tentacruel.

"Katyusha, just listen up!" she chided. "It's probably something important!"

The Clawitzer clambered onto a barrel and hopped up onto her tail, propping herself up to better see her audience. The shrimp cleared her throat, and shook her head as she began to speak.

"It looks like the leads I picked up from that hive of scum and villainy _were_ worth something," she began. "Commissioner Lyn is pulling into port on Mengir right as we speak."

The Water-Type looked around and scowled after noticing that a perturbingly large number of blank and puzzled stares were floating around the gathered sailors, as they wondered aloud as to who this 'Lyn' was.

"Er… who is he again?" a Lampent asked.

"Well he's a Company Commissioner," an Aipom answered.

"I know _that_ , but what's that have to do with the 'god' we're following?" the Lampent chastised.

"For those of you who need a _reminder_ ," the crustacean hissed, "'Commissioner Lyn' is currently our path to finding out _where_ this god the Company is pursuing is."

Nagant flexed her firing claw, aiming it into the air before bringing it back to her side with a determined gaze.

"He's a petulant Company pup who's gotten a bit lucky over the years," the Water-Type scoffed. "And I'll be heading in to try and put a damper on that for Queen and Country."

"And due compensation, I take it?" Niilo asked.

The shrimp paused at the Sandslash's words and thought of the Marchioness title she had coveted since her family's house had come crashing down so many years ago. A sea god would be but a trifle for climbing the nobles' hierarchy, and it would finally give her the chance to set fate's cruel caprices right. With a playful twitch of her feelers, a small smile began to spread over the sea bug's mandibles as she continued on.

"Well, something coming my way out of it wouldn't hurt either," the Clawitzer replied. "I _might_ have something in mind for myself."

"And the rest of us too," Niilo shot in. "Right Captain Nug-?"

The Sandslash heard a loud thump and jumped back with a start after seeing that the captain was leveling her shooting claw at him, and giving a withering glare.

"Finish that statement, and the only compensation you'll be getting from me is a night licking wounds in the sick bay, Niilo!" she hissed. From the water, a bobbing Tentacruel and Sharpedo watched as the pangolin jumped back and hastily darted deeper into the crowd. As the shrimp eased back into her speaking stance, a question began to flicker across the Sharpedo's mind.

"So, you're headed out alone here?" she asked. "Or-"

" _No_ , and that brings me to the real order of business," Nagant huffed. "I'm going to need a _team_ for infiltrating, just like in our run into Kenobi. This isn't exactly Boisocéan with its neutral territory."

"Aha! So that's where 'mons like me get to shine again!" the Tentacruel cheered.

"And the rest of us are watching the ship out here, I presume?" the ship's Beedrill first mate asked.

"No. You're going to Otvaga with the ship," the shrimp corrected. "The rest of us will travel in a caravan and meet up with you there when our business is done here in Fensedge."

" _Mwo?!_ But Captain!" the Bug-Type buzzed startledly. "Why on earth would you want us to pull the ship in a full day away from you?!"

As if in answer, a gust kicked up a high wave out of nowhere, rocking the ship and knocking most of the startled crew off of their feet.

" _That's_ why, Jun!" Nagant grunted. "Remember this place gets storms frequently!"

"That's… fair enough," the Beedrill said, shaking his head. "Though you _will_ be keeping our lack of proximity in mind, yes?"

"Was that really a question?" the Clawitzer replied. "After all, I already have candidates for this run in mind…"

She searched the crowd for the Pokémon she was thinking of, before settling her gaze upon a Ponyta pawing at the deck with his hooves.

"Berecien," Nagant ordered, gesturing at the Fire-Type. "Grab some red and white dye with the others and throw it over that scarf of yours, you're coming along."

"Mrph, right!"

"Niilo, since you like being a smart alec tonight, _you_ can help dig us a way in once we hit land!" she barked, turning her gaze to a Sandslash now buried in the middle of the crowd. "And _don't_ ask me about pay until after we get back!"

"Blurgh… tell me that you're at least going to let me start once we're away from the seashore," the Sandslash grumbled.

Nagant continued to rattle off names, pointing out one Pokémon after another in the gathered crowd. The courier Drifblim floating lazily among the masts, a Bewear lurking at the back of the gathering, a Gorebyss from the sea escorts…

The Clawitzer's pace slowed and she grew more deliberate as her choices narrowed down to one final candidate, the shrimp casting a brief glance at an expectantly waiting Tentacruel in the sea.

"-aaaand… Cabot," the Water-Type said, pointing out a Cranidos in the front row. "I want you on point with Berecien. If your family's skills at box busting rubbed off on you at all, we'll need them."

"Aye aye!" the dinosaur cheered. "It'll be a pleasu-"

"Wait!"

A flustered, gurgling cry came out beside the ship, as the Tentacruel from the water waved her tentacles desperately for attention.

"Captain Nu- er… Nagant, aren't you forgetting someone?" the jellyfish insisted. The Poison-Type's eyes brightened, as she gave an innocent stroke at her bell with her tentacles, only for Nagant's expression to remain firm and unmoved.

"No, I don't believe I am, Cyanea," the Clawitzer replied. The Tentacruel blinked and bobbed silently in shock, before shaking her bell and hastily raising a tentacle in spluttering protest.

"But- But I was part of your Kenobi team!" the jellyfish exclaimed. "And I've been a solid team player on every mission I've taken!"

"Yes, and I'm aware of that, Cyanea," Nagant sighed. "And I need your talents to stay and defend the ship."

"B-but I've got one of the best records on the sea team! And-"

"And _I'm_ the Captain!" the Clawitzer bellowed. "And _I_ say that you defend the ship and let _everyone_ do their share instead of showboating!"

An uneasy silence filled the air as Nagant and Cyanea traded piercing glares with each other, neither willing to back down from their stand. The Beedrill first mate saw the barbels on his captain's whiskers twitch and Cyanea's tentacles began to tense in anticipation, prompting the Bug-Type to hastily intervene with a buzz before the two could get physically aggressive.

"Look at it this way, Cyanea. I could use your help in keeping this hull in one piece in Captain Nagant's absence," Jun offered. "And besides, if too many Pokémon get spotted repeatedly popping in and out of Company ports, it raises the risks of getting exposed."

The Tentacruel sank into the seawater, blowing huffy bubbles that reached up to the surface before she grudgingly answered the Beedrill.

"Ugh… _otlichno_ ," the Poison-Type muttered. Nagant rolled her eyes, before turning back to address a team of infiltrators who were just finishing up the process of changing into white and red scarves.

"Let's get a move on!" she snapped. "That Commissioner isn't going to be taking his time with that god!"

The Clawitzer hopped over to the railing and sprung off into the water. The team of saltire-patterned Pokémon followed suit, fliers heading out over the water, and more land-bound members carefully clambering down onto waiting swimmers.

As Nagant and her team of fellow infiltrators swam off for Mengir in the distance, Jun called out to get the ship moving. The anchor was raised, the sails lowered, and the ship lurched forward. The frigate turning around in a wide arc charted for Otvaga Island. The sea escorts moved along with their craft, including a still-fuming Cyanea who trailed the ship's wake along with Katyusha.

"I can't believe she snubbed me like that!" the Tentacruel grumbled. "How can that old shrimp be so stubborn?!"

"Lighten up a little, Cyanea, think on the bright side!" the Sharpedo reassured. "We get to slack off for a few days while Captain Nugget's in port!"

" _Not helping_ , Katyusha!"

* * *

Out in the sea between Mengir and Otvaga, Dimitri continued his dive down deeper into the water, much as he'd done many times before. This time, his journey included four passengers on a bubble on his back. In spite of their perch being the same size as Pleo's flights into the sky, Team Traveller's journey underwater felt a lot more claustrophobic than usual. As the scythed crab made his way further and further into the deep, the four noticed that their air bubble was slowly but surely shrinking, an unnerving experience that was only worsened by the groaning from their Growlithe teammate.

"Ugh... are we there ye-?"

Before Elty could finish his complaint, he felt a dull blow against the back of his head and yelped. After turning his head back, he saw the scowling Cubone just behind him pulling her club back from a fresh swat.

"Oi, weren't you the one who told _me_ to stop asking that in the air?!" Guardia fumed. "Now it's _your_ turn to shut your trap!"

The clash between the bone lizard's indignance and the little dog's discomfort quickly dissolved into heated bickering. Nida lowered her ears and buried her face in her paws at her teammates' antics, only for things to settle once the Kabutops cleared his throat and spoke up.

"Easy! Easy! We're almost there!" Dimitri reassured. "Sorry if this was taking longer than you expected... The water gets denser the further down you go, so we have to take our time to let the air in that bubble adjust."

The crab continued on as the already scant light from the sky above grew dimmer and dimmer with the water's depth. A few shapes moved through the water, some lazily along, a few abruptly swimming away after being passed. Were those ferals? What would happen if one of them attacked them in the middle of their dive?

As paranoid and frightful possibilities popped into the minds of Team Traveller's fraught and harried members, Guardia began to notice that strangely enough, there were faint lights coming from below. The creature squinted, and saw that the lights seemed to be getting closer.

"Eh?! What's that down there?" she cried, pointing her club off at the faint lights.

Her teammates peered off after her club and squinted as well, though it was not until a little while later that they too saw a trail of yellowish flecks of light. Evidently, the _Gardie_ and spike lump weren't able to see ahead as well as she could. The lights dimly lit up parallel rows of seaweed on opposite sides of a long tube that snaked along the seafloor.

The Kabutops lowered himself down towards the tube, and Team Traveller began to see the water outside thicken with small bubbles. Strangely enough, the walls of the tunnel didn't seem rigid, but shifted slightly to and fro in the currents of the water. After a careful peck at the wall of their air pocket, and a glance at the tube below, Pleo suddenly realized that the 'tube' was…

"Ah! It's a giant bubble!" the Lugia exclaimed. "And those plant things are making all those little ones!"

"Wait, but why is it there?" Nida asked.

"That's the Subway," the Kabutops replied. "It's how Pokémon like you are able to breathe while visiting Pokémon like us down here."

Dimitri began to circle over a section of the tube and swim around cautiously, carefully eyeing the tube-bubble below him. By chance, his scythe happened to poke the wall of the tunnel, which sent a small spigot of water inside before he yanked it back with a start.

"Er… oops," the crustacean murmured. "The whole 'getting in' part is the trickiest bit."

Elty and Guardia shifted uncomfortably at the sight of the pool of water in the tunnel slowly receding into the sand underfoot. If a little knick was able to do that… what would an entire group of five Pokémon do to it?

"But you caused a leak just by touching it!" Guardia exclaimed. "How are _we_ supposed to get in like that?"

"Yeah, you're supposed to take us to a hideout, not drown us!" Elty yipped, folding his ears back at the sight of the water in the tunnel.

"It'll be fine!" the crab insisted. "I've done this before!"

The four Pokémon turned uneasily to each other, looking at the water all around them. After a long pause, Nida twitched her whiskers anxiously and finally broke the silence…

"A-Alright…" Nida answered uneasily. "Take us in!"

"Mrph, right!" Dimitri grunted back. "Just hold tight for a minute…"

The crab began to sidle over the top of the tube, and aligned himself carefully with the bubble wall. The creature paused and treaded water, before dropping down. There was the sound of a splash, the smack of seawater, and a hard landing which made the horseshoe crab's passengers cling on for dear life.

And then, the feeling of water dripping off of them, and the realization that there was now a much larger and taller bubble overhead lined by rows of seaweed.

"Ah!" Nida squeaked. "We made it in!"

The Nidoran turned and chanced to see Elty and Guardia panting, wide-eyed. After realizing that they had passed through, the pair's demeanors changed, with Elty's expression starting to slip into one of annoyed disgust.

"I thought Pokémon came down here to _not_ get drenched," Elty groaned. The Fire-Type flicked some seawater off of his forepaws, as Guardia looked around uneasily at her surroundings.

"The colony's lore never said anything about there being places like this..." she murmured.

Pleo let go of Dimitri and, after a few false starts, hopped onto the soggy ground. The young Lugia lowered himself and let his weary passengers dismount, flopping forward onto the Subway's floor out of exhaustion. One-by-one, the lot shook themselves dry and began to scrape wet sand off their bodies, their Kabutops guide coming from behind to gently nudge them back up to their feet.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Dimitri cheered. "Come on, let's get you all over to that station so you can rest. You all look like you could use it."

The fossil Pokémon scuttled ahead, leading Nida, Pleo, Elty, and Guardia to shuffle off along the tunnel. As the five carried along, they looked about their surroundings, mesmerized. All the while, Pleo looked off at the water above him and over at his companions' tense steps, wondering why it was that his friends' awe at the pretty little passage seemed to be tinged with disbelief. Even so, one question lingered on, which Guardia eventually managed to articulate to the rest of the group.

"How is this _possible_ though?" Guardia asked. "How could there be a space with _air_ all the way at the bottom of the sea?"

"By grinding up aircrystals and spreading it along paths like these," Dimitri answered. "Just like any other route down here in the Subway."

"Aircrystals?" Pleo wondered.

"They're crystals that form in stones and the like in Mystery Dungeons out here in the sea," the fossil Pokémon replied. "They attract air bubbles that, with a little creative arrangement, can form passages big enough for surface dwellers like you to breathe in."

"What's up with this _kaisō_ here, then?" Guardia wondered. "It's making bubbles, too. Doesn't that have some part in it?"

"That's right," Dimitri confirmed. "It's called bubbleweed for a reason. When you grow seaweed on top of seabed treated with aircrystal, some of it gets embedded in the leaves, and the air that bubbles out helps keep these tunnels steady."

The vampire crab paused at a clump of seaweed along the edge of the tunnel and stuck a scythe through the lining. With a swift flick, the creature took in a spurt of water, along with a few laminae, still bubbling in the water they lay in as Team Traveller gathered around to curiously eye and poke at the detached blades of seaweed.

"See? Like that. And they _do_ have uses beyond helping to anchor Subway routes down here," he said. "If you're ever in a pinch and wind up stuck outside one of the tunnels, keep one wrapped over your snout and you'll be able to breathe for a couple minutes, even if it smells like seaweed."

"Ugh, thanks for convincing me to never come back here," Elty spat. The team continued on, clambering up a portion of rocks which made Pleo cry out after one of the stones brushed his still-bandaged left wing. After rushing back, Nida hastily helped the little Protector along, she noticed that all along the path there hadn't been any real alcove or place to rest beyond a couple mats of dried seaweed…

Dimitri wasn't going to make them sleep in _that_ , was he?

"Er… Where exactly are we staying though?" the Nidoran asked. "I haven't seen any place so far that looks like it would be comfortable to sleep in."

"Oh, we're not staying here. It'll be up at Seaspear Station," he explained. "It's a rest stop down here in the Subway with a hostel where we can spend the night."

"Huh?!" Elty exclaimed. "Then why didn't you swim us directly there?!"

"Because I wasn't sure if your bubble would make it through the moon pool intact, and going in like we did earlier wouldn't work either. The shopowners there don't like it when you drop in and get all their customers wet," Dimitri answered, giving a sheepish tap of his scythes. "Besides, it's not that far of a walk ahead."

The group carried on up a steep slope, the tunnel switching back and forth in hairpins up a bluff. Dimitri and the children plodded up the switchbacks one by one, nearing the top of the bluff. There, they chanced to see a sleepy-looking Carracosta with a belt clinging to the creature's neck keeping watch over a bubble propped up by seaweeds flecked with yellow light. Further off in the distance, a beltless Mantine and attached Remoraid swam past casting curious glances at the space, which prompted Team Traveller to pause and peer at the bubble.

Inside the dimly lit space was the form of a vertical metal slab with damaged flaps, attached perpendicularly to another bigger slab. The four squinted at the slab with the damaged flaps, and upon closer examination found that it had fresh cutting marks at the end.

"Eh?" Guardia asked. "What's that?"

"Oh, that's a dig site that some salvager found," Dimitri replied. "It's the skeleton of a human skyship."

"Skyship?"

"A craft that humans used to soar faster than the winds far above the sea among the clouds. It's made out of all sorts of metal, including some 'aluminum' your fellow air-breathers really value," he answered. "Heh, who knows? If you do some work around here, maybe you'll be able to take a hunk and hock it when you get back up to the surface!"

The Kabutops' cheerful exclamation stung Team Traveller's ears like a Weedle's jab. Could they even go back up to the surface? After everything that had happened? It seemed that no matter where they ran, back above the waves, the Company would soon be upon them. One by one, Nida, Pleo, Elty, and Guardia began to droop and grow downcast, which did not elude their guide.

"Something the matter?" he asked.

"I'm… not sure when we _can_ go back," Nida muttered. "We've been through a lot lately…"

"Aw, come on, I'm sure it's nothing you can't handle-" the Kabutops began, only to be cut off by a Cubone piping up.

"We almost got _killed_ by a bunch of bugs! And those purple knot-necks were gonna make us pick Apricorns!" she exclaimed. "And that was just on the last island!"

"Well, if you need to stick around, I'm sure that you could find friendly fins down here," Dimitri offered.

"Ugh, talk about a fate worse than death," Elty growled. "And besides, nothing's keeping the Company from tracking us to here. They already did back at Boisocéan!"

"But there's no shortage of places around here you could stay!" the crab insisted. "I mean, sure, it's not quite as _interesting_ as your islands, but there's tons of spots you can slip to!"

"But… I won't be able to practice my powers here," Pleo murmured. "And if I don't, Nida and I won't be able to go home…"

The realization seemed to suck the oxygen out of the tunnel, quickly dispiriting the party of undersea travellers. Pleo hung his head, visibly dejected. Nida's breath slowed, her eyes widening anxiously. Guardia bowed her head in sympathy, while Elty sat down to avert his gaze in silent frustration.

"... I think your wounds must be getting to you," the Kabutops sighed. "I think we should get you some rest. The station's just over this ridge, anyways."

As the group continued along, they came to a drop where the Subway passageway entered a winding circuit down to a patch of water filled with blue flecks of light in the distance. There, amid the pale, blue glow was a tall bubble propped up by large strands of kelp and… a cluster of buildings?

"It's… an underwater town?" Guardia asked.

"I guess you could think of it like that," Dimitri said. "But you've been through a bit more than I was expecting. Why don't we all get some sleep and we'll try to tackle things on a brand-new day?

"I think we'd all like that…" Nida replied.

Dimitri continued on, prompting the children to trudge on after him for the town in the distance. Their movements came slow and labored from their aching wounds, grateful for a lull in a pursuit that had left the children ragged.

* * *

Back on Mengir Island, the storm in the sky had largely subsided, only for a storm of a completely different nature to continue brewing inside the wooden fort overlooking Fensedge Village. Within Zorn's waterlogged chamber, six Pokémon had tensely gathered on the stony outcroppings: a bound and gagged Salvini along with her teammates, a tense-looking Commander Briggs, and Darzin. The water was similarly occupied by the irkedly circling form of Mengir's Gyarados Administrator. The sea serpent stopped and reared up in his pond, lowering his head to shoot a tired and unamused glare at the Armaldo Third-Rank.

"I believe you owe me some explanations, Commander Briggs," Zorn growled. "Why you did you decide to detain those prisoners in a room of the _medic's hut?_ Why was an itinerant traveller able to foil your defenses? And how did one Pokémon you _chose_ to carry out this mission turn around and compromise it?!"

The Armaldo blanched and began to stammer the beginnings of an excuse, only to be abruptly cut off by the bellowing voice of the other Administrator in the room.

"Zorn, please. Get your facts straight," Darzin snarled. "This gecko here didn't compromise that mission, she _betrayed_ it!"

"That is _enough_ , Darzin! I was asking Briggs for his explanation!" the great fish snapped, before shifting his eyes at a still-uneasy looking sea bug.

" _Well?_ "

"Ehm... well you see Administrator, I felt that Captain Hertsog here was the best candidate for carrying out this mission, and gave him the liberty of picking out some candidates for helping him," Briggs gulped. "Obviously, some complications that neither of us were expecting came up during the mission, and I shall see to it that they are rectified _permanently._ You are of the same mind, aren't you, Hertsog?"

"Now hold on a minute, Commander!" the Fighting-Type interjected. "I think we might be getting ahead of ourselves a bit."

"Eh? What do you mean by that, Captain?" Phyllis asked.

"Yeah, Salvini here's being accused of _treason!_ " Payak exclaimed. "How much more ahead could we be getting?"

"Well, let's take a suggestion from Administrator Darzin and make sure we have our facts straight," the weasel insisted. "We know there were multiple witnesses who saw that so-called 'Immortal' helping the prisoners escape. Skarmory aren't exactly soft and cuddly creatures, and there's nothing that could have kept him from cutting those ropes himself."

"Hertsog, I know that you stand by your subordinates, but be _reasonable_ here!" Briggs snapped. "This stonewalling isn't doing either of us any good!"

"And I would appreciate if you didn't _insult my intelligence_ , Captain!" Darzin growled, angrily stamping his feet. "I _saw_ her in that room myself, and I have the marks to prove it!"

The Dragonite irately pointed at his scrape on his neck, only for the weasel to raise his palms in a calming gesture and continue on.

"Administrator Darzin, please… bear with me a moment," the creature insisted. "We know you were thrown through the window as that Skarmory fled with our targets, and the guards you fell on are still getting their wounds treated because of it. Isn't it possible that perhaps this is all a big misunderstanding?"

"I don't follow how this adds up to a misunderstanding, Captain Hertsog," Zorn said.

"If the Skarmory threw a Confuse Orb before breaking in, neither Administrator Darzin or Salvini here would necessarily be able to clearly remember what happened, and it would explain how the two wounded each other," the Mienshao reasoned. The creature paused, and looked intently down at the bound and gagged Wood Gecko.

"Is that what happened, Salvini?"

The Grass-Type gave a muffled grunt from under her gag, and lowered her head, her eyes closed. It was an explanation that _seemed_ to make sense, except the Dragonite Administrator in the room was having nothing of it.

"Don't try and worm your way out of this, you treacherous skink!" Darzin bellowed. "It was just you, me and those prisoners in that room until that blasted bird broke in!"

The Dragon-Type's words drew a noticeable pause from the Gyarados, as well as a twitch from his barbels. The fish narrowed his eyes into a skeptical glare, and turned his attention to his counterpart.

"… What were you doing there anyways, Darzin?" Zorn demanded. " _You_ had a post in Vollezee to return to. Why are you even still here?"

The Dragonite visibly froze, before giving a flustered bat of his wings and narrowing his eyes back at the Gyarados.

"Well, I've been feeling a bit under the weather since you _froze_ me a few days ago, so I've been taking some sick leave!" Darzin spat back indignantly. "I happened to be around to pick up some medicine for the cold that _you gave me._ No sense in incinerating a batch of records with a sneeze back in Vollezee."

"But if that's so, why'd you say you were coming back earlier today?" the Fighting-Type interjected. "I distinctly remember you asking about our cordon earlier this evening."

At the weasel's words, Briggs whirled to face Hertsog in a rage. The Armaldo stomped his feet and flicked his wings out, visibly seething.

"Grr... Hertsog, I told you that the mission was top secret!" Briggs hissed. "You mean to tell me that on top of everything that's happened in this debacle, you ran your mouth off about it?!"

"I did nothing of the sort!" the Mienshao snapped. "I didn't even say who we were keeping in that hut!"

Phyllis' expression turned puzzled and her ears flicked uncertainly. The marked fox looked around and pawed at the ground uneasily as she realized that in the midst of Briggs' and Hertsog's argument... something didn't seem to be adding up.

"Wait, what's the big deal about this?" Phyllis asked. "Wouldn't Administrator Darzin have known about this mission anyways from Administrator Zorn? Commander Briggs did say it was important..."

"He _wouldn't_ have, because _I_ didn't inform him of this matter," Zorn snarled. The Gyarados turned his attention to the heavy-set reptile, and reared up and craned his head down, his sharp fangs coming hovering just inches from the Dragonite's snout.

"Let me ask _you_ a question, Darzin," he demanded. "Just [i]who[i] told you where that bird and his little friends were, and _what_ were you doing in their room?"

The Dragon-Type froze and blanched, as he quickly realized there really wasn't a good reason for him to know about their location… or at least not one that wouldn't instantly draw suspicion from the glaring Gyarados.

"I… Uh… Er…"

"Let _me_ put a possibility forward," the sea serpent growled. "What if it wasn't Salvini who was cutting those ropes? What if, for whatever daft reason _you_ decided that you needed those prisoners for yourself?"

"Z-Zorn, th-that's preposterous!" Darzin exclaimed. "I'm a _member of the Board!_ "

"One with a tenuous future, and I wasn't finished speaking, Darzin," Zorn spat. "If you _did_ have a reason for wanting them for yourself, and it was just you and that Grovyle there, what would be there to stop you? She'd be easy for you to overpower, and the story of a traitorous subordinate would form a plausible alibi."

"Th-This is ridiculous!" Darzin spluttered. "Are you seriously doubting _my_ word over that of some First-Rank gecko?!"

Zorn glowered back at the Dragon-Type, giving a low growl. Considering how tenuous Darzin's position was, there was certainly _reason_ to doubt his word over a First-Rank's. At the same time, laying out accusations of sedition and subversion would telegraph weakness among the Company to the Empire, a dangerous move to be made on such scant evidence…

Then that left only one answer, along with one solution.

"… No, I'm not," the fish answered. "Though I _do_ think there's reason to think that these findings are inconclusive. As such, I will have to hand down a verdict accordingly."

"Huh?" Payak asked. "But sir, if things are inconclusive, why are you handing down a verdict?"

"Because there's been _obvious malfeasance_ at all levels of this operation," the Gyarados growled. "Darzin, you can count that I will be reporting these… _irregularities_ to the rest of the Board."

"Grr…"

The sea serpent watched as the Dragonite balled his claws and started to fume. In spite of his protest, the Dragon-Type seemed content enough to let the matter lie, which prompted Zorn to turn his attention to an anxious-looking Armaldo.

"Briggs," Zorn said. " _You_ can look forward to me re-evaluating your current position in the near future."

"A-Aah!" the anomalocaris cried. "But Administrator, I-!"

"Signed off on a structurally flawed team for this mission," the Water-Type finished. "And we lost high-value detainees because of it!"

The Armaldo stood stammering in shock, staring off blankly as the Administrator's words sank in. Unfazed, the sea serpent turned his attention to the bound and gagged Grovyle before him.

"And as for _you_ …"

Salvini felt her blood run cold as she watched Zorn's hulking form lurch over through the water. The Administrator craned his maw down, and moved his teeth to the Grass-Type's snout as she stared ahead, her limbs frozen and eyes widened…

And then his jaws shut, soon followed by the feeling of a jerking motion…

_Rrrrrrip!_

Along with the sound of her gag being torn away.

"A-Ack!"

Zorn pulled his head back, along with the now-torn remains of Salvini's gag. The creature spat it out into the water, before turning a hardened glare back at the still wide-eyed and startled gecko.

" _You_ will be on bedrest, and reassigned by Captain Hertsog to a position outside of my jurisdiction as soon as you recover," the Gyarados said. "This incident _will_ go on your record. After all, it was _your_ handling of this situation that allowed those pirates to get away!"

"What sort of punishment is that?!" Darzin bellowed. "She committed _treason!_ "

"Administrator Zorn!" the weasel interjected. "That's-!"

"A _lenient_ sentence considering the cloud hanging over her, Captain Hertsog-" Zorn began, only to be cut off by the sound of a commotion and the sounds of the guards' voices arguing with a harsh, bellowing voice.

"I'm telling you, just give it a few more minutes!" a nervous voice stammered at the door. "Administrator Zorn is- Ack!"

"Get _out_ of my way!"

The doors were suddenly flung open, making way for a fuming Samurott to barge in and take center stage upon the wooden bridge.

"Administrator Zorn! I'm here for that bird!" Lyn bellowed. The Samurott waited, and after realizing that there was already an audience of incredulously staring Pokémon in the Gyarados' chamber, the otter looked around warily before seeking an explanation.

"What exactly is going on here?" he demanded.

"A meeting, which just ended. All of the lower-ranks here were just leaving," Zorn answered. "There's been a few... developments since you pulled ashore, ones which Darzin here will happy to _explain_ to you."

"Grr..."

Darzin gritted his teeth and seethed under his breath as the Company Pokémon hastily took their places. As Lyn made his way over, Briggs begrudgingly made his way for the door, leaving Phyllis to hastily cut Salvini's bindings with her leaves, and the gecko to stagger up and lurch for the door, escorted by her teammates. The four departed as the doors gave a heavy slam behind them, and carried on down the hallway outside the room, where they started to hear the sounds of loud and angry-sounding shouts coming from the direction of Zorn's chamber.

"Salvini... what really happened in there?" Payak asked.

"Yeah, did Administrator Darzin really try to set you up?" Phyllis questioned.

Salvini paused and shifted her gaze away. The Grass-Type wrestled with her words for a moment, before she finally answered the Ariados and Leafeon.

"It's not relevant anymore," she muttered.

"What do you mean it's not relevant anymore?!" Payak spluttered. "It's a yes or no question-!"

" _Hertsog!_ "

The four froze as the sound of heavy, plodding footsteps and angry hissing came from behind. Hertsog whirled around and watched as Commander Briggs came storming up the hallway, the anomalocaris visibly fuming.

"You just don't know when to quit, huh?!" the Armaldo snarled. "What was with that disgraceful display back there?!"

"Commander Briggs, my gut feeling gave me reason to doubt that the charges against Salvini were inaccurate," the Fighting-Type answered. "So I defended her accordingly- Gah!"

Before Hertsog could explain any further, he was cut off by a sharp pain in his gut. The weasel staggered and clutched at his abdomen as Briggs drew back a claw still trailing white sparks from it.

"Your 'gut feeling' is going to cost me my job!" Briggs hissed. "If you'd simply let that _shrub_ meet her fate, none of this would have happened!"

"Urngh… Commander, I can't let a Pokémon suffer for something they didn't do!" Hertsog countered. Any hopes the mustelid had of pacifying his superior swiftly evaporated, as the Fighting-Type's words threw the Bug-Type into a seething rage.

"Since you can't be bothered to accept reality, I'm gonna do what I [i]should[/i[ have done when you insisted on dragging that blotch-head into this matter!" Briggs bellowed.

_Rip!_

"Gah!"

"Captain!"

As Hertsog pulled himself up off the ground, he looked down and saw that his scarf had been torn and reduced to a thin strip around his neck. There in Briggs' claws was the remainder of his garb, including the portion with the pattern of a Second-Rank.

"I'm relieving you of your position!" the Armaldo spat. "And you can go ahead and book three extra spots for reassignment. I don't wanna see any of you on this island once that gecko is out of here!"

"Wh-What?!"

"You're reassigning _us_ from Mengir, too?!"

"Hey! Hold on!" Salvini protested. "You can't just take things out on them! They weren't involved in any of this!"

" _You're_ in no position to complain, you little traitor!" Briggs snarled. "Next time, you won't have someone higher up to hide behind!"

The Armaldo turned and stormed off, his angry footsteps barely masking the invective he grumbled under his breath. As the fossil Pokémon slipped away, Hertsog and his charges were left staring off in shock at the turn of events that had just happened.

"We're- We're going to have to leave Mengir?!" Phyllis stammered. "B-But I-I've been here m-my entire life!"

"I should have known something was up when we switched spots," Payak spat. "Get out of my sight, Salvini. Walk _yourself_ back to that hut."

"Payak!" Hertsog snapped. "That's not-"

" _Ne me interesuva!_ And you're not higher-ranked than me anymore, so don't tell me to shut up about it!" the Ariados exclaimed. "None of this would have happened if it wasn't for whatever Salvini did in that room!"

Salvini bit her tongue and lowered her head. She fought to try and raise her voice, to tell the truth to her teammates, only for her words to die in her mouth every time. Perhaps there was no need to tell, as Payak quickly pounced upon the bitter silence with his own interpretation.

"You _did_ let them get away, didn't you?! _Why?!_ " the Ariados shrieked. "Do you like ruining your friends' lives for fun and games?!"

Salvini started to get bleary-eyed as she realized how her attempt to do the right thing had spiraled much further than she had ever expected it to. As the Grass-Type tried her best to fight back the mist in her eyes, she hesitantly raised her head, finally able to muster her voice to answer her teammates.

"I was just trying to do the job I signed up for," the Grovyle finally said.

Payak shook his head disgustedly, before scuttling off and muttering a bitter 'some job you did' under his breath. Phyllis hesitantly began to walk off as well, giving a betrayed look back at the gecko before slipping off into the night. As the Grass-Type drooped and her spirits began to sink, she felt a paw with long and wispy fur tug at her shoulder.

"Come on," Hertsog sighed, shaking his head. "Let's get you to the medic's hut."

The pair set off for an exit from the building, Salvini limping along with Hertsog supporting her uneasy gait for the Medic's Hut back in the town across the stream. The two Pokémon continued off into the night, trudging off into an uncertain future.

* * *

Guardia and her teammates looked around the square, jaws agape. They were expecting the Subway to have occasional accommodations for terrestrial mons from seeing this 'Seaspear Station' from the bluff, but this was almost a whole town!

The Cubone could see a wooden lattice interleaved with bubbleweed towering overhead, the structure apparently acting as a support to the great bubble they were in. All along the lattice, signs and posters plastered with runes hung from timbers, intermingled with chains of multicolored and knotted strings. A bit further off, there was a stony building near the far end that lay in the shadow of the tower, next to another Subway passage.

Closer ahead and to the left, there was the hull of a sunken ship that had been repurposed into a tavern and eatery. Opposite of the sunken wreck were a small number of mats and collapsible stands intermingled with small pools of seawater that seemed to run particularly deep, with vacant spaces for others that had been packed up for the night.

As the little Cubone took in the scene in awe, her teammates similarly soaked in the surroundings. Not the least including a blue Nidoran who pawed incredulously at the dry sand on the ground.

"Wow… there's a lot more stuff down here than I was expecting when we saw it," Nida murmured.

"Well, what can I say? The Subway _does_ get its share of Pokémon from both land and sea passing through," the fossil Pokémon explained. Dimitri's gaze shifted over to a mostly-deserted cluster of crude stands by the moon pools, to glimpse the yawning form of a Ludicolo behind a blue table lined with gummis.

"Hrm… actually, since it's on the way," the Kabutops murmured. "Might as well get that delivery done with."

The crab scuttled over, his charges in tow as he waved to the Grass-Type. The two quickly slipped into conversation as Dimitri fished out a chest from his bag and began to haggle with the duck over a price. For Nida, the details of the conversation went in one ear and out the other, as her mind grew preoccupied with troubled thoughts.

All this time, no matter where the team had gone, the Company had found them shortly afterwards. How long would they have this time before they had to run again? And how much longer could they test their luck in trying to discover how to awaken Pleo's powers?

"Oi, kid. Are you going to buy something or what?"

Nida, Guardia, and Elty looked up to see Pleo staring up puzzledly at a Kingler from one of the circular pools. Elty hastily gestured with his paw at the young Lugia to come, and after a little confusion, the white bird waddled back over to his teammates, shaking a few droplets of water off his plumes.

"How come Bluewhorl doesn't build shops around pools like that, Nida?" he asked.

"Well, I don't know how pools work back around your 'Bluewhorl', but the reason why they're there is because of the golden rule of business," Dimitri chuckled, as he pocketed a small number of glinting coins from the Ludicolo and paced off from the blue table.

"Whenever you've got enough Pokémon hanging around in one part, shops are bound to follow after them!"

"This 'money' thing really makes you hut-dwellers do weird things," Guardia said, shaking her head. "But more importantly, where exactly are we supposed to sleep?"

Dimitri stretched a scythe over towards a stone structure on the edge that was shaped roughly like a bell, where at the bottom, there was an entrance with a glass jar lamp filled with water with glowing blue flecks hanging over an open stone doorway.

"That's the station hostel here," he explained. "It's a little different from what you're used to on land, but I think it'll do for the-"

"Well look who _finally_ decided to come back!"

The group turned and saw that an assortment of sea dwellers had surfaced in the moon pools as others swum up against the Subway's wall, the entire school donning sky blue belts marked with large red dots around their heads and necks. There at the pool Pleo had bobbed in earlier was the form of a Kingdra, who shot an unamused sneer at an increasingly uncomfortable-looking Dimitri.

"Oh… er, hi there… Kuda," the Kabutops murmured.

"Hrmph, you sure like to waste everyone's time with your surface trips," the Dragon Pokémon snorted. "We were beginning to wonder if you'd finally died of dehydration up on land this time."

"Sorry," Dimitri sighed. "I had a last-minute request on the way out."

"Yeah, he took us down to this place," Elty added.

The Kingdra swam up, and moved his snout about to examine Dimitri's passengers. After giving a passing glance at each of the four members of Team Traveller, the seahorse scoffed before directing a withering glare at their Kabutops guide.

"Tch. Just what we needed down here, _more_ air-breathers," Kuda spat. "Next time you should make them swim down here on their own!"

"Aw, lay off of it, Kuda," a Lumineon admonished from behind the bubble's wall.

"Yeah," a Whiscash said from a moon pool further behind. "There's nothing wrong with some 'mons passing through and seeing the place."

"And you get to meet plenty of new faces," an accompanying Dewgong reassured. "Like that weird Wingull over there!"

"Eh…?" Pleo murmured. "Why am I 'weird'?"

The Lugia gave a curious bob of his head, only for the Kingdra to scoff and give a disdainful shake of his head.

"Plenty of new faces that would be better off staying on their sea rocks!" Kuda snapped. "Dimitri, why are these 'mons even _here?_ "

"Well, they look a little roughed up," the Lumineon murmured. "Maybe Dimitri picked them up after they fell into the sea?"

"If _that's_ why they're here, there's nothing wrong with that, Kuda," the Dewgong chimed in. "I'm sure we'll get along just fine until they pay up their fee!"

Nida's ears pricked up at the seal's suspiciously enthusiastic tone, prompting her to twitch her whiskers and backpedal a bit to Dimitri's side.

"… Fee?" the Nidoran asked.

"Yeah, rescuing stranded air breathers isn't easy work, you know!" the Whiscash added. "And we like getting rewarded for our generosity!"

"Someone already covered them," Dimitri said, interrupting the catfish. "Besides, _I'm_ the one who picked them up anyways."

The Kabutops' words drew a wave of groans. If the four children had already had their rescue fee paid, then there was little point in lurking around.

"What a waste of time," the Dewgong spat.

"Whelp, nothing to see here," the Lumineon grunted. "I'm swimming back to our resting place."

The reactions of his fellow sea Pokémon drew a dismayed look from the Kabutops, before he huffily called after their departing forms.

"Hey! Why does everything involving surface-dwellers have to involve a reward?!" Dimitri protested.

"Did you even _collect_ anything to take them down here?" the Kingdra pressed. "With how much you've started sucking up to landmons since you evolved, I'm starting to think that you _didn't._ "

"I _did_ collect a reward this time," Dimitri snapped. "And even if I didn't, how is helping out other Pokémon so much worse a use of my time than holding up some ship-"

"First off, that ship was crewed by pirates," a gurgling voice interrupted. "Second off, you didn't 'help these Pokémon' on your time. You did it on _ours._ "

The Fossil Pokémon turned around and noticed a familiar Dragalge had emerged from one of the moon pools from behind. The Poison-Type shot a withering glare at the horseshoe crab, which made him flinch and blanch as he attempted to regain his bearings.

"Oh… hello, _Ataman_ Viktor…" Dimitri gulped. "I got the seeds you asked for!"

"That's wonderful," the Dragalge grumbled. "But I asked you to get them _two days ago._ "

"Uhm… well you see…" the Kabutops began. "Something came up."

The sea dragon shot back an icy, dispassionate stare as he shifted his glance over the members of Team Traveller one by one.

"I can see that… We were supposed to leave for Otvaga Island this morning but instead we had to wait for you all day," Viktor growled. "Looks to me like you were once again running errands for strangers at the expense of your own _rod._ "

"But he wasn't running errands!" Pleo insisted. "He was helping us get away from trouble!"

"Well, are you still in trouble here?" the seahorse demanded, only to be met by a hesitating response from the young Protector.

"No…"

"Then there's no reason to continue to be held up here, is there, Dimitri?" the Poison-Type demanded.

"But-!"

"But nothing!" the Dragalge shouted. "You either swim with the rest of us tonight, or you can find some other _rod_ to hold up with your inability to keep to a schedule!"

Dimitri turned and lowered his head to face Team Traveller sheepishly. As the children's moods drooped, the crab reluctantly spoke up.

"… Sorry, it looks like this is the part where we have to split up," the Kabutops murmured, shaking his head.

"… It's fine," Nida mumbled. "We'll manage… somehow."

Dimitri sighed and slid his bag off his shoulders and onto the ground. The Kabutops bent down and opened it, fishing out a small pouch which he extended towards the Nidoran.

"Here," the Kabutops said. "It's not much, but even if I can't be there to help you in person, this oughta help you get a claw up on things."

"Eh?!" Kuda explained. "Why are you wasting your money on those-?!"

"Can it, Kuda!" Viktor snapped.

The Dragalge's outburst made the Kingdra stiffen up and go quiet. Afterwards, Viktor turned his attention back to Dimitri, giving a frustrated shake of his head and an impatient churn of the moon pool's water with his fins.

"We've waited long enough. Come on, we're _leaving._ "

Viktor and Kuda dove into the water of their moon pools, leaving behind only faintly bubbling water as a record of their presence. Dimitri looked over his companions before giving a reluctant wave back to Team Traveller and lowering himself into a nearby pool to slip under the surface after the two seahorses. Nida, Pleo, Elty, and Guardia looked out past the bubble wall over Seaspear Station, and saw the three's forms appear briefly outside before joining a larger school of Pokémon and slipping off into the dark waters away from the glowing flecks of algae around the rest stop.

"… This just isn't our day, is it?" Elty sighed.

"Let's… just get some rest right now," Nida muttered. "We shouldn't be staying up when we're worn out like this…"

The Nidoran turned around and looked off at the hostel Dimitri had pointed out earlier. With all the bad things that had happened to them today, the four tiredly staggered off for the building, eager to finally get some rest and respite from their tribulations.

* * *

When Team Traveller finally entered the stony, bell-shaped building that the Fossil Pokémon had pointed out, they were met with a peculiar scene. Inside, they found a strange ground floor with a stone staircase leading up to a second level, and an assortment of decorative rocks and pebbles. The space was deserted, the sole exception consisting of a Corsola lazily going through a colorful collection of knotted strings tied to a cord behind a table-like stone by the entrance, wondering aloud how it was that a drill could pierce the heavens. Pleo craned his head around curiously, before turning to the Water-Type.

"Um… is this really a place to sleep?" he wondered. "There aren't any windows... Why, there's not even tables or stools here!"

"That's what the rocks are for," the Coral Pokémon grunted back. "And isn't it a bit late for kids like you to be up? Why don't you go find a place in the chamber upstairs?"

"Huh?" Pleo asked. "The sleeping place is underwater, too?"

"... And?" the receptionist asked.

"Y-You can't expect me to sleep underwater!" Elty spluttered. "If those bubbles outside popped, I'd drown without being able to do anything about it!"

"You would not believe how many times we hear that," the Corsola groaned, before rolling her eyes and pointing an arm up at the ceiling. The Water-Type moved her arm-nub along, where on closer examination the stony ceiling seemed to have a distinct bowl-like shape to it.

"Feel better now, Growlithe?"

"Am I _supposed_ to?" Elty huffed. "Just what exactly is a weird-looking roof supposed to do?"

"Surely you've played with putting an upside-down cup into a tub of water before?" the receptionist sighed. "How air stays in the top of the cup?"

"Uh… well… not really? I mean, I guess I've heard of it-" the Growlithe murmured, before shaking his head indignantly "What are you even _getting_ at here?"

"She's _saying_ that this place up top is like a big cup, _Gardie_ ," Guardia tut-tutted. "So if water comes in, there will still be air at the top. Even _I_ could figure that out!"

"… Wait a minute, when did you ever get your claws on a cup-?" Nida began, only to be cut off by the Coral Pokémon clearing her throat.

"Anyhow, since we've established that you _won't_ drown in your sleep here, mind heading on ahead?" the Corsola demanded. "You're not the _only_ ones here who need sleep."

"Er… right," Pleo said.

The four shambled up the stairs, where much to their surprise, there was no hallway like back at Mengir's Cromlech Inn. Instead, they found a large, dome-shaped room held up by a circle of stone columns that occupied the entire floor, lit by the faint glow of jars filled with water containing blue flecks of light.

"Eh…? No room to ourselves?" Pleo asked.

The team looked around, and discovered that sure enough, there didn't seem to be any other rooms. The entire space was flecked with mostly-unclaimed straw bedding with an occasional bed taken up by a dozing form. Indeed the only sign of there being any life at all in the room were the tired snores of the Pokémon inside, and a still-awake group consisting of an Ampharos and two Flaaffy who traded curious glances over at the group before turning away.

"… Let's not dwell on it. Besides, it's not _that_ different from the lodging at the guild," Nida sighed. "It's been a long day, and we really _should_ rest right now-"

" _Un momento!_ " a bleating voice cried, which made Nida's barbs stand on end and prompted her to whirl around.

"Eh?!"

The team looked up and saw the two Flaaffy from earlier, decked in red cloth. The leader of the two wore his scarf in a flat and unassuming style, while the other strangely enough wore his as a headband.

"The name's Currituck, and this is my brother Bodie," the leading Flaaffy cheered. "You wouldn't mind if we asked a bit about your day, would you?"

"Yeah, if you've had a dreary day, we can lend a listening ear!" the Flaaffy with the headband offered.

Nida twitched her whiskers warily, sensing something was amiss. Were these Pokémon from Tromba? The sheep with the headband certainly wore his scarf like he was from it. And why were they so energetic at this late hour?

"Um… who are you two again?" Elty asked.

"They're my children," an older, bleating voice added. "As you can see, age hasn't _quite_ taken that child-like curiosity out of them."

The Growlithe whirled his head turned to see the voice's owner. She turned out to be an Ampharos, with visibly aged features and a small notch in her right ear. This detail was momentarily lost on Pleo, who excitedly piped up with...

"Oh! Hatteras!" he chirped. "What are you doing down here?!"

"Er… it's actually Alexandria. Bodie, Currituck, could you two give me a moment?"

The Flaaffy wandered off, muttering something about "boring elder stuff", as the Ampharos named 'Alexandria' turned back to face Pleo.

"I'm surprised you'd think I'd be a 'Hatteras'. It sounds like a male name, but I'm female," the wizened sheep chuckled. "I guess you're not from around here?"

"Er, no. Not exactly…" Nida admitted.

"We're apparently from a bunch of different places," Guardia said. "I only came along when this lot came by Kenobi Island."

"Ah, so you're on an adventure!" the Ampharos bleated. "Well, I suppose it never hurts to wander off from home a bit as long as you have a way of keeping in touch!"

At the mention of "keeping in touch", the wizened Ampharos noticed Team Traveller collectively droop.

"... Don't you?" the sheep asked.

"I'm… not really sure right now," the Nidoran answered.

The older Pokémon raised her eyebrow curiously, seemingly at a loss at Nida's response.

"Hrm?" Alexandria wondered. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, it just seems we've been getting into a lot of trouble on the surface," Nida explained. "And I'm not really sure where we can go."

"Oh, is the Company causing you grief?" the Ampharos asked. "You wouldn't be the first such group I've encountered before in my travels."

Guardia jumped into a defensive stance, flinching back as though a secret had been exposed.

" _Chotto matte,_ how on earth did you _know?!_ " Guardia exclaimed.

"Because the surface above here is crawling with Company Pokémon?" Elty explained.

"… Oh right," the Cubone sheepishly admitted.

"If you're having trouble with the Company," Bodie murmured, "why not see the Blue Fairy?"

Two fluffy heads poked out from behind a column. Their mother raised an eyebrow at them, then shook her head before turning back to an increasingly curious-looking Lugia.

"The Blue… Fairy?" Pleo wondered.

"… She's a traveling _advina_ who's run into her own share of trouble with the Company," the motherly Ampharos explained. "I don't know exactly what's happened with you, but if you need tips to stay ahead of those square-necks, she'd have plenty to give you."

"Yeah, she was in Braveshoal Town just the other day, and she usually sticks around for a few days at a time when she's around," Currituck explained.

"Wait, Braveshoal Town?" Nida asked.

"It's an undersea town at Otvaga Island," Bodie explained. "Lots of sea Pokémon around here live there for part of the year before going on migrations with their clans."

Wait a minute! Did that Flaaffy just say _Otvaga Island?_ Then...

"Ah! That was where Dimitri said he was headed!" the spike lump squeaked. "We'd just need to follow him and-"

The Nidoran paused as she realized she had no idea where that town was, or what direction Dimitri had even swum too. How was the team supposed to find either without some idea of what to do?

"… oh, right," the Poison-Type muttered. "We still don't know where Dimitri went to get to Otvaga..."

"Oh, it's not that hard to find," Currituck insisted.

"Yeah, just follow the Subway passage to the east from here, and it will take you straight to it!" Bodie chimed in.

"Thanks for the heads-up," Nida said, giving a thankful nod to the electric sheep. "We'll be sure to go there right away!"

"Right away as in 'right now'?" Guardia asked. "In the dead of night?"

"Er… right," Nida sighed. "We should probably get some shut-eye first."

The team picked out their nests for the night and settled down. As the four curled against the straw lumps, their eyes began to droop and yawns began to rise in their throats.

"Nida," Pleo chirped. "Before we go to bed… could you tell me a story?"

"… I honestly can't think of anything right now, Pleo," Nida sighed, shaking her head. "It's been a rough day, and we're all tired and worn down, and-"

"If you need a tale to help you count Mareep..." Alexandria said. "Might I help?"

The four Pokémon looked up and blinked at the Ampharos. A story certainly couldn't hurt at this hour… Even so, something seemed to be nagging Elty, and prompted him to turn to his Nidoran teammate.

"Psst, so wait," Elty whispered. "Does that mean when she heads off to sleep she counts herself?"

"Elty, shush!" Nida snapped, slapping a paw over the Growlithe's muzzle.

"Eh? What are you going to tell us?" Guardia asked.

"I think I'll start off with something that your spike ball friend might like," the Electric-Type answered. "It's a tale that I heard before about a Nidorino called the 'Prince of a Thousand Enemies'."

"Bah, even _down here_ we have to hear that same old story?!" Elty snorted, before pausing in a realization. "Hey… wait a minute…"

He did a double-take, staring at her. Wasn't that the story that Nida kept telling over and over? Then...

"How do _you_ know about that anyways?" he demanded.

"An old friend told it to me once," the Ampharos replied. "One who was a lot like your Nidoran friend with you."

The Electric-Type sidled over and sat down on a straw bed in front of Team Traveller, her sons coming over and similarly taking seats as Team Traveller's members sank into their straw piles. The Ampharos cleared her throat, and then began to speak.

"A long, long time ago," Alexandria began "Back in the time of the old world, there was a young Prince Nidorino who ruled over all the world's Nidoran."

"One with many, many children…" Pleo murmured.

"That's right dearie," the Ampharos answered. "He had so many children that they were like the stars in the sky. And they were all very, very hungry…"

As Alexandria began to recount the familiar story, Nida's eyelids started to become heavy and droop. As the Poison-Type began to drift off to sleep, thoughts of Kiran and Crom came back to her mind…

And somehow, in spite of being cooped up in the underwater hostel, for a fleeting moment, she felt as if she was back home.

* * *

As the sun slowly started to rise above the horizon, the Siglo Swellow bobbed along the waves between Kenobi and Mengir. Below deck Crom and Pladur busied themselves as usual preparing breakfast inside the ship's makeshift galley. The Fraxure watched as his son was busy mixing a white substance and berry juice with a simple reed whisk.

"Remember, small and fast movements, Crom," Pladur instructed. "You want to get that flavoring into the entire batch."

"Dad, I know how to stir!" Crom protested. "I do it all the time back home in the bakery!"

As the Druddigon continued to stir and whip the bowl of gummi mix and flavoring, he heard the sound of voices creep in through a few cracks in the wall. The chattering beyond the wall just loud enough to compete with the sounds of breakfast being made.

"Heh, you've gotta hand it to Pat! Here I was worried that I wouldn't get a letter back from the kids and the missus for another week, and that bird drops off one overnight!"

The talk about letters made Crom's claws begin to slow and grow distracted, prompting the young Druddigon to turn a curious head and turn towards his father.

"Eh? We got mail from back home?" he asked. "But I don't remember hearing about it last night…"

"Oh, Pat dropped it off a few hours before we left port," Pladur said. "Cenn and your mother sent a letter for us in his run."

"Eh?! They did?!" the Druddigon cried out. "But then why didn't you tell me?! "

"Er… well... you were asleep when I got the letter and I didn't want to wake you," Pladur sheepishly admitted. "It should still be in my bag at our quarters. Why don't you take a break to go read it? I can handle the rest of the stirring."

The Druddigon nodded and set down the whisk and bowl against the table before darting out of the galley. The little Druddigon scampered down the darkened and creaking hallways, making his way past cabins and crates before he arrived at the shared room where he, Pladur, and a good number of the Siglo Swellow's crewmembers slept.

The Dragon-Type opened the door and stuck his head in, and after discovering that a number of his crewmates were still sleeping inside, he crept along with careful and slow paces. He made his way past a few slumbering Pokémon, before he finally arrived at the straw bedding he and his father had slept on overnight. After looking up, he noticed a simple bag made of tan cloth hanging from a peg on a rafter above Pladur's bedding, and began to root through it.

He felt his claw pass over the rinds of berries, a few hard seeds, and a few small articles of wood and clay… aha, an envelope! The young Druddigon pulled out the envelope and felt that it had been opened along the top, surely his mother's letter. The creature pulled the letter out, and in the low light, began to glance over the paper.

It was a message with the expected well wishes and inquiries as to how he and his father were doing. The bakery was holding up better than expected, and Cenn was being his usual rambunctious self.

Pyry was still at work in the bakery, and his friends weren't causing (very much) trouble. The neighbors had settled back into their work in and around the town and life had largely settled back into a routine. Why, were it not for the fact that the letter was addressed to him and the well-wishing in the hunt for Team Traveller, Crom would've thought the letter was like one of the ones to his father he and his family sent in the past.

All-in-all it was a very homely message, and the paper even smelt of flour and bread… Just like that little bakery that was now so far away.

Crom's heart ached at the thought of how distant home and the village was. The Druddigon grunted and shook his head, stuffing the letter and envelope back into the bag. The Dragon-Type turned and began to retrace his steps back to the door, when towards the exit, he chanced to notice Ander's bag lying on a crate from the corner of his eye. There, protruding slightly from the mouth, was the same bulky form that he remembered seeing back at the battlefield at Kenobi.

Zzz...

Crom looked around and listened to the quiet chorus of snores coming from around the room. It didn't seem like anyone was awake… so, maybe… it wouldn't hurt if he just took a little peek inside.

The young Dragon-Type bent down and slipped his claws into the mouth of Ander's bag. After feeling a bulky wooden cover against his claws, he latched them tight against it and carefully pulled the tome out.

The book was a large codex with a jet-black cover, adorned with a white eight-pointed star with lengthened cross-axes. The Druddigon opened the book up and discovered that it was filled with a strange script whose glyphs all seemed to look like floating eyes and sticks.

"Eh? What _is_ this?"

There didn't seem to be any guide for how to interpret the strange runes, though as Crom looked around, he began to notice the tome was full of drawings that were embedded alongside the glyphs.

There was a picture of white, hoofed figure with a plated girdle rising from a blackened rift, calling down fiery lights onto a town… Wait a minute, this figure was Arceus! But why was he being drawn like this?

The young Druddigon leafed through further pages, and found picture after picture of great, monstrous creatures creating havoc. There was a red bird in a dead, petrified forest surrounded by what appeared to be statues of terrified Pokémon. A great white-and-yellow titan dragging an island under the waves of the seas. A white seabird in the heart of a great storm laying waste to a seaside city… Wait a moment-!

"E-Eh?!" Crom exclaimed. "Th-That's Pleo!"

As Crom began to turn through a few more pages, he suddenly felt something flat and chitinous press up hard over his snout and a presence tugging him back. The Druddigon gave a muffled squeal of fright, and flailed desperately against his captor as he was pulled out of the room and into the hallway

"A-Aah! Let me go! Let me go-!"

"Quiet down already!" a buzzing voice scolded. Crom felt the presence let him go and yank the tome out of his claws, as the young Druddigon whirled around wide-eyed, he came face-to-face with an unamused Ander.

"A-Ander?!" Crom squeaked. "What are you doing?! Why did you grab me like that?!"

"Why did _you_ root through my stuff like that?" the Scyther demanded. Crom blinked, and began to look at the ground as the color flushed from his crest.

"Uh… er…"

There… wasn't any real explanation that he could give to Ander beyond his own curiosity. The Scyther, seeming to gather that no real harm had been done to his property, pulled his tome close to his chest, shook his head, and gave a stern glare.

"Don't go violating other Pokémon's privacy like that!" the Bug-Type scolded.

"I'm sorry… It's just… well, I saw it during practice back in Kenobi and I was curious," Crom said, lowering his wings and pulling his head and tail in apologetically.

"If you must know what it is, it's a copy of the Scripture of Truth," Ander explained. "It's a book that's very important to Marked like me and Cassie."

"Huh? But why?" Crom asked. "And why is it filled with strange runes and those drawings of monsters destroying things? And why is _Pleo_ in it?"

"Those runes are the language that we used to use long, long ago, back when the Cradle was still young," the Bug-Type answered. "As for what's in it, it's an annal of the history our ancestors saw, and their warnings for the generations that would come after them."

"But what does it _say?_ " Crom pressed. The Druddigon's question was met by a long silence from Ander, before the mantis finally gave an involuntary flick of his wings and began to speak.

"... It's not anything you need to be worried about right now," Ander grunted. "The readers of this book have been taught to only reveal its contents to those who are both ready and trusted to bear the burden of its knowledge."

Crom took a step back and blinked. Just what sort of knowledge was in this book? And what did Pleo have to do with it?

"Just… don't worry about it, Crom," the Scyther sighed. "Things will be easier for the both of us if we just move on from this."

With that, the bladed mantis quietly crept back into the sleeping quarters, presumably to return his treasured book to a safe resting spot. Crom faltered a moment, and then uneasily began to make his way back down the hallways of the ship.

As the little Dragon-Type carried on, troubling thoughts swirled about his head. Why wouldn't Ander give him a straight answer about the Lugia in the book?

Though its head crest was spikier, and the figure seemed to be much larger, it had the distinctive silvery-white and blue plumes of a Lugia. If he hadn't known better, he would have thought that the picture was depicting a great monster!

But why? Why would Ander and the rest of the Marked see Pleo that way-?

**THWAM!**

"A-Ack!"

The ship suddenly lurched, which sent the Druddigon pitching forward and tumbling against the timbered floor. The sound of jars and bowls crashing to the floor, along with Pladur yelping came from the galley as the wood groaned and shuddered with the sounds of a commotion coming from the upper decks.

"They're going for the rear mast!"

"Quick, get a Protect up!"

As Crom picked himself up, he saw his father dash out of the galley and look around wide-eyed.

"D-Dad?! Wh-What's going on?!" he cried. "Did we hit something?!"

**CRASH!**

The ship rocked and groaned once again, which sent the Dragon-Types desperately latching onto a nearby barrel for balance. As the ship evened out, Crom darted off for the exit to see what the commotion above deck was.

"Ack! Crom! Wait!" Pladur exclaimed, running after his son. "It's not safe out there!"

The Fraxure's pleas fell upon deaf ears, as Crom hastily clambered up the rickety, wooden staircase onto the deck, his father closely following. The two looked up and saw that the rear mast had broken and listed at its mid-section while Pokémon darted to and fro in a panicked commotion. Father and son looked around for the cause of the ruckus, until their glances fell to the ship's port side and the two's blood ran cold.

There, off in the not-so-far distance, was Hess' golden-sailed caravel, the ship and its escorts rapidly closing in on them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _Mwo (_ _뭐_ _)_ \- Korean: "What", used here as an interjection. (South Korean Revised Romanization)  
>  \- _otlichno (отлично)_ \- Russian: "fine", "very well" (BGN/PCGN Romanization)  
>  \- _kaisō (_ _海藻_ _)_ \- Japanese: "seaweed" (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _Ne me interesuva! (Нe мe интeрeсува!)_ \- Bulgarian: "I don't care!" (BGN/PCGN Romanization)  
>  \- _Ataman (Атаман)_ \- Russian: "Chieftain", "Commander", traditionally used as name of the leader of a Cossack host. (BGN/PCGN Romanization)  
>  \- _advina_ \- Spanish: "fortuneteller"


	42. When it Rains

**_BOOM!_ **

Out in the patch of sea between Kenobi and Mengir, the Siglo Swellow shuddered and listed from an incoming barrage of various projectiles that had managed to break through the gaps in a hastily-raised wall of Protects. Crom stumbled onto the lurching deck, and threw his claws out to break a fall, where he drew his wings back amid the ongoing tumult.

From his view looking up from the deck, everywhere he looked, there were light barriers raised, attacks zipping through the air and crashing into parts of the ship, and golden-scarved Pokémon in the water and air engaging crew members.

"Stop right there, criminal scum!"

Including Kiran, who was tearing through the air in pursuit of a Hoppip. The Druddigon shook his head to try and regain his nerve, and threw himself back onto his feet unsteadily, only to feel someone grab his arm and yank him backwards.

"C-Crom! D-Don't just stand there!"

The Druddigon stumbled along after the presence that grabbed him, the culprit being revealed to be a wide-eyed Fraxure bolting for the stairs as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Dad?!"

"Hurry! We need to get you below deck!" Pladur cried. The creature continued tugging and running, only to feel the arm in his claw wrench free and turn around to see a startled expression on his child's face.

"What are you doing?!" Crom exclaimed "Why are we running?!"

"It's not safe!" the Fraxure pleaded. "I don't want you getting hurt up here!"

Crom ducked as a gout of flame soared over his head and leapt down to the floor with a yelp. The little dragon lowered his head to the ground and flattened out his wings, before warily poking back up to face his father.

"But Kiran's my teammate!" the Druddigon protested. "I can't just leave him like this while the ship's in trouble!"

"What's going on out there-?!"

The form of Ander clambering up the steps came into view, the Scyther going wide-eyed and reflexively hopping back at the sight of the chaos around. Before either Crom or Pladur could explain, the deck resounded with distressed squawk.

"Ack!"

There, up by the ship's stern, the Hoppip had lead Kiran directly into an ambush by a Staravia and a Ledian in Iron Fleet scarves. The Swellow quickly turned around and fled with battered plumes still crackling with static, his tormentors hotly pursuing him.

"Surprise, you split-tailed idiot!" Kichiro taunted.

"Yeah, way to fly right into our trap!" the accompanying Staravia sneered.

Without a further word, Ander dashed off, and sprang up to fly towards the three Pokémon. Crom watched as the three golden-scarved Pokémon hastily broke ranks to weave around a slashing swipe from the mantis…

It was then that the young Druddigon knew where he needed to be.

"Wait! Crom! What are you doing?!"

Crom took off running for the rigging, where he clambered up the rigging as fast as his limbs would allow him. Ander and Kiran were bogged down in a losing fight against three more manuveurable foes- Hey wait a minute, the Ledian! There was a clear shot at him below!

"Kiran! Ander! Hang in there!"

Crom sprang from rigging and spread his wings, the wind catching him and sending him gliding along towards the jeering Bug-Type. The young Druddigon swiped his claws to rake the beetle and-

"Too slow, _tokage!_ "

"Huh?!"

The Ledian swerved out of the way, leaving Crom to claw at empty air. The young Druddigon hastily banked his wings to try and turn around, only to hear a startled Scyther's buzz.

"Crom! Watch out!"

Before Crom could right his course, the young Dragon-Type was buffeted by a gust laden with stinging pinkish dust. The Druddigon lost his balance from the Fairy Wind and plummeted out of the air against the deck of the Siglo Swellow. As Crom laid panting and stunned, he watched as a jeering Hoppip circled overhead.

"Hah! You're mine now, little twerp!"

" _Stay away from him!_ "

"Hu- **AAAAAAGH!** "

A clawed presence rushed in and struck the Grass-Type with a ruddy claw trailing greenish flecks of light, sending the creature pinwheeling with a scream over the railing and into the sea with an audible _sploosh._ Crom looked up, and saw that his rescuer was none other than...

"Dad?!"

Although fatigue and shock twisted up his face, the figure standing above him was unmistakably that of Pladur. The Druddigon pawed at his throbbing head crest, his budding headache helped along by a distressed squawk ringing out from above. The two looked to the sky, where they spotted a visibly fatigued Kiran attempting to hold off a pursuing Staravia. A pained buzz drew Crom's attention to the side, where Ander was desperately staggering after being struck by an electrified downward punch from Kichiro. The Fraxure blanched and gulped, realizing that the situation at hand was rapidly spinning out of control.

"Crom," Pladur instructed. "I'm going to go and help Kiran, you stay-"

Before the Dragon-Type could finished, his red eyes widened as he saw Crom already bolting off ahead, towards the beleaguered mantis and his beetle tormenter.

"Ander, hang in there!"

"Eh?! Crom?!" Pladur exclaimed. "What are you-?!"

Before his father could complete his protest, Crom had already bolted for the Ledian, eager to defend his teammate and for a chance to even the score. The reptile bared his maw and lunged to try and clamp down on one of the beetle's limbs, only for the beetle to spot him from the corner of his eye and quickly fall back, leaving the Druddigon snapping at air. The young dragon attempted to compensate with a claw swipe, and another, and another... only for Kichiro to weave around his strikes effortlessly.

"Hah! You couldn't hit the broad side of a- YEOW!"

Before he could finish his taunt, Kichiro was swatted out of the air by a swipe from Ander's scythes and tumbled to the deck. Crom took his chance to dart off towards the still-stunned beetle and sank his claws under the bug's open elytra, raking over the tender segments underneath. The Ledian yelled in pain and hastily flew off as Crom gave chase, only for the reptile to freeze in his tracks as he saw Kichiro's Staravia partner barrelling towards him. Crom flinched and braced for the bird to slam into him, only to hear the _woosh_ of a cutting wind, and to see the creature to retreat squawking with damaged plumage after Kiran sent another Air Slash zipping past her head.

"Gwark! Kichiro?!" she cried. "How much more of this are we supposed to take?!"

The Ledian gave an annoyed buzz and glared at his teammate for bungling his name yet again, but then shook his head and decided to let the matter slide given his current circumstances.

"Rrgh… these clods hit harder than they look," the bug spat.

A deafening blast rang out from starboard as the ship shuddered and started to list. Crom, Pladur, and Ander tumbled and flailed, finally catching their balance on a snapped deck timber as the ship settled. The Ledian looked around quickly, and a small smile crept over his face as he turned back to his Staravia companion.

"Grab Wilhelm and let's get moving!" the Bug-Type barked. "Our part's done here!"

As the crew erupted into confused shouts over the damage to the side of the ship, the fliers and swimmers from the Mistral Marauder took the opportunity to retreat, carrying off their defeated comrades. The Siglo Swellow's attention turned to the hole ripped into starboard of the ship, a Hitmontop hastily barking out orders while perched over its top

"Keep an eye on that hole!" the Fighting-Type barked. "That's where they'll try and board us!"

"Eh? But they're falling _back!_ " a Golduck exclaimed. "Shouldn't they be _charging_ us?"

The Siglo Swellow suddenly lurched, and the ship began swiftly drifting to port side over the yelps of the ship's surprised sea escorts. The crew aboard the sloop looked off to the port side, where they saw a small whirlpool pulling them in towards Hess' golden-sailed caravel just as a few Pokémon on its deck pushed a wooden tube on rollers up against the railing.

"A-Aah!" the Golduck cried. "They're pointing a cannon at us!"

"Only _one_ cannon?" the Hitmontop asked. "Why would they risk getting scuttled at sea over that, though?"

"Because that's no cannon!" Beatrix exclaimed. "Quick, attack-!"

The Illumise's command got cut off by a sudden impact and _ka-THUNK_ sound. As the crew members of the Siglo Swellow looked over at the site of the impact, they saw a harpoon jutting out from the side of the hull, a rope trailing off back to the Mistral Marauder where shapes were beginning to move around the 'cannon' from earlier.

Unfortunately, the harpoon was not the only attack that the crew should have minded; as they were distracted by the attack on the port side, a loud crash erupted from the ship's starboard, revealing the dripping, all-too-familiar Aggron who had just surfed around the ship to plow onto the deck.

"Charge them while they're down!" the Steel-Type bellowed. Hess stormed on, the metal lizard effortlessly knocking a few unfortunate crew members in his path unconscious with heavy claw swipes and blows from his tail. The Aggron smashed his way through to the ship's port side before leaping back into the water, just as a host of Water-Types from the pirate crew sliced through the water for the stricken ship. As the sea creatures neared, they popped up and belted out a thick volley of beams and watery attacks that punched through the Siglo Swellow's patchwork of Protects and quickly threw its defenders into confusion.

A number of more terrestrial pirates took advantage of the chaos to throw ropes up and clamber aboard the Siglo Swellow. Natrix and Philips were the first to notice, but fell to a pair of sniping beam attacks before they could do more than shout a warning. The defenses on the deck quickly devolved into a disorganized mess of blows and yelps as more and more attackers forced their way aboard.

" _Retrocedan! Retrocedan_!" Pat cried out in a panic. The Unfezant's call for retreat did not elude Crom and his companions' ears, as they too found themselves bolting for the ladder to retreat below deck.

"Hey, brat!"

The four came to a skidding stop as they saw their escape route cut off by a trio of growling and snarling pirates in their way. There ahead of them was a Marowak batting his club menacingly, a sparking Manectric, and an uncomfortably familiar Yanmega clicking his mandibles.

"You didn't forget about us, right?" Valatos sneered. "It's time for a rematch!"

* * *

While the crew of the Siglo Swellow fought tooth and claw to keep their ship afloat, things were much quieter for Team Traveller that morning. After the team roused themselves from slumber, they made their way out of the sleeping chamber and out of the door of the bell-shaped hostel building. As they stepped out into the faded bluish light, they saw the square was much more lively than the night before.

The strands of bubbleweed continued to lazily emit beads of air into the seawater surrounding Seaspear Station as signs of life began to return to the outpost. The Ludicolo gummi merchant and his peers began opening their stalls for the morning, and the tavern built into the sunken ship started to become flecked with sleepy-looking creatures eager for a morning meal.

_Yaaaaaaaaaah_

Pleo yawned and beat out his wings to get his blood flowing, though drew his wounded one back to his side with a wince as he was rudely reminded of why he'd been told to stay off of it. As Nida, Elty, and Guardia similarly worked the sleep out of their bandaged bodies, a question bubbled up to his mind's fore.

"So what should we do now?" the Lugia chirped.

"Well, we need to find the Blue Fairy in Braveshoal Town, and I'm not sure if we should be dawdling too long..." Nida murmured. "The longer we wait to set out, the later it will be when we get to Otvaga."

"Yeah, but just _how_ are we supposed to find her when we get there?" Elty prodded.

"You should try asking travellers who have come into town in the past few days when you get there," a voice bleated from behind.

"Yeah, the Blue Fairy moves around quite a bit," a similar-sounding voice added. "And she trusts Pokémon that travel around a lot to show her the way."

"Huh?!"

Pleo, Nida, Elty, and Guardia whirled around and saw a pair of young Flaaffy had gathered. The team's faces lit up in recognition of Currituck and Bodie from the night before.

"Oh, it's you again!" Pleo cried.

"Eh?" Guardia asked, tilting her head puzzledly. "I thought you were all still sleeping!"

"We wanted to have a chance to send you off," Currituck explained. "After all, it's not often that we run into others who have to stay on the move as we do."

"I mean, I don't know how long we can keep this up," Nida murmured.

"Keep hope, dearie," an elderly voice reassured. "You'll be surprised how much strength it will give you."

Pleo, Nida, Elty, and Guardia looked up and saw Alexandria making their way over to them, bending down to give a reassuring pat. In spite of the gesture, the quartet's spirits remained as battered as their bodies. Still swaddled in bandages as they were, and with the Company surely on still the hunt for them… could hope really make that much of a difference?

"Well… we'll try, at least," Pleo muttered. The Lugia and his teammates turned for the passage to Braveshoal Town, when suddenly, Alexandria's voice cried out.

"One more thing!"

"Huh?!" Pleo exclaimed. The little Protector craned his head back, and saw Alexandria waving her flipper.

"Good luck getting back to Tromba, little one," she said. "I'm sure everyone there's missed you an awful lot."

"Oh... thank you," Pleo answered. The little bird started to turn back to his friends, when a realization crept over their minds... How did Alexandria know Pleo was from Tromba?

"… Hey, _zaczekaj chwilę_ ," Elty murmured. "We never told you anything about that…"

"Eh?!" Guardia cried. "You _know_ him?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes," the elder Ampharos chuckled.

Nida stared at her, agape. If she knew Pleo without having met him before, then she also had to know that he was Tromba's Protector!

"Yeah, from the moment you set foot into the hostel last night, we knew there was something special about your friend," Currituck explained.

"You don't need to look so surprised!" Bodie exclaimed. "Your secret is safe with us!"

"Yeah, we swear on the Travellers!" the other Flaaffy insisted. "We might not be able to head off with you here, but we'll do our part to help keep you going!"

The Nidoran's eyes brightened a bit, as the anxieties and dread of Team Traveller's next journey ebbed away a bit. Even if it wasn't much, just knowing that she and her teammates had allies even deep under the ocean provided much-needed reassurance.

"And keep your heads held high," Alexandria added. "It's a brand new day, and the sunlight's coming down beautifully through the water. Calm and perfect conditions for continuing on, no?"

"It would be _better_ if we weren't stuck on the ocean floo- Ow!"

Elty abruptly bit his tongue after Guardia gave a swat at his head along with a huffed 'stop ruining the mood!' under her breath. Nida looked back at the three Electric-Types and cracked a nervous smile.

"I… suppose we can't argue with that. Thanks again for talking with us, but..." she murmured uneasily. "I wish we could do something to repay you."

"Well, there is _one_ thing," the elderly Ampharos said.

"Huh?"

"When you get home, tell the local lightkeeper we're doing fine and look forward to meeting him in person when the fates align again," she instructed.

"Right," Nida replied. "I think we can do that."

The four children waved a farewell at the trio of electric sheep and made their way for the northern passage. As Seaspear Station began to fade behind them, their young minds filled with trepidation. They were heading off to an unknown place, after an unknown guide, for advice that they couldn't be sure would help them. And yet, in spite of all that, a faint hope kept them trudging on. A hope that maybe things would finally turn around in their quest to return home.

* * *

Back on the Siglo Swellow, the fight to keep the Iron Fleet's members off deck had turned into a disorganized rout. All along the deck, feuding bands of lavender-scarved Pokémon traded blows with their golden-scarved attackers and hastily fell behind cover to attempt to regroup.

"It's time for a rematch!"

Including Crom, Pladur, Kiran, and Ander, whose attempts to break for safety were thwarted after an unwelcome encounter with Valatos and his companions.

"Time for a beating, dweebs!" Nori growled, giving a menacing shake of his club. The three Pokémon fanned out and began to encircle the team, the lot giving menacing glares as they prepared to pounce upon Crom and his companions.

"Yeah, you're gonna _regret_ crossing u- AGH!"

Before the Manectric could finish his sneer, Pladur rushed forward with a double blow from his tusks, catching the Electric-Type in his left flank.

"G-Get the Manectric!"

The wolf tumbled back with a yelp, hastily coming to his feet with a growl as a pair of ruddy marks on his pelt. The creature arched his back and began to build up static on his body...

"Eat sparks you overgrown-!"

Alvise once again failed to finish his taunt, as Ander swiftly cut the Manectric off with a Slash. Although the blow thwarted the wolf's Discharge, it gave a painful shock to the Scyther and sent him stumbling back screeching in pain as Alvise came to a tumbling stop against a damaged section of railing. Noticing that the sections seemed frailed, Kiran immediately reacted by sending a powerful wind at the Electric-Type, pushing Alvise back against the wood with a crack...

"A-AAAAAH!"

_SPLASH!_

Followed by him falling overboard into the sea. Before anyone could take any particular satisfaction in Alvise's rout, the group was promptly set upon by Nori and Valatos. The Yanmega sent a sharp gust of air towards a visibly tottering Kiran, only for Ander to step in the way and yelp after being struck by the cutting wind. Pladur was struck from behind by a heavy blow, and tumbled towards a break in the railing, desperately trying to scurry to the side as Nori pounced on him with a series of forceful strikes from his bony club.

"A-Aagh!"

"Hah! Can't take it as good as you dish out, huh?" the Marowak sneered.

"DAD!"

In a panic, Crom bolted for the Ground-Type harrying his father, opened his maw, and bit down on the Marowak's swinging arm with all the strength he could muster. The bone lizard bellowed in pain and whirled around. The Ground-Type tugged to try and pull his right arm free, only for the young dragon to remain stubbornly latched onto him. Sensing a need to change strategies, Nori passed over his bone to his other arm and tightened his grip on it.

"ARGH!" Nori yelped, as he brought his club down on Crom's head. "Let go of me, you little pest!"

The young Dragon-Type let go of his grip with a cry of pain, prompting the Marowak to wrench his arm free, and prepare to bring another blow down on the Druddigon. Out of the corner of his eye, the Marowak caught the sight of a Fraxure whipping himself into a frenzy with a rhythmic dance, and running for him with a fierce roar. The Ground-Type went wide-eyed and tried to raise his bone to counter, only to bellow in pain after two hacking blows struck him from the front. The creature clutched as his stomach, and watched as a set of ruddy claws trailing a greenish aura came and uppercut his jaw...

**SMACK!**

"AAAAAAAAAH!"

_SPLOOSH!_

Sending the hapless Marowak flying overboard, and onto the form of a blue-and-yellow wolf treading water in the sea.

"Ow! Nori!" a whining voice cried. "Watch where you're falling!"

Meanwhile, Kiran sent out a cutting gust of wind at Valatos, only for his blow to be swiftly dodged by his opponent. The dragonfly flitted around the tired Swellow, taunting his foe.

"Heh heh, you're weak, bird!" the Yanmega taunted. "I was whipping up stronger winds as a Yanma!"

"Kiran!" a voice buzzed. "Move out of the way!"

"Whuh?"

Before Valatos could turn towards the source of the voice, he felt something chitinous and sharp slam against his side and send him tumbling to the deck. The dragonfly staggered up from the deck's timbers, only to screech out of pain after a slash raked along his back. The creature buzzed out of panicked surprise and sent an Air Slash towards Ander, before turning around and hastily flying away from his attackers.

"A-Argh!" he exclaimed. "You clods weren't supposed to be getting the best of me like this!"

Crom and his companions hastily gave chase to the struggling dragonfly, with Pladur leading the charge. The Fraxure tensed his legs, ready to pounce on the Bug-Type, only to suddenly feel the deck jolt underfoot.

"Do I have to do _everything_ around here?" bellowed a deep, raspy voice.

Crom, Kiran, Ander, and Pladur all paled as they turned and saw Hess' lumbering form running at them at full speed, his head lowered and tensed for a vicious headbutt. The four dove out of the way of the charging Aggron, only for the metal lizard's headbutt to catch Pladur and run him into a mast.

"EYAAAAH!"

"PLADUR!"

Crom froze in place as he saw Hess step back and his father's unconscious body flop onto the deck. The Aggron turned and bared his teeth at the group, growling lowly and stirring up unwelcome memories in Crom's mind. The last time he had fought with the pirate captain, he easily knocked him and his friends out. H-how was he supposed to do any better now?!

"I was hoping you all would be taken care of by now, but that's fine with me," the Aggron snarled. "I'll just have to handle you myself!"

"Crom! Get out of here!"

"We'll hold him off!"

Crom turned his head in the direction of Kiran's voice just in time to catch sight of the Swellow whipping up a powerful Whirlwind. The wind sailed on, and made Hess fight to keep his footing and not get blown over. While the Aggron struggled to keep his balance, Ander flicked his scythes towards Hess, sending forward a white shockwave that sailed on and struck in between the Steel-Type's plates.

"Grah!"

The Aggron stumbled and bellowed in pain from the attack, but quickly recovered, much to everyone's horror. The lizard gave an angry roar and stomped the deck hard enough to snap the timbers underfoot, calling up a barrage of rocks from the ship's ballast that sliced through the deck. The projectiles punched through the wood and carried into the air before falling in a great pile, sweeping up Kiran and Ander in the process.

The Swellow came off worse out of the two with a pained squawk as a spray of gravel slammed into him. The bird went limp and tumbled in the air, plummeting to the deck with a dull thud. Ander on the other hand, was able to dodge the bulk of the stony flechette, leaving the mantis to struggle to get back up. Any relief he had was short-lived, as the Scyther looked up wide-eyed as he saw Hess storming towards him.

"Time to squish you, you little gnat!"

Crom looked on blankly as the ragged Scyther bolted in blind terror from the pursuing pirate captain. It was happening all over again, Hess was too strong for the team and there wasn't anything that could be done about it... was there?

The Druddigon's gaze settled over a bag next to Kiran's unconscious body. Wait a minute, maybe there was something in there! Crom darted over and rifled through the bag, haphazardly pulling out bruised berries and crumpled paper in search for anything that could turn the tide.

_Tak-tak_

The Dragon-Type looked by his feet, and noticed that while rummaging through Kiran's bag, a Blast Seed had rolled out. The Druddigon looked down at the seed, and without a moment's hesitation, grabbed it, and ran towards Hess as fast as his quailing, uneasy legs could carry him.

"L-Leave him alone!"

Crom watched as the lumbering steel lizard turned around, and without thinking, threw a Blast Seed towards his head. The seed sailed on, only for the Steel-Type to spot it from the corner of his eye and duck in a panic and leave the projectile sailing along overhead.

"Ha!" Hess jeered. "You _missed!_ "

**BOOM!**

The Aggron instinctively turned back in the direction of the Mistral Marauder at the sound of the boom, and saw that Crom's Blast Seed had carried on into the base of the forward mast, leaving it smoldering with burnt sails and listing at an odd angle.

"Ack! My ship!" he cried. "How on earth did it get so torn up?!"

As Hess bewailed the condition of his ship, Valatos cautiously returned as Alvise and Nori managed to stagger their way back to the deck using the climbing ropes the Iron Fleet had thrown up during their earlier boarding.

"Urgh… lousy hicks-" Alvise spat. "Eh?! They're right there!"

"Yeah, you shoulda run while you-!" Nori began, only to be cut off by a frightened squeal from his captain.

"A-AAH!" Hess yelped. "Stay away!"

The Aggron captain reflexively swiped his tail at Nori in a flailing panic before the Marowak could finish his taunt, the blow abruptly shoving the hapless Ground-Type back into the water as Alvise and Valatos traded dumbfounded looks.

"Captain, he was on _our_ side!" Valatos complained.

"That's- er- I was helping him!" Hess insisted. "We're pulling back!"

"Wait, we _are?_ " the dragonfly asked, only to be interrupted brusquely by the Steel-Type.

"That's right, we are!"

With the Mistral Marauder in as rough of shape as it was, it was best to retreat while he still could. Besides, his crew had done their own share of damage to this ship, enough to count as revenge and send those Tromban punks a message.

"Everyone, move out!" the Aggron bellowed. "And give these morons something to remember us by!"

At the sound of their Captain's call, the bulk of the golden-scarved Pokémon started to retreat back to their ship. The disorganized and battered crew of the Siglo Swellow tried to give chase and attack after them, only for a number of the invaders to spit fires and burning beams across the ship, the sensations of the fires whipping up a panic among the crew...

"Fire! Fire!"

"Heh heh! Here, have one from me!" Alvise sneered. The wolf opened his maw as orange flames began to wreath his teeth and clamped down on some nearby rigging, the fibrous ropes quickly catching ablaze much to Crom and his companions' horror.

"A-Ack! You can't do this-!" Crom exclaimed.

"Take a hike, brat!"

Before Crom could finish his protest, Hess struck him with a swinging blow from his metal-banded tail. The hapless dragon sailed on, pinwheeling against the deck, and striking his left wing against a dashed railing before he felt air under his feet.

"A-aaah!"

The Druddigon flailed blindly as he fell towards the sea, before managing to snag a fragment of a climbing rope that had been cut short during the battle and smacked against the side of the ship. Crom hung on, panting as he felt pain wracking his body, along with a lukewarm, sticky fluid starting to trickle down his abdomen as confused shouts and the crackle of flames came from above deck.

The Dragon-Type weakly tried to pull himself up, only to feel the rope start to give under his grasp and hot embers dust his crest. The Druddigon looked up in a panic, where he saw that a burning plank had set his rope alight, beginning to fray it where it met the flames. Crom looked desperately around for an escape, only to find that there was no exit, no other way to climb up... Only the sea below, waiting to suck up his injured body.

Suddenly, Crom felt the flat of one of Ander's blades brush against his claw. The nettle lizard looked left and saw that the blotched Scyther had climbed down, embedding his other blade into the hull to prop himself up.

"Hang in there, Crom!"

Crom carefully latched onto it, and clambered onto Ander's shoulders as the rope gave way and fell into the sea. Ander carefully worked to climb his way back up with his new passenger, slowly planting one scythe after the other into parts of the hull further ahead. All the while as the Scyther made his way back up, Crom shivered, still shaking and beginning to tear up from his ordeal.

"It's alright! It's alright!" the Bug-Type insisted. "It's over… We're- we're going to be okay…"

A gentle rain kicked up, as a Sliggoo summoned a localized drizzle with a chanting Rain Dance. As the drops came down, the flames licking the ship began to ebb and die off as other Pokémon that had fallen overboard were helped back aboard the now-battered schooner. And so it was that the blotched Scyther tiredly flopped down on the deck alongside the young Druddigon after having carried him up, the low rainclouds overhead hanging over the ship much like an ill omen.

* * *

**SPLUTCH!**

As rainy clouds formed over the Siglo Swellow, a different kind of storm cloud brewed deep within Mengir's fort. At the training grounds inside the compound, Lyn drew a seamitar back from the fading body of a freshly-beheaded Dragonite Substitute. Dissatisfied with the effects of his blow, the Samurott hacked and speared the Substitute's body a few more times, growling in frustration all the while.

"Captain, don't you think you oughta take a break from cutting up those Substitutes?"

Lyn tightened his grip on his seamitar and looked over his shoulder. There behind him stood Ketu, picking his claws disinterestedly as usual.

"Hrmph. I don't think you need to worry about my sparring habits, Ketu," Lyn icily answered.

"Sparring? Looks more like you're blowing off steam over missing out on that bird," the Weavile retorted.

"And so what if I am?" the Samurott spat. The Water-Type glowered at his subordinate, reflexively tightening his paw's grip on his seamitar, only for a sudden commotion to break his focus.

"H-Hey, Payak! Lighten up a little! It's just a practice session!"

The Samurott and Weavile turned their attention to the field beside them, where a Tangela frantically threw a hissing Ariados off of him. The Bug-Type hissed and shrieked out of obvious frustration, and threw himself back at his hapless opponent, snapping his mandibles furiously as Lyn and Ketu traded askew looks with each other.

"Tch, fair enough," the Dark-Type conceded. "Looks like you're not the only one blowing off steam anyway."

The Samurott sat and shook his head, raising a paw to pinch his brow with a frustrated growl.

"Grr… this just isn't my mission…"

"I know, I know. All I'm saying is don't get so hung up over it," the First Mate offered. "It's been awhile since I filled that unexpected vacancy for the Argent Aviso's First Mate, and that bird's the slipperiest target I've seen since then."

"Hrmph. It would be nice if you'd care as much about being prompt with your work," Lyn snapped.

"Eh. You can't rush results," the Weavile nonchalantly answered. "Besides, if we really get into too much trouble, I'm sure that I could try calling in a favor or two."

The Samurott paused and gave a puzzled twitch of his whiskers at his First Mate's comments. The mustelid turned his head to the Weavile, giving a quizzical look.

"Huh?" Lyn asked. "What are you going on about, Ketu-?"

"Lyn!"

The Samurott and his Weavile First Mate whirled around just in time to catch Ellsberg flying in in a hurry. The Mothim hastily landed and caught his breath, wide-eyed and clearly surprised by something.

"What is it Ellsberg?"

"It's the Board!" the Mothim buzzed. "They're coming to Mengir for an emergency meeting!"

"What?!" Lyn snapped upright in shock and went wide-eyed at the moth's statement. Did Ellsberg just say what he thought he heard?!

"A messenger arrived just a few minutes ago!" Ellsberg exclaimed. "Director Inler is on his way over here alongside Administrator Farn and Elilan. They'll be here within the next few hours!"

Lyn gritted his teeth and slammed his seamitar into the ground. And here he thought his day couldn't get any worse.

"Ugh... just what I needed," he hissed through clenched teeth.

* * *

The Siglo Swellow was in shambles, but mercifully still seaworthy. A large hole in the side had been covered by a compound of sawdust and ice, courtesy of the crew's Ice-types; severe repairs would be needed once they next came into port.

The crew had taken nearly as bad a beating as the ship; the ship's doctor had his work cut out dressing wounds and administering berry juices. Crom and Ander had been pressed into nurse duties as soon as possible due to their comparatively light injuries, with Kiran joining in after he finally regained consciousness. One of their number, however, had yet to awaken.

"Nrgh…"

The Fraxure began stirring weakly, the Dragon-Type's form faintly shifting and moving in reaction to various aches and wounds all over his scaled body. Finally, Pladur opened his eyes, weakly lifting his head to meet his son's face.

_"E-Estás bien!"_

Crom embraced his dad instantly, drying his tears on the Fraxure's face. The axe-headed Dragon raised a claw and brought it up to his son's crest with a gentle caress.

"H-Heh… it takes more than that to get your old _papí_ down," the Fraxure said, wiping at his son's damp eyes. "The ship make it through alright?"

"Well, we're still _sailing_ at least, but that's about as much as I can say for it," Ander sighed.

"What do you mean by that?" Pladur asked.

"There's a huge hole in the starboard hull, much of the crew is sleeping off wounds like you just were, and the decks are full of holes from all that ballast Hess pulled up with his Rock Slide," the Scyther sighed. "To top it off, the ship's now moving much slower from it all."

"The fire damage certainly didn't help matters, either. The sails and rigging above deck are in burnt tatters right now," Kiran added. "And since the Iron Fleet made off with our spares, we're barely keeping what's left together by some spot repairs."

"H-Huh?!" Crom exclaimed. "But Pleo's still at Mengir and Lyn's going after him! We'll still make it there in time, right?"

Ander and Kiran stood in silence, unable to offer a favorable reply. The oxygen seemed to be sucked out of the room, as the three elder Pokémon traded unnerved looks with each other, leaving Crom to ask again, this time in a weaker and warier voice.

"Won't we…?" the Druddigon murmured.

Once again nobody answered. Contemplating the limping, nearly helpless state of the Siglo Swellow, Crom's hope slowly started to fade. If Lyn _had_ already found Pleo… what could any of them hope to do now...?

* * *

Far away from the Siglo Swellow, a frigate with sails that had been hastily died white with red saltires sailed into a lagoon ringed by an atoll. The ship turned for a lonely set of docks surrounded by a handful of huts and palisades with wild and unkept palm groves with unscarved Pokémon moving around just beyond.

"Lower the anchor!"

A buzzing cry came up from the Beedrill First Mate, which was quickly followed by the _splash_ of the stone anchor hitting the water. The deck hands and escorts in the sea and air quickly flew into a flurry of activity, shifting the ship with currents and throwing out lines as the ship sidled up against a wooden wharf. As some Pokémon from the three-masted vessel hopped onto the dock to tie their ship down on the moorings, a number of the sea escorts eased away to keep a watchful eye on the vessel and chatter among themselves...

"Ugh... a mission in Company waters and all we're doing is bobbing around the ship..." Cyanea groaned.

Including a none-too-pleased Tentacruel, along with a bemused-looking Sharpedo partner who shook her head.

"Tch, lighten up a little!" the shark scoffed. "The world's not going to end from you missing _one_ mission…"

"But it was an important mission!" the jellyfish protested, flailing her tendrils excitedly "Just what exactly out here is more important than making sure everything in Company waters goes smoothly?!"

"Finally! Time to relax on the beach!"

"Dibs on that spot under the coconut tree!"

The Tentacruel frowned and turned back to the ship to see that the crew had spotted a pink-sanded beach just beyond the palisades and was making their way for the coast for some much needed relaxation... Only for their progress to be hastily interrupted by a loud, displeased buzz, which drew their attention back to a stern-faced Beedrill flitting above the bridge.

"Now hold on a minute!" Jun barked. "None of you are going anywhere until the assignments are handed out!"

A chorus of groans came from the frigate's crew, as their much-anticipated shore leave was held up by their stickler First Mate. Some grumbles and dirty looks floated about, as complaints bubbled among the gathered Pokémon.

" _Seriously?_ "

"Why'd Captain Nugget have _him_ as a First Mate?"

" _Ibwa_ , you _know_ how our docking protocol works! Just because the Captain isn't here doesn't mean I'm about to ignore it!" the Bug-Type snapped. "So, to start with… do we have any volunteers for any assignments?"

A long, uncomfortable silence fell over the gathering, as one by one Pokémon looked away or whistled innocuously. That was, until a low, gruff voice suddenly responded from the water.

"Cyanea and I will get provisions for the galley from Braveshoal Town," the Sharpedo offered.

"Eh?! Katyusha?!" the Tentacruel interjected. "What are you-?!"

"Proposal approved," the wasp buzzed. "Get a move on, we'll need those provisions as soon as you can get them!"

The Sharpedo gave a nod in affirmation before swimming off, leaving her partner to splutter in place before grudgingly following after the shark. The two dove under the surface, the light getting dimmer as the two Water-Types continued deeper into the sea. All the while, Cyanea glared daggers at her partner, breaking the silence with an exasperated huff.

"Katyusha, why did you _do_ that?!" the jellyfish exclaimed.

"You seemed a bit high-strung, so I figured you could use a break from the normal grind," the shark explained.

"How on earth is going on a supply run supposed to help?!" the Poison-Type hissed.

As the two Water Pokémon continued swimming, large, clustered shapes began to enter their field of vision along the seabed. As the duo drew closer to the seabed, it became apparent the shapes were clusters of dome-shaped buildings, which were stitched together by a web of air tunnels and large bubbles not too unlike those of the Subway. All around the buildings and the bubble-passages were pastel-colored corals as far as the eye could see, all teeming with schools of belt-wearing Pokémon swimming to and fro among the vibrant reef.

"You didn't honestly think that I volunteered to do this because I had a strong work ethic, did you?" the Katyusha asked, chuckling. "Not when there's places to see and things to do here in Braveshoal Town!"

"…You got me into this to drag me to Soapy's, didn't you?"

"It's _Sophie's_ , and I wasn't planning on spending _all_ my time at eateries playing dice over snacks!" the Sharpedo rebutted. "We'll get those supplies eventually!"

The Tentacruel huffed and shot back an unsatisfied leer, prompting the Sharpedo to circle around the jellyfish and decide that perhaps her appeal just needed a slight repackaging to sway her tough customer.

"But really now, would you rather be up on the surface bobbing around and sulking?" Katyusha prodded, "or grabbing a bite and playing a game or two of dice instead?"

Cyanea paused and thought for a moment. She wanted nothing more than to prove herself and make a difference against the Company and restore the Empire's realms, and this was the perfect mission to do it! ...On the other hand, she couldn't do much against the Captain's orders, and floating around the ship in wait for attackers that would likely never come wasn't all that productive either. Not to mention that some relaxation _would_ be nice...

"... I'll take you up on that game of dice," the jellyfish answered.

"Great! So let's hurry up, then!"

Katyusha zipped along in the water, prompting Cyanea to follow after her wake. As the jellyfish carried along, her frustrations began to ebb away. It _had_ been a long journey over…

Besides, on a mission as important as her crew's current one, there was no telling if she would be needed to jump back into action in the future.

* * *

"Are we almost there yet?"

The team had been traversing the Subway tunnels for hours now after leaving Seaspear Station. They had passed marker after marker along the Subway's path, but going on foot was slower, and apparently more tiring than going by sea or air, which was starting to reflect in Team Traveller's increasingly tired gaits.

"Just a little longer Pleo," Nida said as she nuzzled the little Lugia in an attempt to comfort him. "It shouldn't take too long now."

But I'm tired and my feet hurt!" Pleo protested. "Couldn't you have let me swim?"

"Pleo, your wing's still hurt and seawater isn't good for the bandages," Nida chided. "Besides, we can't help you if you're zipping off way ahead of us…"

"But there's still no town in sight!"

A silence fell throughout the group as nobody knew for sure how to respond. They _had_ been walking for a while… As the faint burbling of the bubbleweed filled the silence, Nida thought about how to reassure Pleo, but before she could Guardia spoke up.

"You know he does actually have a point…" the Cubone said. "We've been walking in the direction those sheep pointed us for ages now but there's still no sign of this 'Braveshoal Town.' How do we know this isn't a trap?"

"Don't focus so much on the worst-case scenario!" Nida cried. "We've been through worse before!"

The Nidoran forced a smile, though the tension squeezing the rest of her body still came through obviously enough to be picked up by her unswayed teammates.

"You remember how scary the storm was, right? But we still pulled through it!" Nida exclaimed. "If we made it through that, I'm sure we can make it through finding this 'Blue Fairy'!"

"Um, spike ball, you _do_ remember that we fell into the sea just after we got out of it, right?" Elty reminded. "We would've drowned there if it weren't for that Skarmory and Kabutops, and we're on our own right now."

A pall came over the group along with shudders from that fateful night that allowed them to escape. The seas around them suddenly felt much larger and foreboding as an uncomfortable realization started to weigh down on the four. There was no one to turn to down here in the lonely Subway passage if something went wrong, just them and the vast waters above...

Should they turn back? There would be other Pokémon, yes, but wouldn't they just be waiting for the Company to come and find them? And what of their hopes of getting home? Wasn't that the reason why they left in the first place?

Then… perhaps, the best thing to do, was just to keep on trudging ahead. Towards their uncertain hope.

"Oh wait, I think I see something up ahead!"

After the sound of Pleo's surprised squawk, the group looked off ahead in the distance. There, muddled by the filtering of the deep water was the sight of a great coral reef riddled with bubbles and dome-shaped structures. It was a little strange-looking, but…

"Ah! _Soko da!_ " Guardia exclaimed. "That must be that town those sheep told us about!"

"Well, whatever it is, it's certainly bigger than a rest stop," Elty murmured. "But… are we really making the right choice heading into it?"

"But Elty!" Pleo protested. "It's right here!"

The rabbit paused and twitched her whiskers anxiously. The town ahead was unknown territory, they didn't know if it would be friendly, or even if it was, if the Company had already beaten them there and laid in wait for it. On the other hand, Alexandria and her children said that the Blue Fairy was there, and that was the only lead any of them had for a way to help break the endless cycle of pursuit.

With those choices laid before her, the Poison-Type gave a shake of her head, and turned to her companions.

"... We've come this far," Nida said. "Let's not give up just yet"

The four members of Team Traveller looked ahead, and after a moment's hesitation, set off for the town in the distance. The lot hoping upon the stars that misfortune would not follow them there during their present time of weakness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
>  
> 
> \- _(¡)Retrocedan!_ \- Spanish: "Fall back!", "Retreat!"  
>  \- _zaczekaj chwilę_ \- Polish: "wait a moment", "wait a second"  
>  \- _(¡)Estás bien!_ \- Spanish: "You're alright!"  
>  \- _Ibwa (_ _이봐_ _)_ \- Korean: "Hey", used here as an interjection. (South Korean Revised Romanization)  
>  \- _Soko da! (_ _そこだ_ _!)_ Japanese: Expression roughly analogous to "There it is!" (Hepburn Romanzation)  
> 


	43. High and Low

"Wow, this place looks amazing!"

Pleo bobbed his head excitedly about to and fro at his surroundings in Braveshoal Town. Team Traveller's trek from the ridge overlooking the atoll's lagoon had taken them down into a great reef flecked by a collection of dome and bell-shaped buildings at an intersection of several air tunnels.

The nexus of bubble-covered paths made for a lively settlement; not a foot of street was clear of the vendor stands hawking snacks and bubbleweed or entertainers vying for loose Poké. A group of Maractus, dancing with maracas, caught Nida's eye in particular.

The business even spilled outside the air bubble- a school of small, blue fish grouped up in the form of a much larger fish could be seen swimming around the wall, just as a massive Wailord blocked the sun by floating above the tunnel's ceiling much to the Poison-Type's amazement.

"I didn't think there would really be an entire town underwater like this," she said.

"Recall that not every Pokemon lives on land like us," Elty chided. "Just look at those Pokémon Dimitri hangs out with."

"So those sheep really were speaking the truth then..." Guardia murmured as she got distracted by the groups of sea Pokémon swimming overhead.

"Where did they say we'd find the Blue Fairy then?" Pleo asked.

Nida stared ahead blankly and folded her ears back. Now that she thought about it, Bodie and Currituck _hadn't_ told them a specific place where the Blue Fairy would be...

"Er…"

"Need a better way to pack a punch? Step right up to Alcon's Traveling Move Tutor!"

"Huh?" Nida asked. The Nidoran turned and saw that up ahead at the edge of the air tunnel, a table had been set up. Behind it, there was a pink-and-blue bird with a roughly polygonal shape floating back and forth cheerily chirping aloud.

"Whether you're swimming down here in the sea or soaring in the skies above, my tutoring will help you throw your foes off-balance!"

"Oh! Melissa! Melissa!" Pleo cried. The little Protector chirped and dashed along towards the Move Tutor's stand, drawing a flustered outcry from Elty.

" _Mewa_ , wait!" the Growlithe barked. But it was too late, the little Lugia had already made his way up to a now flustered-looking Porygon, prattling happily along.

"Why is your voice suddenly lower?" Pleo asked. "And why's your shop so different?"

"Erm… hello, little one," the polygonal bird hummed back. "I think you might have me mistaken for another instance... I'm Alcon."

Pleo blinked and tilted his head curiously. The little Protector at first thought it strange that there were other Pokémon like Melissa in the Cradle… only to realize that this had happened before with Bader back in Seahive. The Flying-Type was not the only member of Team Traveller to find the bird strange, as Guardia scanned and sniffed at the bird and his stand as if he suddenly sprouted a second head.

"Eh?! What kind of hut-dweller nonsense is this?!" Guardia exclaimed, her answer swiftly answered by an excited chirp from Pleo.

"This Pokémon will teach you new moves from magical plate thingies called 'tee-yems'!"

"Actually, it's just biodata pressed onto a organic composite storage disc," the Porygon insisted. "I'm here in Braveshoal to ply my trade to some soggier-than-normal customers."

Nida frowned in puzzlement. So this move tutor moved around... but why? Wasn't it risky to be moving around with a bunch of valuable plates like that?

"Eh?" Nida asked. "But aren't you worried about getting robbed?"

"That's what _I'm_ here for," a rough, burbling voice answered.

Team Traveller looked up, and watched as a hulking Barbaracle came around the corner of the stand. Was this Alcon's guard? It would certainly explain why he wasn't worried about getting robbed...

"That's correct, this big guy here helps me get around," the Porygon chirped. "Once my collection gets a bit too big, I'll sell off a less popular TM to a more stationary instance or put it in storage. Can't pack too heavy, after all!"

"Wait, you can teach moves?" Guardia asked, her eyes lighting up and her tail wagging expectantly. "Would any of them be able to teach _Jishin?_ "

"I wanna learn a glowy beam attack!" Pleo added.

"Knowing Ice Beam like _mami_ couldn't hurt…" Nida murmured, putting a paw to her muzzle. The Poison-Type daydreamed a little of the things she'd do with her newfound skill… only for her thoughts to be interrupted by Elty frowning and drooping his ears out of annoyance.

"Oi, stop dawdling!" Elty snapped. "We don't have the money to get anyone tutored, and I thought we were looking for the Blue Fairy to get _out_ of this soggy dump!"

The Porygon swiveled back to answer the Growlithe that had aborted his business negotiation, giving an annoyed electronic hiss.

"... If you're looking for the Blue Fairy, I'm afraid she isn't here," Alcon replied, his voice coming out with an unamused chirp. "I would recommend trying your luck closer to the Center."

"Yeah, and if you aren't buying anything, you can move along," the Barbanacle growled. "This is a business, not a playground!"

The barnacle guard shot a piercing glare at the quartet, which made Team Traveller lower their heads and tails and hurry away from the the Move Tutor's stand. As the Barbaracle turned his attention back to the stand, Nida, Pleo, and Guardia gave sour looks at the little Fire-Type, still a bit miffed from him getting them unceremoniously chased off.

"You could have gotten us to leave _differently_ you know!" the Cubone growled, giving a bat of her club against her claw. "But… since we're talking about it, where in the 'Center' would this 'Blue Fairy' _be?_ This place is huge!"

They sat down to think at some stones at the side of the air passage. Clearly there weren't any signs pointing the way to their target, and the shopkeepers would apparently not be enthused to help them.

"Maybe the best thing to do is to narrow down the places she could be at," Nida said, before confidently looking off at the small clusters of undersea buildings in the distance.

"After all, it doesn't look like this Braveshoal Town is _that_ big…" the Nidoran insisted. "She can't be _that_ hard to find."

* * *

"How can she be _this_ hard to find?!"

After making their way to the center of Braveshoal Town, Nida and her teammates spent hours checking the district's nooks and crannies, but still hadn't seen any sign of the Blue Fairy. The team had come to a rest at the central square of town, which was filled Pokémon going from shop to shop.

"Maybe we're doing something wrong?" Guardia asked.

"Yeah, those sheep did say that this Blue Fairy also had a history with the Company," Elty said. "Who's to say she'd want to be open about where she is?"

"But what should we do then?" Pleo chirped

Before the team could continue, a question from a rough, growling voice rang out from behind with an uncomfortably familiar cadence.

"Are you kids lost?"

The group froze and went wide-eyed as they realized that what they heard sounded like _Lyn's_ voice. Team Traveller's members whirled around where to their horror, they saw a hulking Samurott looking down with a scowl, which made the team jump back with a panicked start.

"A-Aah!" Pleo squawked " _Nida!_ "

"L-Lyn?!" the Nidoran squeaked, fanning out her barbs and growing increasingly pallid. "H-How did-?! You're not supposed to be-!"

" _B-Bogowie_ …"

As Elty's frightened whine hung in the air, the Fire-Type backpedaled slowly, quivering and pulling his ears and tail tight to his body. Even Guardia's kneejerk aggression was colored by her shock and quailing limbs at the giant foe before her, her grip on her club coming trembling and unsteady.

"Y-You're not going to bat us around!" she cried. "N-Not without a fight!"

The Samurott fished out one of his blades as concerned onlookers began to stare at the unfolding incident. A Popplio and Brionne poking their heads up from a nearby Kecleon shop, a Krabby hastily scuttling away sideways… Even the Sharpedo and Tentacruel towing a load of chests wrapped up in rope netting overhead paused and murmured to one another.

"Sevan? What's going on out there?"

A burbling voice called out, its owner quickly revealing himself to be a blue Jellicent that floated out from a nearby submerged structure. Nida, Pleo, Elty, and Guardia looked at the bobbing wraith, and then back at the Samurott, where they recognized that he was missing Lyn's scarf and its trademark purple fractal. In its place was a tan belt with black wave design on it worn as a choker, then…

Just what was going on here?

"A case of mistaken identity, it seems," the Samurott grunted. "As the nice Jellicent mentioned, I'm 'Sevan', not 'Lyn'."

Pleo and Nida hesitated, as Elty shot a wary look at the Water-Type. The gathered crowd, realizing nothing too interesting was going on, began to return to their business. Guardia for her part gave a puzzled tilt of her head. If this wasn't the 'Lyn' creature that her teammates so feared, who was he, and why did they think he was the same?

"Eh? What do you do down here anyways?" she prodded.

"I'm what you'd call 'private security,'" the Samurott answered, lowering his free seamitar. "Not every town has enough monpower to watch every part constantly, and some places like this bank here need more some extra protection."

"And so they pay 'mons like you to provide it," Elty said.

"Correct," the otter answered. The creature nonchalantly gave the blade a playful spin about his knuckles, and then slid it back into its sheath, making Nida, Pleo, and Elty's eyes go wide.

"... Where did you learn how to do that?" Nida asked uneasily.

"I picked it up from my father," Sevan replied. "You could say it's a habit that runs in the family."

"But… are you _really_ not Lyn?" Pleo pressed. "I mean, he did that same thingy with his sword that you just-"

"Again, it's _Sevan_ ," the Samurott tersely insisted, before giving a shake of his head. "And you needed directions, didn't you? What exactly were you looking for earlier?"

Pleo shifted his wounded wing slightly against his bandages, unsure of whether or not this 'Sevan' was safe to trust. After a little hesitation and realizing that they hadn't had much luck with prior attempts at asking, the young Protector decided to take a leap of faith.

"We were looking for the Blue Fairy," the Lugia explained. "But we've gone through every tunnel in town and she wasn't by any one of them!"

"Last I was aware, the Blue Fairy didn't make a habit of hanging around easy-to-reach places, especially for airbreathers," Sevan muttered. "And be mindful that there _is_ more to this town for those that can swim."

"What do you mean by that?" Guardia asked.

"I'm saying that you might have a better idea of where the Blue Fairy would be if you asked someone from one of the clans that swam in recently," the mustelid answered. "The rumor mill about her has been particularly strong in the western resting grounds from what I've heard."

"Wait, wait, wait," Elty replied. "But if this place doesn't have a Subway tunnel going to it, how are _we_ supposed to get there?"

"I'd suggest you find someone from the _Khranitel Rod_ to take you there, they're the ones claiming it right now," the otter grunted. "You'll know as soon as you see them. They wear blue belts with a red dot on them."

Blue belts with a red dot on them? Wait a minute, that was the same pattern that Dimitri wore! So all they had to do was to find Dimitri or one of his clanmates!

"Er... thanks for the help, Sevan," Nida said. "And sorry about the misunderstanding earlier…"

"Don't worry about it," the Samurott answered, giving a dismissive wave of his paw. "I've got a job to get back to, and it sounds like you do too."

"Right!" the Poison-Type cried, turning to her companions. "Come on, let's go!"

Team Traveller quickly set off down a Subway path leading to a cluster of domed buildings in the distance, slipping off into the teeming street. As the four vanished off into crowded air tunnel, the Jellicent swam over to Sevan, giving a curious tilt of his bell to his hired help.

"Sevan, isn't 'Lyn' the name of that brother of yours you sometimes go on about?" the Ghost-Type asked.

"Yes…?"

"How come you didn't tell anything about that to those kids?" the jellyfish replied. The Samurott shifted uncomfortably and cast his gaze off into the distance, before shaking his head and turning back to the Jellicent

"Because the path my brother took in life is his, and the one I chose is my own," the otter finally answered. "I'd like to keep it that way."

* * *

A short while later, in the water high above Braveshoal, a Tentacruel and Sharpedo swam along under gentle waves with provisions packed in waterlogged crates. The two stabilized their crate-laden net, and then set off ahead for the frigate in the distance, towing their provisions towards the form of the frigate's hull and the neighboring dock pylons.

"Remind me again why we're not back at Sophie's and just having someone else carry these crates for us again?" the Sharpedo grumbled.

"Katyusha, be reasonable," Cyanea scoffed. "Just how well do you think Jun is going to take some random locals swimming up to the ship with cargo that _we're_ supposed to be towing?"

"Hey!" the shark retorted. "It would work if they got it in when he wasn't looking!"

Cyanea shook her bell and gave a dismissive roll of her eyes. Even if she was a handy partner for whiling away some free time, the Tentacruel never had fully made her peace with Katyusha's laxness with regard to missions.

"Who knows, if we helped out those kids back at that square, we could've gotten them to help us tow these crates!" the Sharpedo said.

The Tentacruel shot Katyusha a skeptical look. She wasn't really talking about those children who were screaming over that Samurott, was she?

"Are these the land-breathers with the weird bird?" the jellyfish asked. "How are they supposed to be of any help when they can't swim?"

Katyusha drifted with a blank stare for a moment, before giving a shake of her head as she realized that it probably _would_ have been a bit much to expect a bunch of airbreather pups to swim well.

"Err… point, I guess…" the shark replied. "Though I wonder why they were going on about that 'Lyn' guy…"

"Who now?"

"You know, 'Lyn'?" Katyusha prodded. "The name they were saying to the Samurott who said they were getting him confused?"

"Hold on..." the Tentacruel mulled. "Wasn't 'Lyn' the name of that Commissioner that Captain Nugget said she was spying on back in Mengir?"

Bah, why was _Katyusha_ of all Pokémon bringing up Nagant's mission now? Commissioner Lyn was an entire island away, and would surely be after the same sea god the captain was.

… Hey, wait a minute!

"Ack! That weird Wingull thing!" Cyanea exclaimed. "That was the god we've been looking for!"

"Well then what are we waiting for?!" Katyusha cried. "Let's get these provisions over and tell Jun about it!"

"Right-!"

The Tentacruel started to swim off for the frigate, but stopped abruptly as a sudden thought crossed her mind. Would reporting their findings to Jun _really_ be the best way to capture that god...?

"Actually, Katyusha… are we _sure_ we want to tell him?" Cyanea asked.

"What are you going on about?" the Sharpedo demanded. "Jun's the First Mate and he'd be right there! Why _wouldn't_ we want to tell him?"

"Well, what if he doesn't do anything about it?" the jellyfish countered.

"Are we talking about the same Beedrill here?" Katyusha scoffed. "Why would he pass up on finishing our mission?"

"Well, for one, Otvaga isn't in our jurisdiction," the Poison-Type retorted. "Don't you think that picking a fight here would give him a bit of pause?"

"Why would it? It's just a dinky little atoll!"

"A dinky little atoll that all the sea _rodov_ around here stop by," the Poison-Type explained. "If they rallied together, they'd be able to move and attack every sea route the Empire uses!"

Katyusha paused as she realized her friend made a good argument. To top it off, if the _rodov_ in town were to attack the ship, there'd be no way the crew could hope to defend it!

"Er…"

"And what if he doesn't believe us to begin with?" the jellyfish pressed.

"Well, we can't just let him get away!" the shark cried.

"Exactly," Cyanea said. "Which is why _we_ should catch him on our own!"

The Sharpedo gave her teammate a confused look. Did Cyanea just really suggest that they should catch the sea god on their _own?_

"Come again?" Katyusha asked, giving a skeptical tilt of her head. "I mean, you're suggesting that we go up against a _god_..."

"If he shrank back from some Samurott, he can't be _that_ tough. And think about it," the jellyfish replied. "If it's just the two of us chasing that god, the worst that can happen is a day or two of detention or _Community Service_ that Jun can bail us out of…"

Katyusha mused. It was better to ask forgiveness than permission, true. And the possible reward was tantalizing.

"I'll admit, that _does_ sound pretty solid when you put it that way…"

"Of course it does!" Cyanea exclaimed. "And besides, I've been _looking_ for a mission to lead for a while now…"

"Oh, you mean like the last few days," the Sharpedo began, drawing a glare and an irritated huff from her companion.

"Katyusha, take this seriously!" the Tentacruel barked. "So are we doing this, or what?"

The Sharpedo stopped and listed in the water, moving a fin contemplatively towards her maw. After a noticeable pause, the shark grunted and nodded back to her partner.

"... I'm in," Katyusha answered. "But there's just two problems…"

"And what are those?" Cyanea demanded.

"First off, we have to _find_ that god back in Braveshoal," the shark replied.

The Tentacruel paused for a second after Katyusha's comment and looked down at the large reef on the seabed below her. Even if the sea god _somehow_ couldn't swim, there were no shortage of places connected to the network of air tunnels that needed to be checked. To top it off, they had run into the Protector more or less by accident, something that was unlikely to be repeated a second time.

On the other hand... there _was_ at least one reason to hope that their search wouldn't be totally hopeless...

"Er… Well, I don't think it can be that hard, that bird would stand out in any crowd!" the jellyfish insisted. "But what was the second?"

"We don't know how _strong_ this god is," Katyusha answered. Much to the Sharpedo's surprise, the Tentacruel gave a dismissive wave of her tendrils at the question.

"Simple, we'll observe him before we attack to get a feel for how tough he is."

"Well, when you put it that way..." Katyusha said. "Guess we should get going, huh?"

Cyanea turned to swim back to Braveshoal, when she felt the heavy cargo tug against her tentacles… _Right._ It wouldn't do any good to try and chase a Protector lugging the net around, and Jun would no doubt get suspicious if they stayed away from the ship for too long.

"Let's head back to the ship and deliver the cargo first," Cyanea said. "We'll head back to Braveshoal as soon as we're finished."

After a nod of agreement from Katyusha, the two began swimming back to their ship. All the while, thoughts of their impending mission swirled in their ahed, of one fateful thrust that could change the fate of all of Anyilla.

* * *

Just offshore Mengir Island, a battered sloop with gaping holes filled with wood-ice and tattered sails limped along the last leg of its journey. The sight of the green hills and fog-shrouded stone needles providing relief to an exhausted crew, including a young Druddigon watching intently from the deck's railing.

Despite the new island ahead of him, the vigor and curiosity the little dragon had at the last two islands was completely absent. The wonder of the green-beached island and its stone spires completely drowned out by anxieties about what might have become of them.

Were they on the island right now, hiding from Lyn? Or perhaps they had moved on again...? Maybe Lyn had captured them and it was all because they were too late…

"Hey there, Crom."

Pladur and Kiran limped up to the rail, the former visibly wincing from the climb up the stairs, still bandaged and hobbled from the lingering wounds from the Iron Fleet's ambush.

"Are you sure you should be out of bed so soon, dad?" Crom murmured, concern leaking into his voice.

"It should be fine, it's not good to leave your muscles at rest too long," Kiran reassured. "Why, muscular atrophy prolongs recovery by a good 30%!"

"It'll take more than this to get your old _papi_ down," Pladur grunted as he pawed at a bandaged flank. "I just wanted to make sure that filling in for me wasn't grinding you down too much."

"Dad, it's alright," the Druddigon insisted. "You don't need to push yourself like- Huh?"

As the Siglo Swellow neared Mengir's harbor, Crom noticed that there was a massive ship with four sails and metal cladding at a single dock neighboring a fort complex along a stream. The ship was quickly detected by the rest of the crew along with two others docked in the harbor. The sight evoked a pallor among the gathered Pokémon, their shock deepening as one of the lookouts pointed out an even bigger ship with five sails pulling into the docks ahead of them.

"Eh?! Th-Those are _ironclads!_ " Pladur squeaked. "And there's another one pulling into port!"

A fuss swept the ship as news of the sighting spread among the crewmates and below the decks. Kiran flew over and stared apprehensively at the ships, as Beatrix flew here and there in a hurried start.

"Pull up those sails!" Beatrix barked.

The tattered sails were raised and the Illumise fluttered over to the rail, looking through the scope she was carrying. The Bug-Type peered through the tube at the ship pulling into port, which she saw had an unusually intricate design. The firefly beat her wings out in shock and looked over at the needle-peaked island. There, back in the local village's harbor, she saw Lyn's _Argent Aviso_ along with the two ironclads with Administrator's patterns on their sails. After looking at the Administrators' ships, and back at the strange five-master, Beatrix realized that there was only one reason why five-masted ship would have more intricate patterns. Namely that it belonged to the only Pokémon in the Company who outranked its Administrators...

"That's the Director of the Company!" she exclaimed. "And Lyn's in port, along with two extra Administrators!"

The gathered crew collectively froze. It would have been expected that they'd run into Lyn's ship, but _this_ one?!

"Th-The Director of the Company?!"

"They must've caught the Protector then!"

The atmosphere of panic aboard the ship ebbed, and began to grow replaced by a silent, crushing despondence. There in the port of that unassuming little village were the most powerful and feared Pokémon in all the Company's realms… If they really had Pleo and the children, then how could they hope to rescue them…?

"What do we do now?" Pat murmured, the Unfezant drooping his head and feather streamers.

"It might be best to retreat and regroup, Captain," a Hitmontop said, shaking his head. "I don't see any realistic way of us getting the Protector back like this."

A chorus of dejected voices agreed with the Fighting-Type, as Pokémon began wondering aloud over how to break the news back home, when a young dragon's voice broke out.

"W-Wait!"

The crew turned to look with pained expressions at the Druddigon who made the outburst. Based off the Dragon-Type's frantic concern, had he really understood the full implications of those ships in the harbor?

"What about Pleo?!" Crom cried. "What about my friends?!"

"Crom, I don't think this isn't a battle we can win…" Pladur murmured, lowering his head.

"He has a point. We'd be one crew and a barely floating ship against the entire Board," Ander added. "I'd be surprised if we could get unmoored before getting sunk!"

"That doesn't mean that we should just give up!" a squawking voice protested. The audience looked for the new voice for a moment, before finding it had come from Kiran, who was perched on the rear mast.

"H-Huh?!"

"Kiran, what are you going on about?!"

"Look, I realize that things look bad here," the Swellow exclaimed. "But if we turn back the odds will only get 100% more impossible for us!"

"We have those bounties that Hatteras gave us, though," Pladur said. "Couldn't we use that to lie low and shake down the Company to give the Protector back?"

"We _know_ where Pleo is right now, though!" the Flying-Type protested. "If we let the Company sail away with him, who knows where he might end up or what they might do to him!"

"Kiran, be reasonable! We're just a small crew!" Ander buzzed. "If the Company has Pleo right now, what hope do we have of getting him back? That's as sure a sign to retreat as any!"

"But what about everyone back home...?" Crom murmured. "Aren't they counting on us to bring everyone back?"

The Dragon-Type's point drew a long pause from Beatrix. After all, Pleo was important to everyone back home, and none of the Trombans wanted to be the ones to break the news of failure to their friends and families.

"... Lower the sails, we're going in," the Illumise said.

"Eh?! We _are?!_ " Philips cried.

"Captain Beatrix," Natrix began. "You can't seriously be-"

"Oh, but I _am_ ," the Bug-Type insisted. "This ship isn't exactly the epitome of seaworthiness right now and it needs repairs anyways."

"But Captain, if the Company has the Protector, we'd need to smuggle him out from under the noses of their entire leadership!" the Hitmontop exclaimed. "Just how can you be confident enough to sail in like this?!"

"Because hope can sometimes work miracles," the Illumise explained, prompting a contemplative silence to fall over the crew.

"We've come this far thanks to the hope that we'd get our Protector back," Beatrix said. "If we're going to have to take a bit of a risk to bring our Protector home, now's as good an opportunity for that miracle to come as we'll ever get."

The initial silent was broken by a few scattered hollers, then a crescendo of cheers. Fortune favored the bold after all, and with a little boldness, and a lot of luck, perhaps they'd finally be able to bring their Protector home.

"Good, then let's sail on."

As the ship started to set sail towards Mengir's harbor, Crom leaned over the railing, looking at the island ahead. Things genuinely didn't look good right now, but in spite of it... perhaps the best that could be done was to force a smile and keep up hope.

* * *

After heeding Sevan's advice, Nida, Pleo, Elty, and Guardia made their way into a warren of stony monoliths. Some of the monoliths had been carved in the shape of Pokémon heads, standing side-by-side with coral-fashioned buildings interleaved with a maze of air tunnels. The four looked above at a Seaking carrying a slumped-over Mienfoo in a bubble along her back. A little further off, a trio consisting of a Luvdisc, a Tirtouga, and a Feebas spun a rotating board on a wall to read a collection of knot-messages, glinting badges attached to their belts... this was a Rescue Team?

As Team Traveller made their way deeper into the center, a closer look around their surroundings revealed that most Pokémon were wearing similar badges. Their earlier wonderings were resolved after chancing to pass by a Buneary, a Meditite, and a Ralts gathered around a map, the quartet overheard them mulling aloud over how different their last mission was compared to other islands. As Team Traveller moved along and the trio's conversation faded into the background, one question continued to linger in the team's minds...

"How come we didn't figure out this funny place was a guild the first time?" Pleo asked.

"Well, it certainly looks a bit different from the guilds we've seen so far," Nida murmured. "I mean, at first I thought this place was a market."

" _Dosyć,_ " Elty grunted, scanning the passing Pokémon. "Are any of you having any luck seeing Pokémon wearing blue belts with a red dot on them? I haven't seen a single one of those since we came in."

"Maybe we're looking in the wrong place?" Guardia wondered. "I mean, there's still plenty of places in this guild we didn't go to… like that hostel with all the red-belted Pokémon over there."

"Since when do guild complexes have hostels?" Elty snorted.

"Well, what do you call that up there, then?"

The Cubone pointed off ahead towards a stony dome-shaped structure with her club, where sure enough, Pokémon wearing red belts with bisected circular designs could be seen. The four set off down an air tunnel for the 'hostel,' popping into it where they saw a motley group of Pokémon reclining on beds of straw and of kelp under the surface of moon pools, a few being tended to with patches and bandages by other red-belted Pokémon…

"Wait a minute," Nida cried. "This is a medic's hut!"

"Eh? But what's it doing right in the middle of a guild?" Pleo asked.

"That's because of the needs of our guild, silly!" a bubbling voice called. The group turned around and saw an Alomomola floating in a nearby moon pool, shifting her head-body in order to get a better view of the four strangers.

"Huh?" Guardia pressed. "What do you mean by that?"

"Our rescue teams don't just deal with Mystery Dungeons," the Alomomola explained. "Plain old shipwrecks need attention too! After all, a lot of Pokémon can't swim..."

"Though a lot more would _learn_ if they knew the alternative was getting mouth-to-mouth from a fish!" a familiar, squirrelly voice called out. Nida and her companions turned and looked behind a pillar, where there on a bed of dried matting was none other than...

" _Scout?!_ "

" _Eh?!_ What are you four doing here?!" the Sentret exclaimed. "And what was the big idea standing me up at the docks back at Mengir, huh?"

"Salvini tricked us and lead us into a trap!" Pleo cried. "And then the Company caught us and locked us up in the medics' hut, but Salvini changed her mind and came back to help us with an Immortal named Trizano-!"

"Urgh… you know what, save it for later," the Sentret groaned, giving a wave of his paw. "That mouth to mouth is still getting to me and I don't need another headache right now."

"It probably _would_ be best if you gave the patient some space," the pink sunfish instructed. "Near-drownings do take quite a bit out of airbreathers like you."

"Er… right," Pleo replied.

The team turned back, deciding to exit the medics' hut and leave Scout to recuperate amongst his fishy caretakers. As the quartet exited, they looked up and down the path leading out from the central hub, looking for another lead to follow. By chance, the four saw the form of a Lumineon swimming by just outside of the bubble wall of the air tunnel leading to the central area, catching a glimpse of a familiar blue belt with a red dot design slung around her head.

"Wait a minute!" Elty barked. "That Lumineon was there with Dimitri at Seaspear Station last night!"

"Hey! Over here!" Nida cried. "It's us, Team-"

"You again!"

Team Traveller whirled and watched a small school of sea Pokémon in blue and red belts swam up against the wall of the bubble tunnel. There, at the head of the group, was none other than the form of a familiar scowling Kingdra.

"What do _you_ want?" Kuda snarled.

"Er… we were looking for the Blue Fairy," Nida explained. "A Pokémon in town told us that we might have more luck finding out where she was if we went to your resting grounds."

"You can take us there... right?" Pleo asked.

"Keep dreaming," the Kingdra scoffed. "Good luck swimming out there."

The Dragon-Type turned to leave, his companions likewise motioning to depart, prompting a swift outburst from Guardia as she waved after the sea creatures.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" the Cubone cried. "We need your help!"

"Yeah, and _we're_ not biting," Kuda answered. "That's _our_ place, and none of us here would take a bunch of airbreathers like you there! Isn't that right?"

The seahorse's question was met by scoffs and harrumphing agreements, clearly the Pokémon with him weren't too interested in taking them to the resting grounds either.

"You heard 'em," the Kingdra grunted. "So go and figure out your own way there because we're not-"

"Hey!"

The tense atmosphere lifted as everyone turned and saw Dimitri swim down from above. The vampire crab gave a cheery wave at Nina and her companions, blissfully unaware of Kuda and the others' hostility.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"Oh! Dimitri! Dimitri!" Pleo exclaimed. "Would you be able to take us to your resting grounds? We've been looking for the Blue Fairy!"

"Oh? The Blue Fairy, huh?" the Kabutops murmured. "I don't know a whole lot about her, but the _Ataman_ would. Come on, I'll swim you to him at the grounds!"

"That's-! _Dimitri!_ " Kuda spluttered. "You can't just bring them along like that!"

"Why not?" the crab asked. "They don't mean any harm, right? And what's the worst that could happen?"

Kuda and the gathered seamons traded skeptical looks and murmured among one another. Even if the request seemed foolhardy and like a waste of time, a group of four surface children wasn't anything that the _Khranitel Rod_ couldn't handle. Nida, picking up on the audience's reception to the team, shot a wary glance over to the Kabutops.

"Dimitri, is this really going to work?" the Nidoran whispered.

" _Ataman_ Viktor may seem rough on the outside, but he's alright once you get to know him," the crustacean replied. "If you've got a good reason, I'm sure he'll tell you more about the Blue Fairy!"

* * *

" _No!_ Absolutely not!"

A few minutes later, Dimitri had ferried the team out of the Otvaga Guild and over to to his clan's chosen resting grounds. From their perch on the Kabutops' back, Team Traveller could see that the resting grounds consisted of a chunk of reef intermingled with beds of sea grasses, with clefts cut into the corals for the clan's members to rest in. Much to Pleo and his teammates' surprise, the meeting with the _Khranitel Rod's_ Dragalge leader hadn't gone nearly as auspiciously as their guide hoped.

"Eh?! But why not?" Pleo cried.

"Because the Blue Fairy only meets with Pokémon she knows she can trust," Kuda huffed from the sidelines. "Not a bunch of random airbreathers up to gods-knows-what!"

"We're just a bunch of kids, though!" Nida exclaimed. "Surely this Blue Fairy can trust _us_ , right?"

"No."

"But we need her to help us!" Pleo exclaimed. "Alexandria said she would! And you know where she is!"

"That's not my problem," Viktor growled. "And there's nothing you can say to change my mind about this."

The Dragalge gave a disgusted shake of his head, and shot a glare at the Kabutops and his passengers.

"Dimitri, get these _deti_ back to the air tunnel where they came from," Viktor snapped. "I don't want to deal with this right now."

"But, _Ataman_ -"

" _Now_ , Dimitri!" the Dragalge snapped.

"Yeah!" Kuda chided. "Stop dragging your fins!"

Reluctantly, Dimitri began to swim away with his bubbled charges, only for a sudden squawking cry to interrupt.

"Wait!"

Viktor turned and saw Pleo desperately waving his uninjured wing for attention, leaving the Dragalge to scowl and glare at the strange bird obviously stalling for time.

"Are you _sure_ there's nothing that would change your mind?" Pleo insisted.

"Yes," the Poison-Type spat. "But since you're so confident, go ahead and hit me with your best shot, _chayka._ "

"Er… well..." Pleo began. "The reason why we wanted to see the Blue Fairy was because… because..."

The little Lugia fumbled with his words, before taking a deep breath to compose himself, hoping that his next words would somehow sway the cranky fish.

"It's because it's I'm a Protector, and she's supposed to know about Pokémon like me."

The young Lugia's words drew a chorus of groans and derisive scoffs from the clan Pokémon around them. Viktor for his part didn't seem to find the explanation any more convincing, as the Poison-Type's eyes hardened into a glowering scowl.

"Yeah, right," the Dragalge snorted. "Dimitri, hurry up and get these idiots out-"

"Actually, _Ataman_ …" Dimitri suddenly interjected. The Kabutops stared wide-eyed at the white bird, carefully going over his appearance as memories of their travels swirled in his head. Memories that all seemed to point to one conclusion...

"I… I think he actually might _be_ a god."

Kuda and the others stared at Dimitri. The Kabutops had always been a bit of a loon, but surely he didn't believe this nonsense! Why, even the four children seemed to be surprised at how readily the crab had vouched for them!

"Wow, this is a new low even for you, Dimitri," Kuda scoffed.

"Dimitri," Viktor growled. "I _don't_ need your games right now-!"

"It's not a game!" Dimitri exclaimed. "Think about it, why would the Company want four kids so badly unless there was something special about them? And when was the last time any of us _saw_ a Pokémon like Pleo?"

The Dragalge bobbed in place, glowering at the Kabutops. Still, something seemed to give the sea dragon pause, as a long silence filled the water, only to be broken with a begrudging huff.

"Alright, fine. I'll arrange a meeting," Viktor said, shaking his head. "But if the Blue Fairy tells me that you're lying, I'll keep you down here with a ransom high enough that you'll be too old to chew your own food by the time you work it off!"

The team blanched and gulped at the mention of a 'ransom', hopefully this Blue Fairy would be a bit less skeptical and able to vouch for Pleo's identity. After the initial shock wore off, Elty blinked out of realization that something seemed amiss about the Poison-Type's initial words…

"Wait, 'arrange a meeting'?" he asked. "Aren't you just bringing us to her?"

"Too risky," the Dragalge answered. "The Blue Fairy doesn't bring Pokémon to her, but comes to _them_ so that the places she rests remains a secret to her foes."

"… I guess that makes sense," Nida murmured. "But where exactly are we meeting her?"

"You'll see soon enough."

* * *

The docks at Fensedge Village were busier that day, the wharves humming with activity of Pokémon going to and fro, with a suspicious absence of creatures without Company scarves on. A glance at the ships in port would quickly reveal the reason to any observers, with two hulking four-masted vessels with metal hull cladding at the docks, and an even larger five-masted ironclad starting to sail in.

The members of the Company's Board were afoot, all the more reason for common denizens of Fensedge to find other places to be that day. Even so, the most avoided section of the docks was not in front of any of the metal cladded-ships...

"I don't _believe_ this!"

But on a dock next to a three-masted galleon, with a Samurott with a Third-Rank scarf pacing back and forth fuming. Whether on the ship, on the docks, in the air, or in the water, Pokémon around made a keen effort to give the creature a berth, casting nervous glances every now and then. The sole exceptions were a disinterested-looking Weavile jotting some notes down on a slip of paper, and a pallid-looking Mothim that waited beside the ship.

"I leave for Mengir on a night's notice, only for my most likely reward to be _more_ accusations of failure?!" Lyn fumed. "And all because some fat lizard couldn't keep his grubby claws off of my target!"

Ellsberg gave the Samurott a nervous look, and couldn't help but worry how his superiors would perceive the fuming Samurott.

"Eh… Lyn?" the Mothim asked. "Maybe you should try to calm down a little…? I don't think Director Inler and Admin-"

"Quiet, Ellsberg!" Lyn bellowed.

"He _does_ have a point Captain," the Weavile nonchalantly added while continuing to doodle on his note. "Things _could_ be worse..."

_Thunk!_

Ellsberg and Ketu turned to see one of Lyn's seamitars embedded in the wooden timbers underfoot, its owner seething and giving a fierce glare at the Weavile. The Dark-Type folded up his paper and looked up at his superior, his expression having grown a bit more serious.

"Easy, Captain. I wasn't finished explaining," the Dark-Type reassured. "That bird may have gotten away, but it was because of _Darzin_ , someone everyone on the Board already hates. If you stay calm and make a good impression you can easily get away with this without it being seen as another failure."

Ketu shook his head as a small smirk crept over the Weavile's face. The Dark-Type folded his arms, before giving a dismissive shrug at the lingering tension in the air.

"Who knows? Maybe if you keep the conversation focused on that lizard, Director Inler won't spend too much time asking you how we lost that bird the first two times."

The Samurott paused at his First Mate's words, continuing to glare. After a little mulling, the creature shook his head and pulled his embedded blade out of the wooden timbers with a sigh.

"I suppose that having a _hope_ of damage control is better than nothing," he murmured, shaking his head. The mustelid chanced to look off at the harbor in the distance, where he noticed that the largest ironclad in the harbor had still not found a place at the docks.

"That's strange," Lyn muttered. "I wonder what's taking Director Inler so long to dock-?"

_SPLASH!_

"A-Ack! What is-?!"

Ellsberg buzzed out of startled shock as a cresting wave crashed down onto the dock. Ketu hastily leapt up and latched onto the side of the hull as Lyn grabbed for his blades only to be forced back by the sudden deluge. Ellsberg fared worse, the surprise wave knocking out of the sky with a coughing splutter, his wings too damp to hold him aloft. The three Pokémon looked around for a culprit of the sudden Surf, only to see a visibly battle-worn Nidoking thumped a foot impatiently at the end of the docks.

"You should be more attentive to your surroundings, Commissioner Lyn," the Poison-Type chided. "I certainly wasn't expecting to run into _you_ here loafing at the docks."

"G-Greetings Director Inler…" Ellsberg stammered. Lyn and Ellsberg hastily gave deferential bows to the Poison-Type, Ketu joining in by digging his claws out of the hull and dropping down to give a small nod of his head, only for the gestures to do nothing to budge the scowl on the Nidoking's face.

"Hrmph. Spare me your sycophancy and let's cut to the chase," the Director growled, before giving his pelt a good shake to dry off.

"What are you doing here day-tripping in my hometown anyways, Commissioner?" Inler demanded. "I thought you had more _urgent_ matters to tend to!"

Lyn froze under the Nidoking's piercing glare. The Samurott gulped, and after a quick shake of his head, hastily attempted to explain himself.

"Sir! I was summoned here because Administrator Zorn informed me my target was here on this island," Lyn hastily began. "But, you see-"

"Your target escaped before you could close in on it, again."

The gathered Pokémon turned back to the other end of the docks, where a smirking Zoroark and a glowering Luxray in Administrators' scarves were making their way over to the soggy gathering.

"It seems to be a recurring pattern, doesn't it?" Elilan chided, as he came to a stop beside Ketu.

"Ugh… what went wrong _this_ time, Lyn?" Farn demanded.

Lyn shot a glare at the Zoroark and growled under his breath before inhaling and attempting to start his explanation anew, this time accounting for his larger audience.

"As I was saying... Administrators...," he continued. "Administrator Zorn told me the target was here, but once I arrived he had already disappeared because of the interference of Administrator Dar-"

"Save it for when we're behind closed doors, Commissioner," Inler barked. "There's clearly been a lot going on lately..."

The Nidoking flicked his ears and paced down the dock's timbers. As the Poison-Type passed Lyn and his cohorts, he turned back, a stern scowl filling the creature's face.

"And there'd _better_ be a good explanation for it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _Jishin ( じしん )_ \- Japanese: "Earthquake", both literal and as name of move. (Official Romanization, more commonly rendered as "地震" outside of game context)  
>  \- _rodov (родов)_ \- Russian: "clans", plural of "rod". (BGN/PCGN Romanization)  
>  \- _deti (д*ти)_ \- Russian: "children". (BGN/PCGN Romanization)  
>  \- _chayka (чайка)_ \- Russian: "seagull". (BGN/PCGN Romanization)


	44. On the Table

Back in Bluewhorl, the sun had just crossed its midday mark, shining down on the residents of the little town as they went about the second half of their daily routines. Customers filled into the eateries, locals dotted the town beach to sun themselves during their midday breaks, and whispers of afternoon _siestas_ floated here and there among the townsfolk. For other Pokémon, their daily rhythms kept them busy at this hour, including Gwenith and her little coterie that kept the bakery up the hill ready for the mealtime rushes of customers.

There inside the dragon family's bakery, the Druddigon set out the afternoon bread on the shop's display, humming little ditties to help the work pass by. As the Dragon-Type shifted the one of loaves to show off its best side to her clients, she heard the chime of a customer passing through her door.

"Good afternoon, you're just in time for the afternoon loa-!"

The Druddigon's cheer gave way to a surprised silence as she saw a blotch-headed Scyther walk up to her counter. Sandra? But what had motivated her to come by the bakery all of a sudden?

"Oh, uh… hello, Sandra," Gwenith said. The Dragon-Type hurriedly hid her surprise behind a hastily summoned smile as she moved a claw over her just-prepared display.

"Have you come for some fresh bread for lunch?"

"I'll take it to go," the mantis replied, shaking her head. "Cassie's been getting a bit lonely lately, and I wanted to get her a treat to surprise her."

"Lonely?" the Druddigon wondered. "But from what I've heard from Hariti, she's been doing great at her Day Care!"

"She gets along well there with her normal circle of friends, yes. But it's more a matter of Ander not being around," Sandra answered. "It makes home a lot quieter."

An awkward silence filled the baker's hut following the Scyther's explanation. The reason why Ander wasn't around was because he'd gone off on that mission to find the Protector, a mission whose updates from the Siglo Swellow normally brought joy to the townsfolk, but only seemed to draw trepidation from the local Marked. Then… perhaps it was best to try and approach Sandra from an angle that they could both relate to.

"Er… I see," Gwenith offered. "I suppose I know what it's like to be in that same boat… The bakery's certainly not as rambunctious as it used to be."

"Hrm?" the Scyther buzzed. "How _are_ your children doing anyways, Gwenith?"

Almost as if on cue, a commotion broke out in the backroom, as the triumphant roar of a Gabite rang out. Both proprietor and customer craned their heads to look through the doorway, where they saw Pyry, covered in flour stains, and proudly holding up a well-sculpted bread roll ready for the oven.

"Haha! I did it! I finally made a perfect roll!" he cheered. "And here you were going on about me being a slow learner-"

The Gabite's reveries were quickly interrupted by the sound of a fist pounding against a wooden table, where there was a large stack of similarly well-sculpted rolls beside a young, displeased-looking Druddigon flecked with flour.

"Eh? Don't just run your maw off!" Cenn snapped. "Get moving on the next one already like a normal 'mon!"

The Gabite growled and shot a dirty look at the smaller Druddigon, his triumphant mood thoroughly deflated as he returned to the next batch of dough.

"Grr… showoff."

Gwenith stifled a laugh before turning her attention back to her customer, giving a sheepish paw at the back of her head.

"Well, things are certainly going smoother than I expected with Cenn and the new help," the Druddigon said.

"And you've heard from your mate about Crom?"

Huh? _Sandra_ was eager to find out about how Crom was doing? While Gwenith supposed it was innocuous, something about the matter seemed odd... Wouldn't she be hearing more or less the same story from Crom as Ander?

"Er… well, no," the Druddigon answered uneasily. "Not since his letter from Seahive Square."

"Did something happen to the ship?" Sandra pressed. "I haven't heard from Ander since Seahive Square either, and it's not like him to suddenly keep us waiting so long on an update."

The Scyther's question made Gwenith jolt into her display, sending loaves falling onto the floor. As the shaken Dragon-Type hastily picked up the fallen bread, she shook her head, and tried to work up a brave face.

"No, no, I'm sure it's fine," she insisted hastily. "The ship's journey has had a few unexpected twists and turns, so it's only logical they'd be a little slow to send an update."

The Druddigon, perhaps starting to believe the brave face she put on, gave a cheery smile to her Bug-Type customer, eager to try and assume the best of her husband and child's journey.

"Why, the kids might be within spitting distance of that ship right now!" she cheered.

* * *

On most days, the square near Fensedge Village's guild would be teeming with activity, full of rescue teams coming in and out of the guild and villagers visiting the different shops. By contrast, this day was eerily quiet, with most locals choosing to stay off the streets after sightings of Board ironclads filtered in from the harbor. A few braver or else less savvy souls had stayed out regardless, including a Ponyta, a Cranidos, and a Sandslash sporting white scarves with red saltires...

"300 Poké for a Slumber Orb? What sort of seaway robbery is this?!" the Sandslash scoffed.

The latter of whom was currently preoccupied with an attempt at haggling with the proprietors of the Kecleon market over a cream-colored sphere with swirling clouds inside, much to their displeasure. The Kecleon's scales flushed a ruddy tinge before the lizard shot an unamused look back and cleared his throat to respond.

"That's the _standard Merchantry price_ for it," the chameleon said sharply.

"Yeah! You won't find prices like this anywhere else in town!" his Pumpkaboo partner chided.

"But just look at this thing!" Niilo insisted, tapping a claw against the orb's glassy surface. "Why, it looks fragile enough that it would fall apart in my bag! Surely that's grounds for say… a 50% discount?"

The pangolin's insistence drew glares from the shopkeepers, as well as groans from his Ponyta and Cranidos companions.

"Niilo, just pay him already!" Berecien snorted.

"Yeah, we're not supposed to be wasting time haggling like this!" Cabot complained.

"You should probably heed your friends' advice, Sandslash," the Kecleon insisted. The Sandslash faltered a bit after seeing the hostile reception, before giving his head a shake and raising a claw.

"Er… 200 Poké! Final offer!" he insisted. "That's a totally fair price, ri- OW!"

The Sandslash yelped as a chitinous claw suddenly yanked the pangolin back and sent him tumbling out of the way. The culprit, a battle-worn Clawitzer, shot a sour look at the Ground-Type before turning her attention back to the Kecleon and Pumpkaboo shopkeepers and depositing some Poké onto the counter.

"300 Poké is fine," the shrimp huffed. "We'll take it."

The shopkeepers took the money and pushed over the Slumber Orb, which the Clawitzer snatched up and stuffed into a red fabric bag. Nagant scuttled over to the still-toppled Sandslash and dragged him up, leading her three subordinates down an alley wedged between a pair of conspicuously deserted shops.

"You should know better than to waste time like that, Niilo," Nagant scolded.

"Gah, _älä viitsi_ … when was it ever a bad thing to get a little immersive with cover?" the Ground-Type whined. "And why are you so upset when it's taken you all this time to get up here?"

"Because _some_ of us had to slip in and out of docks that were crawling with Company sods," the shrimp shot back. The Water-Type scanned her surroundings and looked back towards the plaza, and after seeing it still undisturbed, turned back to her subordinates.

"You got the _rest_ of our supplies more smoothly than that, I trust…"

"We did!" Cabot insisted. "We got a smith to make the stuff for that lockpicking kit just like you asked, though we had to buy a few other things as cover once she started asking questions."

"What's going on here anyways, Captain?" Berecien asked. "Why are there so many bigwigs here on this backwater island?"

"We haven't figured out yet," Nagant answered, shaking her head. "Though the Director apparently has ties to this place."

"Ties to this place?" Niilo began, only for Cabot to go rigid and shush his teammates.

"Shh!" the Cranidos shushed. "Someone's passing by!"

The four fell silent as a commotion rang out from the crowd of local guards and anxious-looking villagers at the end of the alleyway. Nagant hopped atop a nearby crate and propped herself up on her tail. The crustacean peered over the heads of the audience as a security detail of stern-faced Pokémon in Company garb led a chattering Luxray with an Administrator's scarf and a Nidoking with an even more intricately patterned garb along. Behind them were a tense-looking Mothim fluttering in an erratic path and a visibly sour Samurott with a Third-Rank's scarf: Commissioner Lyn, the shrimp presumed.

For a fleeting moment, the Water-Type thought she saw a familiar-looking Servine and Raichu, only for her to lose track of them as a Zoroark glancing over a scrap of paper walked by with the tail end of the procession. Once the group had passed, the crowds along the lane quickly thinned, the local guards keen to return to their work, and the villagers likewise keen to avoid the powerful outsiders.

"Captain!"

Nagant looked up just in time to see a Drifblim in a white scarf with a red saltire pass overhead. The Ghost-Type circled back and began a steady descent into the alley as fast as his balloon body allowed, the Blimp Pokémon bobbing in front of the Clawitzer and her team.

"You should be more careful," the Drifblim insisted. "If _I_ could see you from the air, then so could any other flier."

"Plausible deniability, Faraday," Nagant answered. "Does it look more suspicious to be seen talking in an alley? Or attempting to talk from behind cover?"

"... Point."

Berecien shook his head and pawed at the ground impatiently, eager to hurry the conversation along and get the Ghost-Type to cut to the chase.

"So what did you pick up?" the Ponyta asked. "Anything new on the way over here from the docks?"

"The entire Board's here for some sort of meeting," the Ghost-Type answered. "I'm pretty sure it's about that god they're looking for."

"What makes you say that?" Niilo questioned.

"Well, I overheard that Commissioner we followed out here going on about a 'target' slipping away," the Drifblim explained. "And none of the Board members seemed really thrilled with him earlier on."

Cabot fidgeted at the Blimp Pokémon's mention of a 'target slipping away'. Then if the Protector had already left, was it really a good idea to keep prowling around a Company island?

"... Should we pull out, Captain?" the Cranidos asked. "I mean, it sounds like the Protector we're looking for isn't on this island..."

Nagant paused, and twitched her feelers thoughtfully as she assessed her situation. Their continued presence _was_ a risk, but from her perspective, this island wasn't quite the dead end that the Rock-Type thought it would be.

"No, this is as good of a chance we'll have to get leads here," Nagant answered. "Faraday, head back to the docks with the others, we'll be headed in on our end."

"Aye, Captain," the Drifblim answered.

The Ghost-Type gave a salute and drifted away, sailing off into the air and leaving the four saltire-scarved Pokémon to slip out into the thinning crowd and follow after the Director and his entourage. Nagant and her charges followed the Nidoking and his colleagues up to the bridge spanning the stream between the town and the local fort. Niilo, Berecien, and Cabot traded blank looks, whispering to each other about ways to get past this remaining roadblock to their mission.

"Wait, so _how_ exactly are we getting in again?" Niilo asked. "It's not like we can just walk into the fort..."

The three lackeys watched as the Director and his party slipped past the fort's well-guarded gate, and the doors closed after them. Much to their consternation, Captain Nagant seemed to be entirely unconcerned, as she looked down a side street behind her.

"We _can_ just walk into that fort," the Water-Type corrected. "We'll ask the local guards for pointers as to where those Board Pokémon are off to after we get in. That Slumber Orb you picked up earlier is our key to doing it."

"Wait, _what?!_ " Berecien exclaimed. "Captain, what on earth do you _mean_ by that?"

"Why don't they ever bring extra guards to help out during these visits? This is ridiculous!"

Cabot, Niilo, and Berecien's ears perked at the sound of a complaining voice carrying on the winds, and turned to face down the same street their superior had been watching. There, further down the lane, was a group in Company lavenders consisting of a Stantler, Sudowoodo, Mudbray, and a Grimer, disenchantedly sticking fresh wanted posters over older notices caked onto a hut's whitewashed wall. Nagant motioned for the three to follow, prompting them to uneasily make their way over to the Water-Type.

"It's simple, really," the shrimp answered as she passed by the mouth of an open alley. "We _borrow_ the scarves of some locals."

The Clawitzer turned and shot out a burst of water down the alleyway, smashing crates and pots that had been set out amongst the clutter with a loud _crash._ Berecien, Niilo, and Cabot froze and went wide-eyed as they saw the guards ahead look up from their posters, prompting their superior to drag them into another alley across the street from the now-sopping wreck.

"Eh? What was that?"

"It sounds like it was coming down that alley there!"

The four ducked behind a small pile of sacks and watched as the guards made their way into the trashed alley and began to look for a possible culprit. As the Company Pokémon tensely scanned their surroundings, Nagant fished out a glassy peach-colored orb with swirling clouds inside. After giving it a good shake, she lobbed it with her small claw and sent it flying into the opposing alley at the feet of the guards.

_Crash_

The spies watched as a peach cloud enveloped the opposing alleyway and slowly dissipated, prompting sighs of relief from Nagant's underlings. There, in the ruined alley, the party of Company grunts were slumped over and soundly asleep, none the wiser for their presence.

" _Skoreye,_ " the Clawitzer snapped. "They won't be asleep forever."

The four made their way over to the opposing alleyway, where one by one, they hastily claimed the lavender scarves from the dozing guards. Niilo had the misfortune of being the slowest on the draw, leaving him to draw the Grimer's scarf that was dutifully avoided by his teammates.

The spies hastily donned their new attire, Niilo taking a bit longer to flick slime off his new scarf with a disgusted groan, and walked down the alley to the stream. Nagant looked off to the side, watching the bridge into the fort with a knowing smile, its entry now hers for the taking.

"It's showtime."

* * *

Inside Mengir's fort, Lyn made his way for the central, stone complex alongside Ellsberg, two Administrators, and the Company's Nidoking Director. They eventually reached the tall, double doors of Zorn's chamber, still guarded by the faithful Breloom and Gourgeist guards Ellsberg ran into in his initial stint on the island. The pair saluted the gathered Pokémon, and then opened the doors and bade the party to enter the chamber.

The group made their way down the wooden bridge as sunlight shined through the chamber's windows, the extra light making Lyn murmur under his breath about how the room looked notably more spacious during the day. The group came to the islet for Zorn's audiences, but at a glance, there didn't seem to be any sign of the Gyarados. Just then, the water in the pool tossed and churned, as a serpentine form slowly rose from the pool, dripping water as he hoisted his head up to meet his audience.

"Welcome, everyone," the Gyarados greeted, lowering his head before his colleagues. After his bow, the Water-Type quickly shifted his focus to the Nidoking in the front, attempting to make smalltalk with an uncharacteristic amity.

"Has your return home been well, Director?" the sea serpent asked.

"I´ve had more welcoming visits here," Inler huffed. The Poison-Type moved his tail back and forth impatiently and gestured at the ground with an accusing claw.

"Where are the seats, Administrator Zorn?" the Nidoking pressed. "You don´t expect us to _stand_ during this meeting, do you?"

The Gyarados' congeniality quickly evaporated and was replaced with visible blanching. Unsure what to say back to his superior about the lack of accommodations, the sea serpent gulped and hastily tried to come up with a soothing excuse to reply with.

¨Uhm... well... th-they´ll be here any moment Director!" Zorn stammered. "You see I-¨

The sound of the door swinging open rang out as an Amoonguss, Hitmonlee, and a Mankey hastily came in with a low table and a quartet of cushions. After an impatient growl from the Gyarados, the three Pokémon darted over in a hurry and set up the table and seats on the islet. Zorn gave a piercing glare at the lower-ranks, who after completing their work, stammered hasty apologies and darted for the door with their heads lowered.

"I just needed a couple moments to put the finishing touches together," the Gyarados insisted, sporting a forced smile on his maw that did little to assuage skeptical looks from Farn and Elilan.

"Next time, get those finishing touches together _before_ we arrive!" Farn snapped.

"It _is_ a bit unprofessional for a host to keep his guests waiting…" Elilan added.

"Enough, _both_ of you," Inler growled. "I called you all out here for a _reason_ …"

"Ah, yes, yes, we should start talking about where that Protector's been going to," Ellsberg interjected, before gesturing towards the Samurott.

"Isn't that right, Lyn?"

"Nobody asked you, Ellsberg!" Lyn snarled, only for a raised paw from the Nidoking to silence him.

_Thump thump thump_

Inler thumped his leg on the floor to draw the attention of those present, and gave a displeased grunt.

"There will be plenty of time to voice disagreements later, Commissioner," the Drill Pokémon sternly corrected. "Let's get this meeting under-"

"Hold it right there!"

The gathering turned towards the entrance doors at the sound of a large presence barreling in, where they saw a visibly seething Dragonite with an Administrator's scarf draped around his neck.

"E-Eh?!" Ellsberg buzzed. "A-Administrator Darzin?!"

"Oh, you're _kidding_ me," Lyn growled, putting a paw over his face as the Dragonite landed at the end of the islet.

"What is the meaning of this?!" the dragon bellowed. "You're all starting a Board meeting without me present for it?!"

Farn and Elilan looked at each other with smirks, the Zoroark stifling a laugh as the Luxray turned her attention back to the Dragon-Type.

"Oh, gee Darzin… it was a by-invitation-only meeting," Farn scoffed. "See, here's ours…"

The Luxray pawed at her scarf, fishing out an opened envelope. On it, was the unmistakable lavender fractal that marked it as being penned on the Director's stationery.

"It seems yours got lost in the mail," Elilan answered, giving a dismissive wave. "We can discuss about how to punish some clerk for their mistake after we're done here."

¨What is this nonsense?!" Darzin cried. "It´s like you´re not even taking me seriously!¨

"That's because no one _does_ take you seriously, Darzin," a growling voice answered.

"What?!"

Darzin clenched his teeth and fists, and turned his head to look down at a Nidoking glaring back up at him.

"You're a disgrace to the Board and the Company as a whole! Why should _anyone_ take you seriously?!" Inler spat. "After losing Tromba you've failed every attempt in the last seven years to remedy that deficiency, a debacle the rest of us have had to contain!"

Darzin's indignant determination wavered, as unwelcome memories of his fight with that spiky blue devil from Tromba resurfaced, much to Elilan's sneering delight. Here, in front of him was a still-stronger Pokémon of her kind, one whose low growls bade him to a challenge the Dragon-Type dared not accept.

"Tell me, Darzin," the Nidoking demanded. " _Why_ are we supposed to take the opinion of a glorified records clerk seriously in the most important meeting the Company has had in years?"

Darzin glared and beat his wings out, only for the Dragonite's small wings to fail to have the impressing effect on the stone-faced Nidoking that he desired. The Dragon-Type grew flustered, his defiant eyes and spluttering maw still trying to make a point, but the rest of his posture became more rigid and tense, undermining his efforts.

"That- That's-" the reptile began, only to be cut off by an unimpressed huff and a glare from the Nidoking.

"I _thought_ so," Inler spat. "If such an obvious power vacuum didn't risk creating internal friction and telegraphing our weakness to the Empire, we'd have been rid of you years ago!"

"With all due respect, Director Inler," Lyn interrupted. "But if we're _done_ with Administrator Darzin's disruption here, could we kindly move on?"

"Concurred," the Director replied. "Darzin, please vacate the premises. We have business to conduct."

"N-Now hold on!" the Dragonite spluttered, flashing his right claw. "It doesn't matter if I've had a bit of a rocky last few years! I'm still an Administrator and I have a _right_ to-!"

 _Rrr_...

Darzin looked up and saw a wall of glares awaiting him from the gathered Pokémon. Inler was pawing at the ground, ready to charge, while Farn was visibly sparking and bracing to pounce. Elilan's smug demeanor had turned decidedly hostile as he readied his claws for a slash, and most ominously, Zorn's fangs were bared and starting to ice over once again. Even Commissioner Lyn and the notary seemed to be getting in on the gesture, the Samurott's right paw hovering over the hilt of one of his seamitars while the Mothim glared daggers.

The Dragonite shrank back, knowing full well that he could not win a six-on-one battle. In all of this, there was one unanimous sentiment that lingered in the air, one that the Director quickly articulated…

"You're in _no_ position to contest anything here!" Inler snarled, slamming his claws against the low table. "Now _leave!_ "

The Dragonite looked down at the gouges into the table's wood the Nidoking's claws cut, before reluctantly backpedaling and turned for the door. The Dragon-Type audibly seethed before giving a low growl in return.

"This _isn't_ over, Director…"

Darzin continued on off the islet, giving a beat of his wings to hurry off after making it onto the bridge. There was a loud crash as the reptile slammed the doors behind him, leaving an uneasy quiet to fill the room that was broken by the sound of a Nidoking clearing his throat.

¨Now that´s been dealt with... shall we we get started?" Inler asked. At the Nidoking's question, Lyn noticed that the eyes of the other three Board Pokémon had all turned to him, waiting impatiently before Inler continued on.

"Why don't you start off by telling us about what's been going on, Commissioner Lyn?"

* * *

After Team Traveller's meeting with Viktor, there was a long wait under a hastily-formed air pocket at a clump of bubbleweed at the resting grounds for the Dragalge to come back with news of the arrangements for meeting the Blue Fairy. The four waited inside their temporarily-formed enclosure, idly pawing at the strands of bubbleweed and kicking a pebble as the surrounding sea Pokémon chattered about what Viktor might be up to. After what seemed like an eternity, Viktor returned alongside Kuda, a Lumineon, and a Relicanth before instructing Dimitri to fetch the four children for a swim.

After quickly mounting Dimitri's back in a freshly formed air bubble, the group followed after their guides from the _Khranitel Rod_. Much to their surprise, the four didn't swim off to a place under the sea as they expected, but slowly climbed their way up higher and higher into the water as the bubble on Dimitri's back grew larger and larger with the lowering air pressure. Then, this meant...

"Wait, you're taking us to the surface?"

Instead, their guides had taken them back up to the top of the sea's churning waves, to a small island in a spindly ring around Braveshoal Town below.

"We chose to go up here because the Blue Fairy has a liking for this place. I personally would have chosen another location, but I wasn't the one who set up this meeting," Viktor grunted. "Now come on. It's this way."

Dimitri neared the surface, where the bubble ballooned, and then gave way to a mist of spray that pattered against Team Traveller's bodies. As Nida shook the seawater off her fur, she saw that the Kabutops had surfaced among gently lolling waves offshore a low-lying island that was part of a ringing atoll. On the island, there were thick, verdant palm groves, with a pod of Spheal and their evolutions without scarves sunning themselves along a beach.

Eventually, the group came to a stony grotto decorated with corals from the seabed that sat alongside a filled tide pool, where they disembarked from Dimitri, looking around curiously.

"You took us to an _ánima_?" Nida asked.

"Well, it _was_ the easiest place to meet up," their Kabutops guide answered. "And if need be, the Blue Fairy can slip away from here with ease."

"Eh? Why's this place built out on the surface?" Elty murmured. "I would've thought you'd put it underwater with everything else!"

"Most of the ferals around these parts live up on the surface," the Lumineon explained. "So this was the place where all the Pokémon around here would have the best access to the shrine."

The group poked their heads inside, and saw that the walls were covered with depictions of a blue-and-teal sprite. As in other shrines, the pictures told the story of the Protector's attributes and its history, the twin-tailed figure floating through the air as playfully as a leaf on a breeze. Wait! Could it be…?

"So… this is the Blue Fairy's shrine?" Guardia wondered.

"Actually, it's for a Protector named 'Azelf'," high-pitched voice answered.

The gathered Pokémon jumped with a collective start and turned to see a blue creature sporting yellow-ringed eyes, a pair of antennae on her head, and a red jewel in her chest at the foot of the shrine. The creature popped up, and leapt into the center of the sanctum, coming face-to-face with a surprised Team Traveller.

"I'm actually a Protector named 'Manaphy'," the sea angel said. "Pokémon tend to know me as the 'Blue Fairy,' but I find 'Nerea' to be more useful for more intimate settings such as these."

"That's right, they actually came badgering us about how to find you," Kuda answered. "And this is the self-proclaimed 'god' from Tromba we told you about. As you can see, he has a bit of an… _unusual_ entourage."

The Kingdra continued on, only to be interrupted by a gruff Dragalge's grunt. Kuda turned and saw Viktor giving a stern look at his blue counterpart.

"Kuda, take the others and handle perimeter duty," the Poison-Type ordered. "This is a matter for myself, Dimitri, and the kids."

"Eh?!" Kuda protested. "Since when did _Dimitri_ ever get special treat-"

" _Now_ , Kuda!" Viktor snapped.

Kuda shot a glare back at the Ataman, before begrudgingly relenting and turning to call the others. As the Kingdra and the others swam off, quiet returned to the grotto shrine, leaving Nerea to hop down to inspect the strange bird that Viktor had brought before her.

"Tromba, eh?" the Water-Type murmured, as she inspected Pleo's plumage. "You've certainly travelled a long way… What are your names?"

"Er… well, I'm 'Pleo,'" the young Lugia began, prompting a swift follow-up from his Growlithe teammate.

" _Eltenios_ is the name."

"You can call him 'Elty,'" the team's Nidoran said, rolling her eyes. "And I'm Nida."

"I'm called Shugode- Oh, you meant _town names_ …" the Cubone teammate began, hastily correcting herself with a sheepish cradle of her club behind her head. "'Guardia,' I guess."

"I see," Nerea answered. "So what brings you all the way out here?"

"The Company chased us from our home!" Pleo cried. "And no matter where we go, they keep coming after us!"

"And… we heard back in Seaspear Station that you also had trouble with the Company in the past," Nida explained. "So we were hoping you might have some advice for how to get home."

The Manaphy paused and ran a hand under her chin, deep in thought. After seemingly weighing between choices, the Water-Type turned her gaze to Nida and spoke up.

"Well, it would depend on what you mean by 'getting home'," the sea angel answered.

"Huh?!" the Nidoran cried. "What do you mean?!"

"Yeah!" Pleo squawked. "We wanna go back to Tromba, of course!

"It's not so simple…" Nerea answered, shaking her head. "You say that you're having trouble with the Company right now… but do you know why?"

The four youngsters traded blank looks with each other. They knew the Company wanted Pleo, but why _did_ Lyn want him badly enough to chase him across three different islands? He already bullied Tromba well enough without Pleo, and he was unlikely to be able to keep the Protector for himself…

"Uh… because some pushy Samurott wants a promotion?" Elty suggested.

"Because this god has one of those 'bounties' on him?" Guardia added.

"Those are merely the symptoms of the deeper reason," the Manaphy explained. "That reason being that they _need_ you, Pleo."

"H-Huh?!" Pleo cried. " _Need_ me?! But they tried to take me from my home!"

"Nerea, _de qué hablas?!_ " Nida squeaked. "Why would the Company need Pleo?!"

"It's a bit of a long explanation," the sea Protector said. "Let me start by going back as far as I can remember…"

The Manaphy hopped into the center of the shrine. As she paced around a design evoking a teal fairy on the floor, the creature looked off at the sea through the grotto's opening, her face's expression visibly somber as the sea angel stooped to grab a hunk of lavender coral.

"In the past, the Company didn't rule anything on its own, but worked for an Empire that ruled this region," the Seafaring Pokémon said. "There was a falling out between the two around forty years ago, just after their great city, Middleguard, was snuffed out."

Nida and Pleo shifted out of surprise at the sea angel's words. There had really been a time when there was someone strong enough to push around the _Company?_ Guardia for her part struggled to try and make sense of this 'city' named 'Middleguard', so it was a hut-dweller ground like Mossaisle… if obviously a bit more important? Perhaps their graveyard?

As his teammates continued to puzzle through Nerea's words, Elty noticed that the Manaphy had stopped to pick up a blue chunk of coral, and began to grind it against the lavender chunk from earlier.

"Since then, the two have both been trying to rule over all of Anyilla, but aren't strong enough to do it on their own," the Manaphy elaborated as she continued grinding the hunks of coral against each other. "It's a problem that only gets worse for them, meaning that if someone doesn't win soon..."

_Crack_

Team Traveller looked back at Nerea, where the two hunks of coral in her hands had finally snapped, depositing broken fragments on the ground. The Water-Type gave a shake of her head, before flinging the coral remnants into the grotto's tide pool, and grabbing a Dewott's scalchop left as an offering.

"Eventually both sides could fall apart. Which is where we come in," Nerea said. The Manaphy brought the shell's edge down on the blue rubble on the ground, chopping it into powdery pieces. "If the Company or the Empire were to get their hands on Pokémon like us, they would eventually have the strength to overpower the other."

"But- but I wouldn't fight for them!" Pleo squawked. "They wouldn't be able to make me!"

"These are _very_ powerful players, Pleo," the Manaphy explained. "I wouldn't be surprised if they've already found a way around that... though even if they haven't, I don't think it would be necessary."

"What do you mean by that?" Nida asked.

"If either side can simply claim they are in the good graces of a Protector, then the Pokémon of Anyilla will rally around them," the sea angel explained. "If it happened, it would mean that whatever side gets a Protector first would get strengthened and the other weakened. Potentially enough to finally fight things out."

Pleo and his companions hung their heads. So if they returned, either the Company or the Empire would follow them home, with Bluewhorl Town left to the mercies of the huge fight that would surely ensue afterwards.

"Th-then there is no way back to Tromba as long as the Company is around…?" Pleo murmured.

Nerea hesitated, not wanting to give the bird the bad news.

"… I can't say that the odds are in your favor if you _do_ try to go back," the Manaphy finally said. "Especially to an island that's controlled by the Company..."

"But surely you'd have some idea for how they can get home, Nerea!" Dimitri cried. "You've been giving the Company the slip for years!"

"But even after all those years, I have not yet found a way back to my home, Dimitri," the Blue Fairy answered. "There are ideas I can volunteer, but from my own experience, they're not ones I can give glibly."

"What do you mean?" Guardia asked.

"Even Nerea had a home island," Viktor explained. "She's the Protector of Vollezee."

"Eh?!" Elty exclaimed. "You´re the Protector of the Company´s home island?!"

"That´s correct. They did something to disturb the Mystery Dungeon my egg was in years ago," the sea angel explained. "From what I've heard, my hatching was not too long afterwards."

The Manaphy cast a glance off towards the horizon, a tired look coming over her face as unwelcome memories started to shift to the front of her mind.

"They found me and caught me afterwards," Nerea said. "Were it not for a brave swordsmon among their ranks who was moved by my plight, I would most likely be locked away in some dreary sea fort to this day."

"But how have you been able to stay away from them?" Guardia demanded. "We can't even shake them on completely different islands!"

"That's because she's been getting a bit of help all these years," Dimitri answered, gesturing to Viktor's bobbing form. The Dragalge gave a dismissive snort and shake of his head, before speaking to explain himself.

"It's nothing so special, Dimitri… After Nerea came to the sea, I discovered her true nature back when I was just a little fry and met her for the first time," Viktor elaborated. "The heads of the different _rodov_ that met here in Braveshoal at the time decided to keep it secret, and pass her along within their ranks to keep her from drawing undue attention. That is how she became known as the 'Blue Fairy'' to us."

Nida and Pleo traded disappointed looks with each other. This was hardly the help they were expecting at all! Guardia and Elty both seemed to be unnerved by the Blue Fairy's words, as the more she spoke, the worse off their situation seemed to be. Then… did this mean…?

"So there's really nothing we can do to go home?" Nida murmured.

"There's actually two ways that at least some of you can return," Nerea explained. "The first is for Pleo here to come under my fin and wander from safe harbor to safe harbor down here, while the rest of you go back to Tromba and live out a normal life without him."

The sea angel's words seemed to suck the life out of the four children, making them blanch at the implications of that terrible choice. They… would really have to leave Pleo? But that meant leaving him all alone in a big sea… To not bring him back to the home that needed him… Nerea, seeing how her words had affected her young audience, paused to weigh her next words carefully, before starting hesitantly.

"The other…" the Seafaring Pokémon said, trailing off with her words, "... is to get an upper hand so you can make an offer that neither the Company or the Empire can refuse."

Team Traveler jolted, sure they had misheard the Manaphy. She couldn't be seriously saying...

"Nerea," Nida squeaked. "Are you suggesting that we take on the _Company?!_ "

"I'm suggesting that the ones like us won't know peace unless the Company and the Empire stop searching for us," the Manaphy replied. "They haven't stopped searching for me in twenty years. With Pleo, they've just begun. Even if we can gain some leverage... what will happen to the next Protectors if they are not prepared for them?"

The Manaphy's question drew stunned stares from Nida, Guardia, and Elty. The Company had already run them ragged in just over a week, and they were still chasing this sea fairy after _twenty years?_ But… on the other hand, how could they possibly stand up against the _Company?_ And their cannons, and ships, and forts full of snarling Pokémon…

"I… I mean," Nida stammered. "It doesn't really sound like-"

"We'll take them on!"

Nida, Guardia, and Elty's heads snapped around to face Pleo, the three still stunned by the bird's chirping exclamation.

"Whuh?!" Nida cried, too shocked to form a coherent sentence.

"Pleo, what are you going on about?!" Guardia exclaimed.

"How do you expect us to fight the _Company?!_ " Elty yelped. "And the Empire on top of it?!"

The Lugia hesitated, and involuntarily shifted his wounded wing against his splint. The creature paused for a moment, seemingly taken aback by his own words, before giving a shake of his head and continuing on.

"Nida and I promised each other that we'd all go home. Back to the island that I'm a Protector for," Pleo insisted. "If I give up on this promise… If I give up on Tromba… Wouldn't I also be giving up on what a Protector is?"

"Are you sure you know what you´re getting into, kid?" Viktor asked.

"Yeah I do," Pleo said, giving a determined nod. "It doesn't matter how bad it looks, we can't give up without trying."

" _Daj spokój_ , Pleo! This is crazy!" Elty cried.

"Maybe..." Pleo murmured. "But hasn't being 'crazy' all this time kept us going?"

"Hold on just a minute!" the Growlithe objected. "It's all fun to talk about fighting, but how exactly are we supposed to take on mons that have ironclads?!"

"During my travels when I was younger, I met another like us who had the power to see through eyes scattered across the Cradle. He told me of a set of three books called the Knights' Ledger," Nerea said. "Supposedly there are secrets written in them powerful enough to bring both the Company and the Empire to heel. In the past, I tried to get one of the books from Vollezee, but… you can already guess how that turned out."

"So how are _we_ supposed to have any luck?" Guardia asked.

"Because not all of the books are in Vollezee," the sea angel explained. "Or at least so I've been told."

"Wait, they're _not?_ " Nida asked.

"That's correct. I have heard that one of them lies with another Protector in hiding near a ruined settlement by the name of 'Blackmoon Village' in the fringes of Imperial territory on the other edge of Anyilla," Nerea explained. "I myself have tried looking before, though things fell through in my attempt to claim it."

The other three members of Team Traveller seemed visibly hesitant at Nerea's words. Attempting to get an upper hand over groups as strong as the Company was undoubtedly risky... but in spite of it all, a spark of hope showed through in Nida and Guardia.

"I mean that sounds like an awful lot... but we have come this far already."

"Hrm, at the very least there'd be lore to gather and numbskulls to club."

As for the last member of Team Traveller, his mood had swung in the opposite direction of his teammates'. Amidst the more confidant atmosphere, there was an outlier of the team's general mood, consisting of a visibly uneasy Growlithe who begrudgingly added his assent.

"I-I guess…" Elty gulped, flattening out his ears.

"You shouldn't be so quick to rush into things," Viktor chided. "Let's take some time to plan this back at the grounds."

Nida nodded in affirmation as she motioned for her teammates to follow along. The four clambered back aboard Dimitri in their regular order, prompting the fossil Pokémon to begin to drift off as the children looked back towards Nerea.

"Thank you for everything, Nerea," Pleo said.

"No, the pleasure is mine," the Manaphy answered. "Though there was one last thing I wanted to say…"

"Huh?" the young Protector asked. "What's that?"

"Don't give up, even if it gets rough."

"Right!" the little Lugia grunted back. "We won't!"

The four children waved at Nerea as Viktor slipped under the water, their Kabutops guide starting to pick up speed in the water. The crab cut a trench into the water off the atoll, and dropped down into it as the sea closed overhead around a freshly formed bubble. As the fossil Pokémon carried on, the children watched as Kuda and the others swam in from their positions on some nearby corals, giving impatient grunts as the entourage to escort Pleo and his companions reformed.

Dimitri cut through the water with surprising speed, the reefs and monoliths of Braveshoal rapidly nearing as the Pokémon from the _Khranitel Rod_ carried on into the deep. However, the speedy and somewhat conspicuous Dive bubble ran the risk of attracting unwanted attention - such as that of a lurking Tentacruel, hidden behind a rocky outcropping with her Sharpedo cohort. The two glanced at the target, and back at one another, before reaching a silent agreement and emerging from their hiding place. They set off after their targets, making certain to follow at a safe distance behind the Kabutops' wake.

* * *

As Nagant had predicted, she and her subordinates really were able to just walk into the fort with their pilfered scarves. Asking around for the Board's meeting place seemed to go relatively well, as with most of the Company's ranks being surprisingly eager to divulge information to a fellow scarf-wearer. Occasionally, the four would run into a skeptical soul asking why they seemed so unfamiliar with the place, which were quickly mollified by hasty excuses of 'being part of Administrator Farn's detail'. Eventually, the four Imperials' sleuthing lead them to a high-roofed, stone structure in the center of the fort complex.

"Is this really is it…?" Cabot murmured, as he sized up the building skeptically.

"Do _you_ see any other buildings that look big and important enough for an Administrator to use in this fort, Cabot?" Nagant huffed.

"Well, even this one hardly screams 'big-shot inside,'" Berecien snorted. "My family's _dworek_ in Tidemill City looks better than this!"

"And all that just means that everyone expects them to be there," Niilo objected. "How do we know if the Board's even been meeting inside-?"

Before the Sandslash could finish his train of thought, a loud crash rang out and made the four Pokémon freeze in place. After hastily looking around, the group noticed that the doors to Zorn's compound had been thrown open and an irate Dragonite was storming their way.

"Shutting me out like a common First-Rank! The nerve of those ingrates-!"

Berecien, Niilo, and Cabot blanched as they saw that the Dragon-Type was sporting an Administrator's pattern on his scarf. Nagant began to tense herself for battle, only for the Dragonite to look up and glower at her...

"What are _you_ looking at?"

… and turn and continue on into the compound. As the four's heartbeats began to slow and the blood returned to their faces, Niilo's eyes suddenly brightened as he realized...

"Okay, nevermind," he said. "This is the place."

"Then let's hurry up and get in there!" his Clawitzer superior snapped.

Nagant and her teammates made their way in, exchanging hurried pleasantries with each guard they passed on their way through the hallways of the complex. Eventually, the group found a staircase leading to the top floor of the building, the top of the stairway opening up into a long corridor with reinforced shutters installed in each window along its length.

The team made their way along the corridors, dutifully scanning their surroundings for any way of getting to the central chamber. They saw doors to leading to many a room, though their spacing seemed far too regular for one leading to a large chamber. The hunt went on and on, only for the four to find themselves back at the staircase they started from.

"I don't think we're going to be able to get over that central chamber," Niilo spat. "We're back to square one, and if there _is_ a place overhead, it's in one of these rooms."

"Yeah, but how would we know which one to try and get in?" Cabot asked.

Berecien paused, and gave an impatient stomp of his hoofs. They had come this far, was there really nothing else they could do beyond taking a leap of faith? The Fire-Type looked up, where he noticed a wooden grate, with a dark expanse beyond it.

"Eh?" the Ponyta asked. "Didn't the roof have a high ridge when we saw it from outside?"

"Then that means that there's space beyond that grate," Nagant said. "Cabot, I want you up there to do recon. Niilo, give him a way to get through though that grate."

"Coming right up!" the Sandslash grunted. Niilo clambered up Berecien's back, and after a quick reassurance to the Ponyta struggling to hold the Sandslash's weight that he'd "only need a minute", moved his claws over to the wooden grate. The pangolin gave careful zip of his claws along three of the grate's edges and pushed it open. After clambering up Berecien and Niilo, Cabot squeezed himself through the opened grate before allowing it to settle back down with a quiet thud.

Berecien's legs gave way after that, sending the Ponyta and his Sandslash partner tumbling to the ground. As Nagant watched the pair pick themselves up, she hastily barked a "look alive" to the two as the sound of approaching buzzing came from the hallway behind them.

The three watched as a Magnemite floated by, giving an askew look at the three tense-looking Pokémon guarding the hallway, before shaking its head and continuing on. As the Magnet Pokémon vanished down the hall, Nagant carefully looked up and and down the hallway for more Pokémon, only to tense up at the patter of footsteps. The shrimp whirled around, but saw no one in either direction of the hallway. After realizing that the footsteps sounded as if they were falling against wood, the Clawitzer and her subordinates looked up, just as Cabot lifted the grate to poke his head out of it.

"Captain, there's a stairwell behind a door on far end of the compound," the Rock-Type whispered. "It wouldn't budge when I tried to open it, so it's probably locked from the outside!"

"Good work, Cabot," Nagant answered. "Stick a corner of your saltire scarf under the door and we'll take it from there."

The Cranidos gave a nod and pulled his head back into the attic as his companions continued on. The three followed the hallway along with the contours of Zorn's complex, until they saw a white cloth peeking out from under a smaller door nestled in an alcove.

Niilo picked through a bag slung over his shoulder and retrieved two thin metal strips, their golden color evidencing that the smith had fashioned them from a Poké coin. One of the strips was bent at the end to form a vague hook, and the other given rough, uneven bumps. A torsion wrench and a rake, it looked like. The Sandslash stepped forward and slid the hooked strip into the keyhole, carefully twisting it back and forth. After feeling something move at the end of the strip, Niilo shifted his other claw to hold the torsion wrench in place as he took the rake and pushed it deep into the keyhole, moving it back and forth… back and forth…

_Click_

After the lock gave way, Niilo nosed at the push-panel and slid the door open, where on the other side Cabot was waiting for them.

"What took you all so long?" he demanded.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry we're late," the Sandslash snorted. "Now come on."

Nagant, Niilo, and Berecien quickly ducked past the door and up a rickety plank staircase, leaving Cabot to cover them by slipping a few coins between the door and the frame. After giving a tug against the door to verify it had been sufficiently jammed, the fossil Pokémon turned and rejoined his companions up in the darkened attic above.

The attic was a dusty space, its ceiling low enough to force taller Pokémon to stoop in order to move around. All around the attic, there were disused crates and barrels heaped onto each other, with faint noises coming from the grates over the rooms below.

"So… how do we figure out which of these grates is the one we need?" Berecien asked.

"Then what were you doing waffling for so long on Kenobi, Commissioner?" a gruff voice demanded.

"Huh?"

"Lyn, if you'd left my port with a quick patch job right after getting word from Ellsberg, we wouldn't be having this conversation!" a feline voice hissed.

"Ah!" Cabot exclaimed. "That's-!"

"Shh!"

Nagant glared at the Cranidos before motioning at a wooden grate to the side, and began to peer down into a chamber filled with water, where the Board's members had gathered around a small islet.

"Let's just listen and hear what our friends have to say."

* * *

"And that's where things stand right now."

Inside the stone walls of Zorn's chamber, Ellsberg and the gathered members of the Board had been listening for fifteen minutes now as Lyn had recounted the events that had transpired since his last visit to Tromba. While Inler had listened patiently to the Samurott's story, the other Pokémon in the room seemed to have been focused on other things.

Having already heard most of the story, Farn and Elilan only paid half attention to what Lyn had to offer. The Luxray had spent most of her time pawing at a loose thread of the pillow she rested on, raising the occasional comment. The Zoroark on the other hand, didn't bother to maintain a pretense of attention, and primarily spent his time picking disinterestedly at his claws.

Zorn and Ellsberg on the other hand, appeared notably more tense. The Gyarados frequently shifted his gaze at his different guests to make sure they were pleased, with particular emphasis on the Company's Director. The Mothim on the other hand tried to avoid as much eye contact as possible, as he nervously fluttered behind Lyn, keen to stay out of the center of attention.

"I see then," Inler said as he looked up at the Gyarados looming over the gathering. "Administrator Zorn, can you confirm Commissioner Lyn´s story?"

"Er… well, after Elmer here informed me of a sighting of the Sea Guardian on my island," the fish explained, " _I_ suggested that they let us handle the capture process this time around while they focused on extraction."

The sea serpent's explanation drew an annoyed buzz from Ellsberg, the Mothim all too eager to correct his bungled naming with a huff.

"Administrator Zorn, it's-" Ellsberg began, only to catch himself after seeing the Gyarados shoot an unamused glare.

"Er… nevermind."

Elilan gave a skeptical raise of his brow at Ellsberg's outburst, though the conversation was quickly herded back to the Gyarados' failed capture of Pleo by an impatient Luxray's hiss.

"Well that seems to have worked out quite well, Zorn," Farn scoffed.

"If I might remind you, Farn… we actually _caught_ him," Zorn corrected . "This time he escaped only because of external interference, so there were no failures on **our** part."

"I find that a little hard to believe, Administrator Zorn," Inler growled. "I suppose you'll be telling me next that I should view middling outcomes like your first mission with Commissioner Lyn as resounding successes."

"Things genuinely _aren't_ as bad as they seem, Director," the serpent insisted. "Commissioner Lyn's ship is still fully provisioned and ready for a hunt, while the Protector left in a hurry, and with a wounded wing. The Protector wasn't prepared to go far while your chosen agent is."

"Well then, I suppose it's just a matter of narrowing down where those kids would have fled to, hm?" Elilan remarked. "When two of their options are the island they fled from to get here and our capital, it's not like they'd have many options if they were in need of rest."

The Nidoking gave a shake of his head in realization. Although his Zoroark subordinate didn't mention it, his listing seemed to point towards one other place the Guardian and his companions would have fled to.

"Then that leaves Otvaga as the only rational option for them to choose," Inler answered. "It's a neutral island, and a gateway to Imperial waters..."

The Director frowned as an uncomfortable realization dawned on him. As a gateway to the Empire's waters, there would be nothing to stop the Guardian from actually making his way into them. Even if their rivals were still in the dark about the sea god's awakening, any attempt at retrieval would lie in the paws of subterfuge, and the price of any failure would rise exponentially.

"... We'd do well to plan for the worst and assume they've headed into enemy waters and don't plan on returning anytime soon. Even a fool knows better to than to try a failing strategy thrice in a row," Inler said.

A breeze whistled past a window near the ceiling, which made the Nidoking look up for a moment, his mind turning to a further risk that he hadn't immediately thought of. One that prior Directors had overlooked which still afflicted his hometown to this day.

"And I know enough from the experience of the so-called "violation of the Pact" that the local ferals saw from my predecessor's extraction of the Voice of Life that being too careless with a Protector can have far-reaching consequences…" the Poison-Type added. "In light of that, I think we would be best off sending a small team under Lyn's command there in pursuit of them, in case they've already made it behind enemy lines."

The Nidoking's proposal prompted Zorn to raise a brow and twitch his barbells. He was all for pushing around would-be opponents to the Company when the situation called for it, but...

"You can't be seriously suggesting that we attempt to launch a military assault on the reef where all the sea clans in Anyilla gather, Director…" Zorn answered, only to be cut off by a raised claw from his Nidoking superior.

"I'm suggesting nothing of the sort, Administrator Zorn," the Poison-Type rebutted. "The ideal route would be to send a small team after them disguised as a merchant ship."

The Nidoking paused and mulled, running a claw under his chin thoughtfully. It was an audacious plan, no doubt, but even so, he could see its merits.

"Yes… that way, if the Protector has already made it into Imperial territory by the time it arrives in Otvaga, Lyn and his crew can continue on westward without drawing attention," Inler explained. "And we already have the perfect ship for that feint… isn't that right, Ellsberg?"

"Wh-What?!"

Ellsberg reeled back in shock, glancing to the others expecting similar responses to the Director's outrageous response. Instead, the gazes which met his only ranged from indifference to mild annoyance at his outburst. The Mothim hung his head, drawing a small smirk from Elilan as Farn cleared her throat to continue on.

"But Director, how does that make sense?" the Luxray demanded. "Sending an even _smaller_ force in pursuit of the Protector? If it's a matter of preserving diplomatic niceties, there's no shortage of privateers we could use as pawns for this matter."

"It's hardly ideal, but it's the best we can manage under these constraints," the Nidoking admitted. "Besides, if the Protector has already made it into Imperial territory by the time Lyn's crew arrives in Otvaga, they can continue on westward as a 'merchant ship' without drawing attention."

The Samurott gave a thoughtful stroke of his whiskers at the Director's suggestion. It wasn't as direct as he would have preferred, but he was no stranger to using subterfuge to get his way. And if that bird and his companions really had headed for Otvaga, there was one Pokémon there who would certainly be worth his while to consult.

"I think that I can work with that, Director," Lyn answered. "Though… there is one request that I must make to the Board."

"And that would be?"

"I have a contact within Otvaga," the Samurott explained. "If the Guardian and his fellow travelers truly moved through there, I believe that I might be able to get a lead as to where they've gone off to."

Inler paused and mulled for a moment. Relying on an outside contact for a mission this dire could be risky, but Lyn's track record _had_ made him the best candidate for a reason, and it might be worth giving him the benefit of the doubt.

"Very well, though do be mindful that the quality of your contact _will_ reflect in your performance review, Commissioner," Inler said. "Ellsberg here will handle your new ship in your absence as your First Mate-"

"N-Now hold on just a minute here!" the Mothim cried. "That's _my_ ship! You can't just give it away to-!"

The Mothim was cut off by a piercing glare from Inler, the Nidoking's threatening posture coupled with the similarly unamused looks from the rest of the audience prompted a deflated stammer from the Bug-Type.

¨...O-Or, I g-guess you can...¨ the Ellsberg gulped.

"Naturally, you will have discretion over a quarter of the crew," Inler answered, his eyes locked into a stern glare. "A most _generous_ concession considering the circumstances."

Ellsberg drooped his head under the gaze of his superior, drained of will to challenge the Poison-Type's instructions. He knew his place as a Second-Rank in the Company... but- but- having his ship taken from him? The Mothim gulped before speaking up in a soft voice barely above a whisper.

"I- I mean… if there's really no other way…"

"So, we are all in agreement of what needs to be done?" the Director asked.

"Aye," motioned Farn. Lyn added a grunt in affirmation, prompting a cascade of nods and mumbled agreements after it, with the audible exception of Ellsberg, who fluttered silently in place with his head down.

"Good," Inler grunted. "Then this meeting is over."

Zorn slinked into the water and began to swim off into the chamber's tunnels, leaving his colleagues to make their way down to the chamber doors. Inler exited the room first, followed closely by Farn and Elilan, leaving Lyn to trail after them until a fluttering presence came to him from behind and tugged his scarf.

"Lyn...?" Ellsberg pleaded. "This arrangement honestly feels like a mistake, couldn't we-?"

"Not now, Ellsberg!" the Samurott bellowed. "I'll draw up a list of who I want on the crew before I leave, but I _don't_ want to be kept waiting for you out in Otvaga!"

"But-!"

"Get moving!" Lyn roared.

With that, he turned his back to his subordinate and stomped out of the room. Ellsberg lagged behind, sulking as the weight of the meeting's result bore down on him, his movements being followed by unseen eyes. Nagant and her crew watched intently from a grate in the attic above as the Mothim too left the chamber. After a cautious double-check to ensure they wouldn't be detected, the crew collectively exhaled. Nagant's crewmon exchanged nervous glances and composed their thoughts before speaking up.

"Did I hear that last bit right?" Cabot murmured. "The sea god we've been looking for is headed to our home waters?"

"I heard it, too," the Clawitzer said. "Let's get going."

"Eh?! Captain?!" Berecien protested. "But they only just le-!"

"They did, and we've heard everything that we needed to," Nagant insisted. "And that Commissioner's got a recon mission, we'd be wise to follow after him before he's already left port."

"B-But-" Cabot stammered, only to be cut off by an impatient huff.

"Oi! You heard the Captain!" Niilo cried. "Time to get out of this dusty attic and call it a day!"

"Hmph, about time you used that mouth of yours for something useful, Niilo," the aged shrimp grunted. "Come on, let's move out!"

The Clawitzer hopped away, prompting her subordinates to follow after her away from the grate. As the group made their way into the darkness of the attic, they thought about the conversation they saw in the room below, and how much that Protector they were chasing could change the course of their part of the Cradle…

But _who_ would wind up that determining that course?

* * *

"Alright, so let's make sure. Are we _clear_ what you're going to do tomorrow?"

After their meeting with Manaphy, Team Traveller had returned to the grounds of Dimitri's clan like its Dragalge leader had insisted. There, they had discussed their plans with Viktor and Dimitri on what to do next, their efforts stretching all the way on into the deep night as they carefully recited back their flight plan to Viktor.

"Dimitri is going to buy supplies with us in town, then guide us along the Pearl Stream, and we'll head to Sormus Island." Nida recounted.

"There, we'll split up, stock up, and head onto the next island to find some leads as to where this 'Blackmoon Village' is before those Imperial mons get wise to us," Guardia said. "Though I _think_ it shouldn't be hard. Why, I'm pretty sure we've heard of it from somewhere before!"

"Good, at least we're all on the same page," the Dragalge grunted. "As for you, Dimitri, make sure you don't stray too far east until you're sure you are near Sormus. Swimming around those waters alone and with passengers on your back is just asking for trouble."

The group continued on with their chatter, going through plans, and fallbacks, and tidbits that Viktor was determined to drill into the four airbreathers before Dimitri set out with them the next day… the lot of them completely unaware of the Tentacruel and a Sharpedo watching from an overlooking coral formation.

"So they'll be going alone?" Cyanea murmured. "Good, if we beat them to Spirit Trench, it'll be the perfect ambush site for someone travelling along that current."

The Sharpedo swam back and forth, keeping a skeptical eye on her partner all the while.

"Are you sure we should try and jump them just by ourselves?" Katyusha asked. "We _would_ be picking a fight with a bigger group than us."

" _Yerunda_ , they only have one real fighter down here that can swim!" the Tentacruel scoffed. "We can handle that!"

"I… I mean I guess you raise a point,¨ the Sharpedo reluctantly agreed.

" **NO!** "

The two winced and snapped their attention back to the gathering below, where the Growlithe in the bubble had grown agitated, his fur was standing on end.

"No way! We're _not_ sleeping down here in a bubble!"

"Oh come off it," a Relicanth from the crowd scoffed. "You need to get moving in the morning, so you might as well stay close to us."

"If that bubble bursts, we _die_ you moron!" Elty snarled.

The Growlithe glared at the group of seamons, drawing derisive snorts and scoffs at the dog's whining. While the school's ire was focused on the Fire-Type, Nida lowered her ears, before raising a paw and trying to lend her argument into the case for not sleeping in the bubble.

"Uhm… It _would_ be nice to have a proper bed to sleep on…" Nida sighed.

While some of the _Khranitel Rod_ remained unfazed by the Nidoran's request, Kuda in particular giving an eye roll, others were a bit more amenable. Among those was Viktor, who after a long pause, gave a begrudging grunt and replied to the little spike ball.

"Ugh, fine," the Dragalge groaned, shaking his head. "Dimitri, take them to a hostel, but make _sure_ you don't let them out of your sight!"

"Mmhm," the Kabutops replied with a nod. "Got it!"

As Dimitri turned and began to swam away with his charges towards the web of air tunnels in Braveshoal Town, the spying Tentacruel and Sharpedo turned to each other.

"We shouldn't let them out of our sight, either..." Katyusha said. "We were lucky enough just to catch them swimming back into town from that shrine earlier."

"Right, we'll try and find a place near their hostel to rest for the night and sleep in shifts," the Tentacruel answered. "As long as we stick close to them before they leave town, we can follow them and cut them off at Spirit Trench."

Cyanea looked off after the Kabutops and his passengers and saw that they were getting increasingly hard to make out in the dark water. With that, the jellyfish set off after the swimming crab, prompting Katyusha to swim along uneasily.

"So... we´re really doing this then?" the Sharpedo insisted.

"Of course, Katyusha!" the Tentacruel scoffed. "After all, I didn't insist on doing this to just show off!"

A confident smirk spread over the Tentacruel's face, the creature's gaze still trained firmly all the while on her prize ahead of her.

"This is a chance to finally _end_ this standoff with those square-necks... for the Empire."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
>  
> 
> \- _älä viitsi_ \- Finnish: "come on"  
>  \- _Skoreye (Скорee)_ \- Russian: "Quickly" / "Hurry up" (BGN/PCGN Romanization)  
>  \- _(¡¿)de qué hablas?!_ \- Spanish: "what are you talking about?!"  
>  \- _dworek_ \- Polish: "estate" / "manor" (diminutive)  
>  \- _Yerunda_ \- Russian: "Nonsensel' (BGN/PCGN Romanization)


	45. Uncharted Waters

The morning came quicker than anyone on Team Traveller expected, though the expanse of water up ahead meant that the rays of a warm and rising sun filtered down to Braveshoal Town as little more than a dim twilight. So it was that Dimitri roused his four charges, and brought them along yawning to peruse the shops near the local bank for supplies for their journey. The walk over proved to be handy for waking the children up, and before the horseshoe crab knew it, he was quickly juggling a small mound of provisions at the counter of a shop fashioned out of gray stone into the shape of a Kecleon's head. Evidently, even the bottom of the sea couldn't stop the Merchantry from setting up a branch, nor deter the scaly proprietor across the counter.

"Okay, so we've got Oran Berries, a couple Reviver Seeds, a Petrify Wand..." Dimitri murmured, sifting through a stack of supplies on the counter. "I _think_ that should be enough to-"

"Oh! That black orb with the light over there," Pleo murmured. "That was the one that I used to get us out of the last dungeon."

"Hrm… now that you mention it, taking one along wouldn't be a bad idea", Nida said as she turned towards the Kecleon shopkeep. "We'll take that Escape Orb as well."

"Ehm... okay, I think that's enough for now..." Dimitri sighed as he shook his head. "If you guys keep picking supplies at this rate, I won't be able to move in the water!"

"So, I take it that that's all, then?" the chameleon prodded.

"Yeah," the fossil Pokémon answered. "So how much will this all run?"

"1935 Poké."

The Kabutops blanched at hearing the number, and after a brief attempt at arguing down a price that was "seaway robbery", relented and muttered something under his breath about "Viktor's not going to be happy about that…" As the crustacean begrudgingly passed a large stack of gold-colored coins across and paid for the items, Guardia curiously looked at all the other shops around the square, which didn't go unnoticed by Pleo.

"Guardia? What are you looking at?" the little Lugia asked.

The Cubone peered at the gaily-colored stalls along the path, each filled with similarly colorful wares. Many of which were just lying there for the taking…

"I _still_ don't get why we can't just take the stuff from these 'shop' things," she murmured. "I mean, all their stuff is just lying around, so why do you need to trade these little bits of metal?"

"Welcome to what _I_ have to put up with," Elty murmured, which drew a sour frown and lowered ears from Nida.

"Because if you _don't_ , that's stealing and it gets you in trouble," the Nidoran answered.

"So what about when we pick up stuff we find lying around in Mystery Dungeons?" Guardia pressed.

Nida opened her mouth to reply, only for the words to die in her throat. She glanced to Elty to assist her, but all the help he gave was an amused shrug. Nida rolled her eyes and mulled over her answer for a moment before finally finding the words to present her case.

"That's different, though," she began, only for a rough, familiar voice to interrupt from behind.

"My advice helped you, I see."

Team Traveller turned around and saw that there was none other than the whiskered form of Sevan, the Samurott mercenary from the local bank. But… why wasn't he at the bank?

"Eh? Aren't you that _Daikenki_ from yesterday?" Guardia asked, pointing her bone out curiously. "What are you doing here?"

"Yeah," Elty added, giving a puzzled tilt of his head. "Don't you have a bank to be guarding right now?"

"It's fairly quiet at this time of day, and I just happened to notice you," Sevan answered. "I presume you've gotten the guidance you were looking for?"

"Er… yeah, we did," Nida replied. "We met the Blue Fairy the other day and she told us where to go from here."

The Samurott shifted his gaze over to Dimitri in the background, the Kabutops busily packing away his purchase from the Kecleon shop. A suspicious look and twitch of his whiskers came over Sevan's face at the size of Dimitri's generously-packed satchel, causing Nida to tense up and glance at her teammates nervously.

"Seems like that somewhere is pretty far away," the Samurott murmured. "Going anywhere in particular?"

For the second time in a short while, Nida and her teammates found themselves at a loss for words. The wrong answer here held the potential to land her entire team in a great deal of trouble, so was it really wise to say anything at all…?

"Ehm... err..." Pleo stammered, before Nida shook her head and finished his thoughts.

"We can't really talk about it..."

"And why not?" Sevan grunted.

The Nidoran paused. In spite of her best wishes, there was just too much risk in telling the truth. Not while there were so many other Pokémon around that could see or hear them…

"Well you see... uh..."

Before the rabbit could finish her thought process, her ears perked up at a cheery " _Privet!_ ", and the sight of Dimitri coming over from the counter with a friendly wave of one of his scythes.

"Are you guys ready yet?" the Kabutops called. "We should leave now if we wanna get to Sormus Island before sundown."

Team Traveller's blood ran cold and Dimitri was quickly taken aback by the wave of panic that spread over his charges' faces. After all their struggle to hide their destination, he had just gone and blurted it out right in front of Sevan! The team watched the Samurott intently, breath held nervously, to see how he'd react to this information, and...

"Ah, I see. In that case, good luck with your travels," Sevan said. "I should be getting back to work about now anyways."

After a brusque goodbye, Sevan set off back to his post. As the Samurott slipped out of view, the five remaining Pokemon were able to relax their posture.

"Uh... who was that?" Dimitri murmured.

"Just someone who helped us find you yesterday," Nida answered. "But it doesn't matter now."

"Hrmph… you never can never be too careful, though," Elty muttered, frowning. "Something about that gave me a bad vibe, and it's not just all the water around us."

"Eh?"

The Kabutops gave a puzzled tilt of his head at the Nidoran and Growlithe. He wasn't quite sure who the little spike ball and fire dog were talking about, but he supposed there was no harm in it.

"Well, no matter…" the crustacean said, waving off his initial unease. "I take it you're all ready to head out now?"

The Water-Type's question was met with a chorus of hearty affirmations from the four children, drawing a small chuckle and a shake of the crab's head.

"Alright, let's get going then," the Kabutops instructed. "There's a moon pool up ahead past Sophie's."

The four set off after Dimitri, who led them past a row of colorful shops, under the shadow of a stone hoop in between segments of bubble-tunnel. The team's trek took them to a bustling Juice Bar split between an upper level connected to the Subway tunnel and a lower level submerged in the sea, where there was a moon pool to the side. The Kabutops edged up against the water of a moon pool hemmed in by adjacent walls covered in talking-strings and inebriated-looking scrawls. Pleo followed along after his teammates past the mouth of 'Sophie's', where the little Protector paused and looked in.

The space was filled with Pokémon of all shapes and sorts eating and drinking, trading tales of exploits and gossip much as the Pokémon at the guild's mess hall had back in Bluewhorl. The Lugia paused, and realized that this was the first time the team would be leaving a town on friendly terms… perhaps he should do something to mark the occasion? But what?

Hrm… well, this 'Soapy's' did seem an awful lot like the mess hall… So maybe… it would make sense to take a page from the things he'd do if he were leaving the mess hall.

"Goodbye, Braveshoal Town!" he chirped. The little Protector cheerily waved farewell to the passing town, blissfully unaware of the various patrons in the Juice Bar stopping and staring until Elty tugged at his wing with his mouth.

"Get going already, _mewa!_ " Elty snapped. "We can get drinks at the _next_ town!"

As the Growlithe's words hung in the air, Dimitri eased himself into the water and bade his passengers to climb aboard. The four clambered atop their guide in their usual order, before the Kabutops whipped up a bubble and dove under the surface of the water. The vampire crab carried on, past the guarding Pokémon at the tunnel entrance, and off for the current to Sormus… Oblivious all the while to a pair of eyes keenly watching them from the lower level of Sophie's.

"Come on, they're nearly out of sight," Cyanea prodded. "I don't trust your sense of smell outside the open water, and we _can't_ lose them before we get to Spirit Trench."

With that, the forms of a Tentacruel and Sharpedo departed, shadowing the path Dimitri traced in the sea and biding their time to make their move for his divine passenger.

* * *

Back on Mengir Island Darzin sailed through the air above Fensedge's collection of tiled and thatched rooftops. After 'convincing' a few local shops to give him an 'Executive Discount' and stocking up supplies for his travel back to Vollezee, the Dragonite was more than ready to leave this wretched hamlet behind him.

"Lousy backstabbers…" the Dragon-Type grumbled. "Someday I'll-"

"Shut up!"

Darzin slowed down his flight as he heard a bellowing voice come down from underneath him. The dragon looked down and saw an Armaldo with a particularly new second-rank scarf yelling at an audience of a Stantler, a Sudowoodo, a Mudbray, and a Grimer.

"But sir, we-"

"I said I don't want to hear it!" Briggs snarled. "You had _one_ job yesterday, which was to put up posters for that Skarmory and those pirates who escaped! Instead I found you laying around snoozing without any scarves on!"

As the Armaldo kept going Darzin shook his head and continued on his way. The affairs of a couple of scarfless screw-ups didn't really concern him, nor were they worth wasting much time prying into.

On his flight over Fensedge he noticed several things. There was the Pidgey, Fletchling, and Pipipek in matching scarves darting over to the guild, the Noctowl and Rowlet from the Recycle shop taking a bag of disused items over the counter, and of course the familiar-looking Clawitzer, Ponyta, Cranidos and Sandslash talking to each other in an alleyway. The Dragonite carried on past, before slowing his pace as he realized _why_ the group in the alleyway seemed familiar...

"Didn't I see that shrimp and the others at the fort yesterday?"

Darzin swung around, and began to descend onto the rooftops next to the alleyway the white-scarved Pokémon were hiding in. The Dragon-Type inched closer and peered over the eaves as the sound of chattering began to prick his earholes.

"Any luck shadowing the Commissioner?" Nagant pressed.

"Well the ship's still here, so his crew is still in port," Berecien answered. "But we haven't seen hide or hair of the actual otter."

"I asked around earlier," Cabot added. "It sounds like he might have left port already."

"Yeah, and the Admiralty doesn't pay mercenaries like me to hang behind enemy lines forever," Niilo grunted. "The longer we hang here, the bigger the risk that we'll botch something and get stuck."

The Admiralty? Then these Pokemon must be Imperial spies! Darzin suppressed his instinct to swoop down and take them down, and kept a quiet watch instead. Could it be they were chasing after the same sea-god Lyn had been tailing all this time?

Given that the entire Board seemed to want him gone, it wouldn't be long before he ran out of opportunities of his own to grab the sea god. As daft as it sounded… perhaps there would be better ways to use these spies. The Dragonite circled back to the alley, where down below, the shrimp had grown frustrated with her subordinates' report, drawing a displeased shake of her head before starting to speak.

"Urgh... looks like that it might have been a little much to hope that we'd find out about Lyn's source- Gah!"

Before the wizened Clawitzer could finish, a blue, burning burst struck the shrimp from behind, sending Nagant tumbling in the cluttered alleyway. Berecien, Cabot, and Niilo blanched and went wide-eyed as they saw a Dragonite drop down into the alleyway from the rooftops below.

"The Admiralty, huh?" Darzin scoffed. "I was under the impression that Imps preferred to send their agents into settlements where there were bigger crowds to blend in."

Nagant righted herself with a hiss, clicking her claws as she hopped back into position and readied her large claw. Realizing the danger only a moment after their captain did, her shaken underlings hastily assumed combat stances.

"Brace yourselves!"

The Dragonite flashed his claws and gave a low growl back at the Clawitzer and her comrades. However, strangely- and concerningly- he didn't seem particularly worried by being outnumbered by the cornered spies.

"Hrmph, save your breath," Darzin snorted. "Need I remind you that even _if_ you were able to fight me off, the racket would alert the nearby guards? Just where do you expect to run from here?"

Nagant scowled, but found no words with which to respond to Darzin. Although it pained her to admit even to herself, she and her crew had been cornered in both a literal and figurative sense, with no easy out of this situation.

"Grr…"

"C-Captain Nagant?" Cabot stammered. "Wha- what should we do?"

"You're in no position to be doing much of anything right now, so why don't we take some time for a little talk?" the Dragonite suggested."I actually had an offer that I'd like to make with the lot of you."

The four spies caught themselves and traded blank stares with one another. Here was an Administrator of the Company, who had cornered them all like a bunch of Rattata in this dingy alley… and he wanted to negotiate with them?

"Wait, what?" Niilo said. "Come again?"

"Just what does this 'offer' entail?" Nagant hissed.

"Your employers are looking for the Guardian of the Seas, aren't they?" Darzin demanded. "My offer entails giving them a helping claw to find him."

The Clawitzer paused, and blinked as she tried to square away whether or not she had just heard the Dragon-Type say what she thought she just heard. Soon enough, stunned disbelief gave way to skepticism, prompting Nagant to narrow her eyes leerily at the Administrator.

"And why would you do that?" the shrimp asked.

"Because I've been in the Company for years in order to try and recover something of sentimental value," the Dragonite explained. "As I'm sure you overheard yesterday, I've found reason to believe that I'm facing an impending exit from the ranks. As such, I've decided to explore some alternative approaches."

"Wait, how on earth are _we_ supposed to help you with that?" Cabot pressed.

"Simple. An Empire with a Guardian under its wings is a strong enough actor to take whatever it wanted from Anyilla, regardless of what the Company would think of the matter," Darzin answered. "Recovering some property of sentimental value would be child's play in comparison."

"And just what is this 'something' you're so hung up over-" Niilo began, only to be cut off by a huffing growl.

"That doesn't concern you," Darzin spat. "So are we going to hash out a deal, or no?"

The Howitzer Pokémon glowered back at the Dragonite. Even if he wasn't attempting to set her up, he couldn't honestly expect anyone to agree to something so nebulous.

"Hrmph," Nagant grunted. "Assuming we accept, just what are the _terms_ of your deal here?"

"As you know, Administrators hold fairly high positions within the Company. It would allow me to find out about what that Commissioner and the Board have in store for the Guardian," the dragon explained. "Surely that would be helpful for helping your Empire beat the Company to the punch, hm?"

Nagant was not sold on the matter, and twitched her feelers irkedly. It was obvious to her that there was a catch to this situation- every intuition she had told her this stunk. She stayed silent, regarding Darzin dubiously.

"Look, the logistics aren't quite as intimidating as you're making them out to be. I'll simply meet you at your ship from time to time to give you information, and you can use that to capture that bird," Darzin reassured. "From there, I will join your Empire's ranks and help you take on the Company as _long_ as I get my sentimental token out of it. A fair deal, no?"

"And just how is _that_ supposed to work when you're an Administrator?" Nagant demanded.

"Yeah, why should any of us trust you?" the Ponyta snorted. Berecien curled his lip up into a sneer, glaring up at the dragon before him. "How do we know you'll keep up your end of the deal?"

At the Ponyta's words, the Dragonite gave a disdainful snort, before running his claws along the scales on his right flank. After brushing up against a reddened and particularly loose scale near the scrape Salvini left on his neck, he paused, and plucked it out before flicking it into the dirt in front of Nagant and her peers.

"Because now you have proof that we met, Ponyta," Darzin explained. "It would be ever so slightly unbecoming if a Company Administrator was found to be dealing with a bunch of spying Imps, don't you think?"

"And what is the catch in all of this?" Nagant demanded. The shrimp was answered by Darzin lunging forward and grabbing at her scarf. The Clawitzer was knocked back and flailed as she heard fabric tearing, reflexively righting herself and levelling her big claw at the bulky creature in front of her. There, she noticed the Dragonite had flitted back in the alleyway and was displaying a strip of her scarf: the original indigo showing under the white dye.

"The catch is that this agreement goes both ways," Darzin growled. "If it were to come out that an Imperial Captain was spying on the Board, and evidence were to turn up of her presence, I sincerely doubt that such a provocation would go unanswered."

The Dragonite stuffed the scarf fragment into his bag, before turning back to the Water-Type.

"In addition, if I were to be relieved of duty _before_ I were to enjoy the fruits of this risk that I'm taking…" the reptile said. "My _last_ act as Administrator will be to ensure that the Empire doesn't prosper from my plight."

Nagant kept her big claw trained on Darzin, giving a livid scowl at the Dragonite. The reptile paused for a moment, before giving a dismissive shake of his head and a stern glare back.

"So do we have a deal or not?"

Nagant flicked her feelers in silent contemplation as the dragon's words lingered in the air. She was in enemy territory, cornered by one of their strongest champions. Even if she bested him, escape would be nigh impossible. On the other hand, as distasteful as it was, working with him did provide an opportunity. Plus, it would be easier to think of ways to make sure the lizard upheld his end of the bargain while in friendlier waters. She finally lowered her claw, looking down at the ground and giving an annoyed sigh.

"Urgh... fine," the elder shrimp answered. "We'll take your deal."

"Pleasure doing business with you," the Dragonite replied. To answer your earlier question about meeting up: I have swift wings and a workload that lets me out and about on a regular basis. As long as you give me something to identify your ship by, I can rendezvous with you aboard it from time to time.

"We're flying white-and-red sails like our scarves right now," Nagant said. "You won't be able to miss us in enemy waters, and we'll leave a dispatch flag up when we're in friendly waters."

"I think I can work with that," Darzin responded. "And I shall bid you farewell here. Administration is busy work, after all."

With that, the Dragonite leapt up and soared off out of the alley, quickly slipping away from his freshly-recruited allies. Nagant fumed and shot out a burst of water at a row of pots against one of the alley walls, reducing them to sopping shards. After a moment for her temper to cool and her mind to sober up, the shrimp gave a sour grunt, rationalizing that now was as good a time as any to leave this accursed island.

"Hrmph. Let's get moving and push off for Otvaga," she huffed. "We can try and find Lyn and his source there. I don't think we'll get another offer like that if we get found out here."

The Clawitzer pressed on, carefully departing the alleyway along with her three subordinates. There had certainly been many an unexpected turn in this mission, but she had found more than enough to work with in Otvaga's safer waters…

The question was, would Commissioner Lyn beat her to the punch?

* * *

"Are we almost there yet?"

The prodding chirps of a young and increasingly antsy Lugia rang out in the air bubble attached to the form of a Kabutops swiftly cutting along above the seafloor. Behind them were flecks of froth left in the wake of the traveling crab's bubble, and below were gently waving beds of seagrass on the ocean floor. The Kabutops gave a tired shake of his head at his passenger's pestering, before giving a roll of his eyes.

"Like I explained five minutes ago, not yet." Dimitri sighed. "We still have several hours worth of travelling to go."

"But where are we then?"

As if on cue, the team passed by a dark shape on the seafloor, and then by another, and another. Nida, Pleo, and Guardia watched as Elty looked out at the passing forms, only to suddenly flush pale. By chance, the team happened to pass by a pair of spires jutting out of one of the shapes, made of darkened and rotted wooden timbers. A closer examination revealed tattered ropes, and poles that had been attached crosswise… Wait a minute, these spires were _ship masts_...

The four looked ahead to see an oncoming cliff cleaved in two by a narrow passage, the sand leading up to it pockmarked with the skeletons of sunken hulks; once-proud vessels now stilled with only the form of a feral flitting in or out occasionally to evidence life.

"We're at Spirit Trench," the Kabutops explained. "As you can tell from all the wrecks, the waters around here are a bit treacherous, and the only route to Sormus from here that doesn't involve a long detour or walking half a day in the Subway runs through that ravine there."

"And you're not swimming _over_ the giant ravine of doom here _why?_ " Elty grumbled.

"Because the waters _over_ this ravine are the territory of feral Frillish and Jellicent," Dimitri countered. "They have a habit of sinking ships foolish enough to pass through here when they're cranky, and they aren't any more welcoming to gill-breathers like me."

"That… sounds like a pretty good reason, actually," Guardia said.

"Alright, whatever, just hurry us up through there, okay?" Elty snapped. "I have a bad feeling about this place."

Pleo shifted uncomfortably as Dimitri entered the darkened trench. With only dimmed sunlight from the surface far above and the faint blue of glowing plankton in the water for light, the craggy place certainly didn't _look_ like it was the safest route... but if Dimitri was sure about it, maybe he should try and take his mind off the matter with something else.

"So what is Sormus like anyway?" Pleo asked.

"Well it's not like I go there very often," Dimitri explained. "But the entire island is one huge desert."

"What's a desert?"

"I guess you can think of it as kinda like a beach, except there's no water," the Kabutops began. "It doesn't rain much, and there's not any humidity. Awful terrain to be in really."

"Eh?" Nida asked. "But then how does anyone live there?"

"Well, some Pokémon just seem to be cut out for it," the crab answered. "But the main reason why there's a town on there is because it has the mines that the Empire uses to get copper for their coins."

Pleo tilted his head curiously at his Kabutops guide. Those little metal chunks that the shopkeepers traded stuff for were really that important? Bader had mentioned that the Company and the Empire also made coins like the Kecleon did, and he knew full well what the Company was, but...

"We heard of the Empire back on Boisocéan before…" Pleo murmured. "What _is_ it?"

"Well… I'm not that in tune with surface politics, so it's tough for me to explain. But I guess you can think of it as a group of towns like Braveshoal that's ruled by one specific _rod_ ," Dimitri explained. "They used to rule all the surface of Anyilla aside from Otvaga up until around forty years ago."

"When Conntow got destroyed," Nida murmured.

"Something like that, yeah," the Kabutops said. "Viktor says it's comeuppance for what their ruling _rod_ did to the Sea King back in the age of legends, but I don't put too much stock into that."

"Comeuppance? Sea King?" Guardia asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"Ah, it's an old tale. A bunch of air-breathers like you don't need to worry about it," he reassured. "Besides, we're almost at the end of the ravine."

Sure enough, there was a light at up ahead marking the end of the ravine. Dimitri pressed on ahead, swimming out onto an undersea plain where a couple lonely wrecks lay near the sunken plateau behind them. Team Traveller noticed that the wrecks stopped appearing up ahead in the distance, and the scenery returned to its normal sand and stone.

"See? That wasn't so bad now, was- AGH!"

A pair of shadowy forms flew out of the last wreck and towards the team, Dimitri's sudden scream and his sudden lurch immediately put Team Traveller on the defensive. The four saw a bullet-like creature with a frightening number of razor-sharp teeth to the right, yanking at the carpal joint of Dimitri's right arm. Before Pleo could make out what the attacker was, he felt a soggy, long appendage curl around his tail and yank him from behind. The little Lugia squawked and desperately beat his uninjured wing in a panic to try and wrench his tail free before Guardia's voice rang out from above.

"A-Aah! Let go of him!"

Pleo heard the _swoosh_ of Guardia's club swinging through the damp air, followed by a wet splat and a hiss of pain as the black tendrils let go and Pleo flopped forward. Dimitri swung a scythe at the the toothy shadow, and after wrenching free his right arm riddled with dents and cracks, the crab swam forward in a blind panic. His passengers, still panting and wide-eyed from their encounter, looked back and saw the following form of a Tentacruel cradling her tentacles around a coalescing ball of sludge, and a Sharpedo jetting ahead in hot pursuit.

Dimitri's passengers clung on desperately as the crab lurched and weaved around globs of poison and jets of water from their pursuers. A Sludge Bomb sailed overhead and grazed the wall of the bubble, showering the team with water from a leak, and prompting a spluttering, horrified realization by Nida.

"Dimitri! They're going to break the bubble!"

"I know that! Just hang in there!"

Nida and her teammates clung on for dear life as Dimitri raced through the water. A violet glob zipped past the bubble overhead, causing it to wobble dangerously. If only they were on land! Then they could help fight back against these Pokémon instead of just sitting helplessly on Dimitri's back!

By chance, the Nidoran noticed a stray bubble pass by outside. Then another, and another. The Nidoran peered down and off into the distance, where there to Dimitri's side, was a fuzzy and hazy long tube along the seafloor. The unmistakable profile of a Subway route.

"Wait, down there!" the rabbit squeaked. "There's a Subway tunnel! Get us in there!"

"Eh?! But that leads to-"

The Kabutops was cut off by a ball of sludge shot at him from behind at a frighteningly high velocity, the poisonous glob missing him and his passengers by only a hair's breadth.

"Forget it, it's good enough for now!"

Without further argument, he darted as quickly as his body and the surrounding water allowed down towards the watery tunnel.

Dimitri neared the wall of the Subway, zipping past one of the hoop-markers that held up its different segments. The Kabutops prepared to dive into the air tunnel, only to feel the water disturb around him and a briny jet slice into him from above. The crab lurched along with his now bubbleless passengers, and fell through the Subway tunnel with an unceremonious _splat_ as the five fell groaning to the ground with an unhealthy amount of seawater. One-by-one, Team Traveller and their guide wearily roused themselves, only to blanch as they saw Katyusha tearing for the tunnel.

"You're not getting away from us so easily!"

"A-Aah!"

Nida looked up, and watched as Katyusha expelled a burst of water that trailed with white steam. The little rabbit flinched as the jet made its way through the wall, only to see Pleo spit up a glowing ball in a panic, reducing the scalding stream into a pattering of hot drops as water leaked in from the hole left behind in the bubble tunnel. Sensing that time was of the essence, Dimitri spat up a cluster of mud blobs through the Subway wall at the retreating Sharpedo's shadow and turned to shout a simple command to his charges.

"Quick! Run!"

The four children turned and bolted down the tunnel, scrambling up a rocky path as the form of an approaching mass of tendrils neared the wall. Nida reflexively raised her spikes, and flicked a barb at the direction of the approaching Tentacruel through the tunnel wall. The Nidoran watched her missile slice through the bubble, only to slow and drift aimlessly in the much thicker water outside. Why, her spike had accomplished little other than springing a fresh leak of seawater! Unfazed, the jellyfish began gathering brine near her mouth, prompting Nida to sprint from her place as a burst of unusually salty water struck where she had been moments ago.

"A-Ack! How are we supposed to fight these guys when they're out in the water?!"

"I'll take the fight to them!" Dimitri cried. "You just keep running down that tunnel."

The Kabutops dug in his feet and sprinted after the Tentacruel's form as she readied another Brine attack from along the Subway wall. The crab tensed his uninjured left claw, and jumped for the jellyfish with a jeering cry.

"I think it's about time someone cut you down to size!"

A pained, burbling screech rang out after Dimitri thrust his scythe through the bubble overhead and raked his uninjured scythe over Cyanea's bell, letting in a curtain of seawater and leaving behind an ugly scrape. The wounded jellyfish slapped her opponent away with tendrils lined with purple, exposed stingers in a blind panic, and desperately fell back after forcing the Kabutops off with a yelp.

Nida and her teammates bolted down the tunnel with Dimitri coming up from the rear lurching from a tender spot Cyanea stung in between his exoskeleton's segments. In spite of that, the team easily made progress down the tunnel… perhaps _too_ easily… Guardia noticed the suspicious lull and looked back, where she saw their Sharpedo and Tentacruel assailants had fallen back a ways. There in the distance, she saw the duo chattering with each other before the shark swam off into the open water.

"Eh?!" she cried. "They're falling back!"

Almost as if on cue, the bone lizard was answered by a violet glob grazing her and knocking her to the ground. The Cubone got up in a start, hastily brushing some toxic gunk and seawater off her scales as the team's flight resumed once again past an undersea ledge, Elty taking the time to shoot back an annoyed glare.

"Gah!" he yipped. "Some 'falling back' that was!"

"But why did that shark swim off then?!" Guardia exclaimed.

That… was actually a good question. Dimitri looked around hastily for places where the Sharpedo could have swum off to, only to be answered with a loud rumble and the sight of Katyusha swimming away rapidly over the crest of the ledge. The Kabutops looked up in the direction where the shark came from, where much to his horror, a large boulder was cascading down the ledge, directly for their Subway tunnel.

"Agh! Look out!"

The group scattered, Nida and her teammates running up ahead, while Dimitri fell back as the boulder slammed into the Subway. The roar of rushing water resounded, as the four children of Team Traveller watched the seawater reclaim the path behind them, throwing the group into a panicked sprint down the path. The waves drew nearer and nearer, and water seeped ahead to turn the path into a deepening lake when the group reached a small hill capped by a stone arch.

The children ran through the arch bracing for the worst, only for the waves to never come. Guardia looked back, and saw that a bubble wall had closed in over the space under the arch, stopping the advancing waters… So _that's_ what those things were for. Off in the distance, the team saw Dimitri swimming up, fatigue starting to take its toll on the horseshoe crab.

"Ack! Hang in there, ki- ARGH!"

The Kabutops cried out in pain as he felt something toothy and sharp clamp down on his left leg. Much to everyone's horror, the culprit was none other than Katyusha, digging her teeth in deeper into the tarsal of one of Dimitri's legs.

"Going somewhere?!" the Sharpedo shouted, muffled somewhat by the bony carapace in her mouth. Team Traveller watched as Dimitri blindly hacked at Katyusha, struggling to no avail to get his leg free. Slowly, an awful realization began to sink in: there was nothing the four could do to help their friend but watch from within the air tunnel.

"Dimitri-!" Pleo yelled, only to duck a sudden a passing jet of water. The four blindly bolted along, until they saw Cyanea floating up ahead above the tunnel.

"Why are you doing this?!" Nida exclaimed. "Why are you attacking us like this?!"

"Because that bird with you is the key to restore Anyilla to its former glory," Cyanea answered. "We can end this right here if you surrender and come along peacefully-"

"No!"

The Tentacruel blinked out of surprise and looked down at the little bird in front of her. Even in spite of his injured wing and being separated from his strongest defender, there was a fire within the Protector's eyes. A fire that spoke all too clearly what came out of his beak immediately afterwards.

"I won't go with you!" Pleo cried. "I promised I'd go home with my friends, and I'm _not_ leaving them!"

"Then you leave me no choice," the jellyfish growled. "Eat sludge!"

A rapidly growing ball of sludge started pooling in front of the Tentacruel, tainting the water around her with ugly wisps of liquid poison. Pleo froze, realizing that in that moment he was staring down a fight with a foe that seemed far stronger than him, with no one who could help him…

"Keep it together, _mewa_! Follow my lead!" a voice from behind yipped. A column of cinders flew overhead at the ball of sludge as it broke through the Subway wall. Pleo hastily disgorged a Weather Ball at the blob, reducing the Sludge Bomb into a smoky stain on the ground.

As the stain was quickly swept away by the water let in from the hole the blob punched into the bubble, a realization dawned on the little Lugia.

He wasn't alone at all! He was here with his friends, and if they all just worked together…"

"Ack!" Guardia exclaimed. "She's coming back!"

The four whirled and saw Cyanea approaching from overhead, prompting Team Traveller to break into a desperate sprint away from the pursuing jellyfish. The Poison-Type once again sent a jet of briny water through the wall and down the Subway passage, only this time, her attack found its mark on Nida as the Nidoran attempted to flee with her friends.

"Agh!"

Nida pitched forward and tumbled along the ground, breathing heavily and coughing up brinewater as she struggled to get up. She felt a claw tug at her and saw it was none other than Guardia, coming to her aid.

"Come on, Nidoran," she pleaded. "Don't go giving up on us! We need all the help we can to fight that _yajū_ off!"

The two looked back towards Elty and Pleo, who had spat up embers and a glowing ball after Cyanea, only for their attacks to do little beyond than let in more water into the Subway and make the wall of the tunnel waver more and more. Nida and Guardia's faces fell as a sinking realization came over the pair. The jellyfish was wearing them all thin and every time they tried to attack back, she could just fall back into the sea around the tunnel!

"How are we supposed to _fight_ her?!" Guardia cried.

Gah… why did that lizard need to raise questions that didn't have an easy answer? The only time that that blasted Tentacruel ever came around was whenever she was ready to attack! Just then, Elty's ears perked up, as he realized that all this time, Cyanea had been giving them exactly the opening they needed to fight her!

"Look, bonehead! She only attacks from right by the wall!" Elty cried. "If we want to take her out, we need to hit her with everything we've got when she comes back!"

"But we'll be right in front of her that way!" Pleo squawked.

Nida glanced up at the Tentacruel and back at her teammates. Guardia had clearly already made up her mind and had grasped her club tightly, readying herself to strike. It was now or never, and with their situation as dire as it already was… perhaps fortune really did favor the bold.

"Then we'll have to work as a team and make this count!" Nida exclaimed.

The four looked up and watched as Cyanea once again neared the Subway wall, a volume of sloshing, whitish brine gathering near her mouth. This time, there was no running, as Team Traveller's members dug in their feet and braced their bodies for battle.

"Here she comes!" Elty barked. "We've got one shot at this!"

Elty's fur bristled as blue sparks began to dance up and down his body. The Fire-Type moved from teammate to teammate as he gave a firm tap to each of his compatriots, passing the blue sparks onto them. The sparks settled in a bluish aura that soon faded, leaving behind an invigoration that made even fighting the Tentacruel up ahead look possible.

"Now!" Nida cried.

The Nidoran flicked a barb towards the Tentacruel, followed by a glowing ball from Pleo. The attacks sliced through the Subway's wall, finding their mark on the jellyfish's face. Cyanea lurched up with a pained shriek, spewing her Brine up and towards the ceiling of the Subway and missing her targets by a wide margin.

The Poison-Type cradled her face with her tendrils, drifting along stunned from the attacks. Any satisfaction however was short-lived, as Nida, Elty, and Pleo noticed that more water was coming into the Subway than normal. A closer examination revealed the holes punched into the wall were arranged in a rough spread, and rather than closing up right away, the holes seemed to be growing, as if they were expanding into each other.

"Ack! The bubble!" Pleo yelped. "It's bursting!"

Meanwhile, Guardia had kept her attention focused on Cyanea, ignoring the pouring water as she kept her focus on the harrying _yajū_ and an attempt to strike back. The Cubone saw the Tentacruel's form pass through a section ringed by leaks in the wall, when she realized that her best chance to strike her would be to take a leap of faith and take a stab at her elders' lore. Guardia raised her club, and arced her arm back, preparing a forceful throw.

"Eat this, you lousy salt-sucker!"

"Guardia, wait!" Nida exclaimed. "Don't-!"

The Cubone hurled her bone, spinning in the air as it found its mark at the Subway wall, ripping a new hole into the bubble tunnel. The tear spread wider and wider until it abruptly joined the earlier holes and suddenly gave way to a wall of water coming down on the four.

"AAAA-"

The wave picked up the team and carried them further down the tunnel, before the sea closed in overhead, leaving the four to be pushed around by the turbulence kicked up by the sudden floodwaters.

Pleo felt himself drift underwater and opened his eyes, where he saw that he had carried along past a clump of seaweed with a patch of foggy water in the distance. The Lugia hastily attempted to right himself, and found that with a dive, he could smoothly move around in the water. He did it again, and again, gliding along in the water. Why… this was almost like flying! And Nida, and Elty, and Guardia… surely they were similarly doing well-

The little Protector looked ahead, where he saw his friends at a patch of open water. Far from the graceful, sweeping movements he expected, they were thrashing out of blind terror. This seawater- It was- it was hurting them!

"Stop right there!"

Pleo looked back and the shape of a Tentacruel heading in his direction after recovering from the attacks earlier. He had to get his friends out of here as soon as possible... but to where? Anywhere he and his friends could go, Cyanea would just be able to follow him! Wait a minute...

Pleo looked off into the distance and saw a wall of cloudy water, filled with what looked an awful lot like the fog of a Mystery Dungeon. That could be just the break he and his friends needed! If it had fog, maybe there would be air inside. And if it was a Mystery Dungeon, then even if Cyanea followed him, she wouldn't wind up falling into the same place as him!

The Lugia hastily swum over to his teammates, feeling them latch on with claws and mouths and took off swimming for the foggy water. In the distance, Cyanea continued to pursue, preparing a jet of briny waters, only for him to see her abruptly stop as the fog clouded Pleo's vision more and more. And so it was that the little Protector carried on into the murky haze before him, not daring to stop his flight until he could see what laid on the other end.

* * *

The sun shone down on the green-sanded beaches of Mengir, where just outside of Fensedge, the battered Siglo Swellow had been brought ashore by the crew after carefully limping into the harbor away from the Board's prying eyes. The Iron Fleet's ambush had left the ship behind in tatters, providing no shortage of repairs to be done. The sails were shredded ribbons held together by rickety patches, the decks were riddled with burnt and splintered timbers, and the hull was pockmarked with gaping holes in dire need of a fix more permanent than a simple ice plug. Crom and Pladur too joined the rush to patch up the stricken sloop, the two dutifully lugging a load of wooden timbers along the beach towards the battered ship.

"... We've sure got a lot of work ahead of us," Pladur sighed. The duo carried on, the Fraxure's pace halting and uneven due to his wounds from the big fight. Even without the lingering injuries, there seemed to be a heavy and hopeless atmosphere clinging to the worksite, as the crew of the Siglo Swellow went about their duties repairing their stricken ship.

As the two neared a hole in the hull, they saw Ander was hard at work sawing timbers into planks usable for repairs, the ship's temporary icy plug having long melted away. The sound of flapping wings caught their attention, and Crom looked up with a start, half expecting to see Pleo's form. Those fleeting, fanciful hopes were quickly brought back down to earth when he saw the flapping creature was the crew's Unfezant mailmon flying off towards the horizon... back towards a now-distant feeling home.

"Dad...?" the Druddigon hesitantly asked. "Do you think mom will be worried when she finds out about us?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine. She can't be much worse than me," the Fraxure hastily reassured. "I'm the one who's always a bit jumpy at letting you go off into the unknown."

The Druddigon supposed his father had a point, but even as the two neared their destination at a gaping hole in the Siglo Swellow's hull, something about the reassurance didn't quite click. His dad's words failed to ease Crom, and the little dragon continued to trudge along as he tried to put his misgivings into words.

"I guess… but what about the town?" Crom insisted. "What will they think when they find out about the others being gone again?"

"Take things one step at a time, Crom," a voice buzzed. The young Druddigon looked up and saw Ander looking over to him, the blotch-headed mantis giving a tired shake of his head as he rested his scythes from a long morning of hacking wood.

"When life throws a barrier at you, sometimes you need to hunker back a bit to let things sort out," the Scyther said. "There's no sense wearing yourself out over impossible fights."

Ander's words proved to be a rather underwhelming reassurance, prompting the little Druddigon's wings to droop dejectedly. While it _was_ true that some fights couldn't be won… did he really have to say it like that?

"I guess so…" Crom murmured. "I just wish there was something we could do."

"We'll work through it, Crom," Pladur reassured. "For now, why don't we drop this lumber off at-"

" _Ya volví!_ "

Crom, Pladur, and Ander looked up, and watched as Kiran swooped overhead, and came to a flapping stop on the beach. The Pokémon looked at each other puzzledly, wasn't Kiran supposed to be in town right now?

"Eh? Already, Kiran?" Ander asked. "Weren't you picking up Lum Berries for the ship?"

The Scyther's prodding prompted Kiran to uncomfortably ruffle his feathers, the Swellow visibly stumbling to find the right words to share with the other.

"Erm… well…"

Crom, Pladur, and Ander traded uneasy looks at Kiran's hesitance. Had something gone wrong? And if so… what was it?

"Did something happen out there, Kiran?"

"Well…" the Flying-Type began. "It turned out the only place in town that had Lum Berries in stock was the local Kecleon shop…"

"I mean, they overcharge a bit," the Fraxure insisted, "but that means you were able to get the Lum Berries, right?"

"Not quite," Kiran sighed. "It turns out I'm banned from their stores due to matching the description of a vandal who trashed one of their shops on Kenobi."

At the mention of 'vandal' and 'Kenobi', Pladur stared blankly, before burying his face in an opened claw.

"The shop in Andaku," Pladur realized with a groan. "They must have blacklisted us after that little incident..."

"I guess it was only natural that our getaway would have had some sort of hitch to it," Ander said, shaking his head. Before the mantis could continue his thoughts, he was cut off by the sound of the ship's meal bell and a buzzing cry from the ship's deck.

"All hands on deck, I've got an announcement to make!"

The four turned and looked up at the ship's deck, where a rapidly growing crowd of their peers gathered around Captain Beatrix as she flitted about the main mast.

"Eh? What's going on?" the Hitmontop first mate wondered.

"Yeah, the ship's still a wreck!" Natrix exclaimed.

"And it is awful early to be sounding off the dinner bell..." Philips murmured.

"Come on," Kiran instructed. "Let's see what's going on."

Kiran led his companions off into the gathering meeting, where the crew of the Siglo Swellow had assembled under the main mast. Some chattering went here and there about the gathered Pokémon. Had something else been uncovered along with Natrix and Philips' discovery yesterday that Lyn hadn't yet found the Protector? Did more news come from home? There, Captain Beatrix flitted about lethargically, clearly short on sleep. The Illumise motioned for quiet, and then cleared her throat to speak.

"I know you're all hard at work, but there's a little problem that we've run into," the captain announced. "Specifically, we're running low on supplies."

The firefly's declaration drew concerned looks and unnerved chatter from her audience. First they almost got the ship shot out from under them, and now they didn't even have the supplies to leave port.

"We can buy more from the town, but…" Beatrix began. "I did the numbers, and unless we plan on sailing our next leg on empty stomachs, we don't have the funds to cover the difference."

"... So now what?" Natrix asked.

"It's simple, some of us will need to pitch in and do a few jobs around town," the Illumise instructed. "The sooner we close the gap, the sooner we can get out of here. Any volunteers?"

A tide of uneasy and demoralized murmurs went about the gathered crew, until suddenly, a young voice cut through the chatter...

"We'll do it, Captain Beatrix!"

The whole assembly turned and stared at a young Druddigon standing tall with his chest puffed out pridefully, much to the stammering confusion of his Fraxure father.

"Er... we will?" Pladur murmured. "Crom, don't you think-?"

"No, dad, I want to help!" Crom insisted. "If I could manage missions with my team back home, we should have no problem doing one or two here!"

"The easiest way to make a little bit of side money _would_ be to take a mission…" Kiran mused. "And if you're headed off into town, I might as well take you two under my wing."

"Ander?" Crom asked. "You'll help us too, right?"

At the mention of his name, the Scyther blinked in surprise, regarding the young Druddigon incredulously.

"Eh? Me?" Ander buzzed. "But- why would you need me to-?"

"It _would_ be wise to have a full team if we're looking through missions…" Kiran mulled.

"And, well… you've helped us all get through some real jams already, so…" Pladur added.

After a moment's thought, Ander sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"… I suppose it'd be a nice break from chopping wood," the mantis murmured. "Alright, I'll bite."

"Approved," Beatrix said. "Any other volunteers?"

Crom's example bolstered the spirits of the other Pokémon, prompting volunteers to step forward one by one, their cries ringing in the air with newfound vigor and determination.

"Count me in!"

"Yeah, us too!"

As more and more Pokémon volunteered, Crom and his companions set off from the Siglo Swellow, clambering down the rope ladder for the beach. During their trek down the coast for Fensedge Village off in the distance, the clamor from the ship behind them grew fainter and was slowly replaced with the lapping sound of ocean waves. The trek took the four past sea stones, lumps of driftwood, and curiously a few glinting metal feathers left on the beach sand. As Crom continued on with Ander and Kiran, they noticed that Pladur seemed to be having trouble keeping pace, the Fraxure being slowed to a hobble from aches stiffening his limbs and gasping for air.

"Kiran, are we sure about doing a mission?" Ander asked.

"E-eh, it's alright!" Pladur insisted. "Nothing that a little working through can't fix!"

Ander frowned, seeming unconvinced. He raised a brow dubiously and glanced to his other teammates, who all wore a similar expression.

"… We'll see what they have on the board," Kiran sighed. "There _has_ to be something we can all do."

The three waited for Pladur's to catch up with them before continuing along their path for Fensedge. As the group made their way for the stone pillars in the distance, a nagging doubt kept tugging at their minds...

Would this really work out?

* * *

After entering the foggy water, Pleo found that his sight rapidly deteriorated as the mist quickly thickened. The little Lugia desperately continued tugging his teammate's limp bodies along, only to suddenly feel himself drop.

The water stripped away, and the Lugia fell tumbling through a void, shrieking in panic with the unconscious forms of his companions. The little Protector felt his body strike a wet, stony surface and rolled along, sending a pain jolting through his bandaged wing. He eventually came to a stop on his back, panting and wearily picking his body off the ground.

Pleo looked around as the water started to roll off his plumes, and saw that he was in a chamber whose bottom was enclosed by a bubble much like the Subway, the top and a portion of the far left wall flooded with seawater. There were large roots criss-crossing the chamber walls, with large, blue and pink crystals embedded into them. And behind him, his friends were sprawled out in a sopping pile, motionless.

"N-Nida? Elty? Guardia? " the little Lugia asked. "Are you all alright?"

The three soggy lumps gave back no response, nor any sign of movement. At once, memories of the team's near-disaster in Mengir's Mystery Dungeon surfaced; causing Pleo to fear the worst, and hastily dart over to Nida and nose at her body with his beak.

"Come on, get up, please!" he cried.

The Lugia kept prodding, his desperation showing through as he shook the Nidoran's shoulder roughly in his attempt to rouse her. Finally, after a dreadful few seconds, he felt Nida twitch under his grasp. Nida gagged and coughed up some seawater, and shot her eyes open with her pupils shrunken to pins. As she laid on the ground, Nida took in her strange new surroundings, the Nidoran drawing ragged, panting breaths as she drug herself up to her feet.

"Nida!"

"Wh-what happened?!" the Nidoran squeaked.

"The Subway tunnel flooded! All of you were going still and I thought you were going to die again," the Lugia squawked, before continuing on with a torrent of words. "And I dragged you into this fog in the water since it looked like the one back in the Mystery Dungeons- And- And-!"

Pleo's rattled squawks roused Elty, who flailed around on the ground with a panicked howl as the creature fought for air...

"A-Aah! I'm drowning! _Ratunku! R-Ratun_ -!"

...only to realize that his lungs were breathing in air, and that he was lying on a cold and damp patch of stony ground. The Fire-Type blinked, and warily picked himself up off the ground, giving a sheepish laugh.

"Er… just swallowed a bit of seawater," he insisted. "Nothing that I can't bounce back from!"

Nida and Pleo traded unamused looks with each other at Elty's hasty and unconvincing show of bravado. The din similarly roused Guardia, who staggered up to her feet, coughing and groaning.

"Urgh… _Gardie_ , can you _not_ do this right now?" she grumbled. "That was certainly a worse attempt at _Honebūmeran_ than norma- Huh?"

The Cubone instinctively reached to the side for her bone, and after failing to find it, felt about her surroundings. The lizard's initial calm quickly gave way to a deep panic as she realized that something was deeply amiss.

"A-Aah! My bone!" she exclaimed. "It's gone!"

Nida's ears folded back and she hastily sniffed about for any sign of Guardia's club, only to realize that based off where she saw it last, it was likely the club was far, far out of reach.

"The water must have swept it away after you threw it at that Tentacruel," Nida explained. Any hope for soothing Guardia's nerves quickly fell flat, as the Nidoran's words served to panic the Cubone more, making the Ground-Type start to hyperventilate.

"Eh? But Guardia, you're okay aren't you?" Pleo chirped. "Why is the bone so important? Can't you just get another bone later-?"

"Because I need that to _live, kamome_!" Guardia cried. "Without my bone I'm completely helpless! If a _yajū_ pounced on me without it, then- then-"

"Look, just take a deep breath and get ahold of yourself right now, bonehead," Elty snapped. "As long as we get _out_ of here, we can get another from a scavver."

"Yeah, we're obviously in a Mystery Dungeon right now," Nida explained. "It's alright, we'll just use the Escape Orb from the bag to get out of here."

The Nidoran set down the slightly-too-big satchel on her shoulder onto the ground. There, Elty noticed that the bag had sprouted a fresh tear in the fabric, most likely from the fall into the Mystery Dungeon.

"Ugh… nice going with the bag, spike ball," he groaned. "I've had that thing for _years_ and I kept it in better shape than you have in the last few days."

"Elty, we have other priorities here," Nida frowned, as she poked her head in to root through the satchel for the orb that would take the team back to safety.

"I'm just saying, I _am_ getting my bag back at some point," the Growlithe huffed. "And when that happens, I want it _fixed_ \- Huh?!"

The four watched as Nida pulled the Escape Orb out of the bag. There in her paw was the familiar black, glassy orb, except its light was just as dull as when they bought it back in Braveshoal Town!

"Eh? Nida?" Pleo asked. "Aren't Escape Orbs supposed to glow brightly when we can use them?"

"Er… well… yes, but… I don't understand," she murmured, tapping frantically at the orb's surface. "Why can't we leave from this dungeon?"

"Well, what entrance did we come in from?" Elty asked, prompting a curious tilt of Pleo's head.

"Huh?"

"An Escape Orb takes you back to the beginning of whatever path you took to enter a Distortion," he explained. "If you just _fell into_ it without going through a path, then of _course_ it's not going to work!"

The team's eyes widened out of shock after Elty's words as a sinking realization began to creep into their minds. The very fact that they had wound up in the middle of the Mystery Dungeon like this meant they _had_ to have come through it much as they went into the Dungeon at Boisocéan…

And _that_ meant...

"W-we're stuck in this _yajū_ nest without any way to get out?!" Guardia whimpered. Nida hastily motioned with calm with her paws, trying unconvincingly to reassure the disarmed Cubone.

"It's alright! It's alright! We can still make this work out!" she insisted. "We're much better supplied than the _last_ time we got in a situation like this! We can just find a place to hunker down until someone can help us out of here-"

"So that that Sharpedo and Tentacruel can come and find us?" Elty retorted.

Nida caught herself and twitched her whiskers at the mention of the team's pursuers. It _wouldn't_ do them much good to start that chase up again...

"Uh... right. We would probably be better trying to find a way out," the Nidoran murmured. As Nida looked around, she saw that the team seemed to be in a collection of bubbles much like the Subway, interleaved with what appeared to be the roots of a great mangrove forest far above them.

The Poison-Type saw that a mix of ocean stone and clumps of mangrove roots seemed to form barriers into the shape of rough chambers that cut through bubble and water alike, with pink and blue crystals sprouting from the barriers and patches of the wet floor underneath. The presence of shed scales on the ground seemed to indicate that _something_ had swum through this place recently. All-in-all, the place was an awkward halfway point that was neither easily walkable by Pokémon like them, nor swimmable by more fish-like Pokémon. The sort of dungeon that would have been perfect fit for Dimitri, were he around.

"But... where _are_ we exactly?"

Nida turned to face Pleo, hoping for some more information. He was the one to drag the group to safety... maybe he would also be able to shed some light on things?

"Pleo, did you see anything when you brought us in here?" Nida asked.

"Uh… fog?"

"Come on, something more specific than that!" Guardia exclaimed, still visibly distraught, her empty hands quailing. "I need to get another bone as soon as-"

The Cubone's panicked chatter was interrupted by the sound of sniffing. She turned around, and saw Elty walk up to a pink crystal in a clump of mangrove roots, giving some inquisitive smells and a few prods at the gem, as if it had a touch of familiarity to it. The Ground-Type's mood quickly took a sour turn, the helmeted lizard fuming at how casually the lousy mutt could just _ignore_ her mortal plight.

" _Gardie!_ Why are you just _standing_ there looking at those stupid rocks?!" the Cubone huffed. "This is important!"

"I was just trying to get a better idea of our surroundings," the Growlithe answered. "I think I might have found a clue to get outta here."

"Eh?" Nida asked, giving her right ear a skeptical raise. "How can you be so sure?"

"Just a feeling I got," Elty retorted. "Besides, we don't have many other leads right now, do we?"

Nida, Pleo and Guardia hesitantly looked at each other. While they didn't like trusting their safety in an unknown dungeon to a feeling, it wasn't like they really had anything _else_ to go on...

"Well, no..." Pleo admitted.

"Then follow me, and grab some Bubbleweed if you see it. We don't need to nearly drown _again_ ," the Fire-Type instructed. "Bonehead, you stick with Pleo if you feel so unsafe. Who knows, maybe you'll gather some lore on the way!"

Team Traveller set off, Elty leading the way down a corridor into this strange, unknown Mystery Dungeon. Or at least unknown to the others. After a ways into his trek, the Growlithe allowed a smirk to creep across his face. The dungeon's layout, the crystals... all of that seemed familiar to Elty for good reason.

"It's good to be home again…"

* * *

After pulling into port at Mengir, the Siglo Swellow's crew desperately set out to try and repair their stricken ship. There were timbers to be replaced, sails to be patched up, and leads to be pursued for the whereabouts of Team Traveller. Little did they know, that just a little ways down the docks, another Company crew was similarly going through turmoil.

"Hey! Be careful with that!"

The sharp buzz of an irked Mothim hung in the air, its owner flitting to and fro over the heads of some First-Ranks loading crates up a gangplank. In any other circumstance, a surprise order to head out would have been a hassle for Ellsberg to oversee even if Director Inler hadn't just out-and-out given away his beloved _Nektar Weide_ for Lyn to command.

But in spite of that, there was a silver lining or two, the Bug-Type supposed. Since Lyn was busy swimming off to Otvaga, he was left to assume his _proper_ role as the ship's acting captain. There were decks to be swabbed, sails and rigging that needed to be checked, and the old stalwarts he had been able to bring aboard into this new crew seemed to be taking things in stride…

"I'm tellin' ya, you've gotta move your wings _and_ throw your head. Girls eat that stuff right up."

… of course not all the Pokémon on the ship were working, like the Fearow and Swanna who perched idly on the ship's railing, much to Ellsberg's displeasure.

"Hey! You two over there!" the Mothim yelled. Ellsberg's cries drew the birds' attention, who turned around with skeptical looks and displeased ruffles of their plumes.

"Eh?" the Swanna asked. "Maurier, isn't that-?"

"Your _acting captain_ ," Ellsberg spat. "Double check the rigging before we pull out of port. I want those ropes checked for damage, and those knots checked for looseness!"

Instead of the swift response that the moth hoped for, the Flying-Types traded dismissive glances and smirks with one another. Ellsberg flapped his wings frustratedly and barked once again at the gathered air escorts.

"Well?!" he buzzed. "What are you waiting for?!"

"Yeah, yeah, we'll get to it," the Fearow, evidently 'Maurier' answered. The duo lazily flew off, snickering among themselves as they began to slowly peck over the rigging as Ellsberg flew off fuming under his breath.

These new Pokémon from Lyn's crew were nigh useless! If one of them wasn't being desultory with their work, it was because they were blatantly lazing around! He never saw them treat Lyn _this_ disrespectfully, so why did they suddenly take license to treat _him_ , their acting captain, as if he were just a raw recruit?!

"The things I have to put up with this crew- Eh?!"

As soon as he had opened his mouth, the Mothim spotted a group consisting of a Krokorok, a Grumpig, a Nuzleaf and a Hitmonchan from Lyn's crew. Far from working, the four were lazing around on some furniture purloined from below deck and playing a game of cards with Pokémon designs on them. The very same group that he had instructed to load supplies onto the ship an hour ago.

"What are you doing?!" Ellsberg hissed. "You four are supposed to be loading crates!"

The four Pokémon paused from their game for a fleeting moment, shooting disinterested looks before returning back to their cards.

"Relax," the Krokorok answered, giving a dismissive wave back. "Those crates will still be there after a quick round of cards."

"How dare you speak to your superior like that, you miserable numbsk- ... is that my desk?!"

The Mothim gestured angrily at a a detailed hardwood desk, proportioned perfectly for the Mothim under the Grumpig's rump. That was the desk he did paperwork from and this lousy pig was using it as a common bar stool!

"What? This? I found it in the captain's cabin," the Grumpig replied. "Captain Lyn obviously wouldn't be able to use something this small, so it seemed like fair to me to let someone else use it."

"But that's-!"

"Hey, Notary. In case you haven't noticed, You're not the captain here anymore," the Krokorok of the group spat. " _I_ say that I'd know better than a paper pusher about how much time is needed to load crates."

"Yeah, Ken here loads crates on a regular basis," the Nuzleaf snorted, gesturing at the Krokorok. "I'd take his judgment over that of a wimp like you!"

"Yeah, go suck a flower!" the Hitmonchan jeered.

Ellsberg flitted up and down, filling the air with loud, angry moth noises. The Bug-Type seethed and glared at the impudent underlings, giving a livid pound of the table that sent the cards on it flying.

"Now listen all of you!" the Mothim fumed. "If I don't see you moving crates into the hold in the next minute, you can look forward to cleaning the ship's heads for the rest of this mission!"

"Oh, yeah?"

The threat and disruption of their game had rubbed the four lackeys wrong. Ken threw his cards down on the table and stomped over to Ellsberg, glaring. The other players at the table rose from their places, shooting similarly displeased glares.

"And are _you_ gonna enforce it then, Notary?" the Krokorok sneered.

"Yeah, last time I checked we already had a Captain and a First Mate," the Grumpig scoffed. "And it wasn't a paper pusher like you!"

Ellsberg glared back at the Krokorok, and whipped his wings as silvery powder gathered at the tips. At this, the Ground-Type's companions got up and closed ranks about their teammate, taking the Bug-Type aback as the four assumed battle positions. The moth, not to be deterred, buzzed a call for his crew to assemble... only to find himself left alone with the four fuming card-players. The Mothim grew unnerved and looked around at the other Pokémon of the crew, discovering that the new faces from Lyn's ranks were busy either shooting unamused glares or outright ignoring him. Even his old stalwarts weren't coming to his rescue, as they traded puzzled looks, and a few openly asked each other if it was appropriate to come to the aid of their former captain.

The moth's silvery powder dissipated as he and the now sneering card-players came to a sinking realization that any scuffle would be just between themselves. Any one of the Pokémon would not have been an issue for Ellsberg to dispatch on his own. Even two or maybe three he could potentially handle with a little bit of a struggle... But it was just himself... against all four of them...

"D-don't try me!" the Mothim stammered. "I have forms to fill out for the harbormaster right now, but I better see those crates taken care of when I'm done!"

Ellsberg hastily flew off and flitted over to the prow. The Bug-Type landed, and sullenly began to make his way down the steps below deck, eager to be away from this strange new crew. Along the way, Ellsberg's Gligar First Mate swooped in and stopped his former captain at the stairs, a concerned look etched into the scorpionfly's face.

"Captain," the Ground-Type began. "Are you-?"

"I'm fine, Gordon!" Ellsberg shot back. "I… I just need some time to sort out some administrivia."

The Mothim slipped down the stairs past a push-door and into a storage area filled with water-laden barrels. Ellsberg pushed his head up against one of the casks, starting to grow bleary-eyed. He'd spent almost ten years climbing up the ranks of the Company, going from an awkward, easily-bullied Burmy, to the captain of his own ship with prospects of climbing the ladder.

And here it was all going up in smoke, right in front of his eyes thanks to that blasted sea ferret Lyn needing a temporary advantage! Why was this happening again? The bullying, the casual disregard… It took him nearly a decade getting his current scarf! This was supposed to all just be a bunch of distant memories!

"Well you're certainly sorry looking right now," a mocking voice sneered from behind. "Having a bad day?"

Ellsberg flitted up with a start and whirled around, where he saw the black-and-red form of Lyn's Weavile First Mate leaning against the frame of the doorway, picking at his claws disinterestedly.

"What do you want, Ketu?" Ellsberg snapped. "I'm a bit busy here!"

"Really now?" the Dark-Type scoffed. "If you ask me, 'sniffling in a corner' isn't exactly busy."

"Hrmph... why don't you go do something useful?" Ellsberg spat. "I haven't seen you since this morning when Lyn swam off while I've been busy preparing the ship!"

"Relax, Mr. Notary," Ketu said. "I had some stuff to take care of onshore."

"Like _what?_ "

"Why don't you come with me and find out?" the Weavile replied. "There's someone who wants to meet with you."

Ellsberg stopped and stared back at the Dark-Type blankly. Had- had he just heard Ketu right?

"Someone... wants to meet _me?_ "

"Administrator Elilan does," Ketu explained. "I could go on and on about what he's after, but it'll mean more coming from him in person. Now, you coming or what?"

The Mothim blinked, unsure what to make of the Weavile's statement. Knowing the way his morning had been going, it could very well be Ketu just jerking him around… But then again, he _had_ come out to find him...

"I'll bite, but..." Ellsberg began. "Just what's going on here, Ketu?"

"You'll find out soon enough," the Weavile said. "Let's get moving for now."

Ellsberg watched Ketu head through the push-door, and heard his paces up the steps to the deck. The Mothim paused, and in spite of his instincts telling him to stay at his post on the ship, got up and followed after the Dark-Type.

Lyn's crew would survive without a captain for a little while, and if an _Administrator_ called him it would surely be important… right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _Daikenki (_ _ダイケンキ_ _)_ \- Japanese: Localization name for "Samurott" (Official Romanization  
>  \- _Privet! (Привeт!)_ \- Russian: "Hello!" (informal) (BGN/PCGN Romanization)  
>  \- _(¡)Ya volví!_ \- Spanish: "I'm back!"  
>  \- _Ratunku!_ \- Polish: "Help me!"  
>  \- _Honebūmeran (_ _ホネブーメラン_ _)_ \- Japanese: Localization for "Bonemerang" (Official Romanization)  
>  \- _kamome (_ _鴎_ _/_ _かもめ_ _/_ _カモメ_ _)_ \- Japanese: "(sea)gull". Compare "キャモメ", the Japanese localization name for "Wingull". (Hepburn Romanization)


	46. Special Chapter: Swinging the Lamp

Throughout the Cradle's history, settlements always had a propensity to extend their rule beyond their boundaries. On sleepier islands, minor hamlets ruled over the fringes which provided room for fields and more spacious abodes, serving as defenders and places of meeting and trade for those lands. Similarly, it was perhaps most apt to consider the cities of the Cradle the towns of towns, the abodes whose pulses affected the livelihoods of a web of smaller vassals.

It was a state that the Pokémon of the cities were all too aware of. With their vast numbers and monuments accumulated over the ages by seekers of wealth, fame, and power; the tendency of their kind was to seek out smaller counterparts to subordinate. Such constructs had gone through many names under the sun, though what they were was unmistakable- an empire- where the whims of the greatest of cities shaped the course of their subjects for better or worse.

In spite of its protestations of abolishing Anyilla's monarchy, the Company's territory too fit the mold of empire with its crown jewel in Canalhouse City. In past ages, the burg was a shipyard town characterized by its spindly, gaily-colored gabled buildings, which lined a constellation of islets nestled in a lagoon. The normal lanes and roads of towns largely replaced by canals filled by the sea itself that gave the settlement its pulse.

Since the fall of Conntow, the Company spared no expense in resource nor settlement orders to try and make Canalhouse into a proper successor to Middleguard City. More islands were dredged to expand the city proper and suburb towns to service them sprang up on the shores like weeds. On the islets of Canalhouse, the gable-roofed buildings grew ever taller and ever more numerous as more great monuments joined them.

Still other changes reflected the troubled times that followed the end of Conntow. A series of coastal ramparts had been constructed after the swath of destruction left behind by the raid of Beatrice the Swift. Perhaps it was due to the tougher defenses, the wrathful response to the raid, or just plain fortune, but the Garchomp's armada from Orleigh mercifully had never again been matched again in size or strength in all of Anyilla. In more recent years, a new military harbor had been dredged along the central canal, constantly packed with lavender-sailed ships and their crews.

_Swish… Swish…_

Including a Samurott in a fresh third-rank scarf who stood at the bridge of a galleon currently in port, idly spinning one of his seamitars about his knuckles. The Formidable Pokémon waited patiently as his crew set about loading his craft with provisions, and went down through the pre-departure checklist that had become rote to them. Just then, the Samurott's patience was rewarded, as the water bubbled and gave way to the lumbering form of a stern-eyed Gyarados. The sea serpent snaked over, and craned his head down in order to speak to the waiting captain.

"Good morning. You're the new Commissioner, I presume," the Gyarados said. "Lyn, was it?"

"That's correct, Administrator," the Samurott answered, nodding.

"Are your ship's preparations all in order?"

"My crew just wrapped up the last arrangements, Administrator Zorn," Lyn replied. "We should be able to push off at a moment's notice."

"Let's get moving, then."

Satisfied, Zorn pulled himself away from the ship and lowered himself slightly into the canal's water. Lyn lingered a moment, allowing the Gyarados to lead the way seaward, before turning to his crew and barking out orders to raise the anchor so that his _Argent Aviso_ could follow after the aquatic Administrator.

The moorings were undone and as the sails and anchor found their proper places, the galleon lurched away from the docks. The ship carried on along the channel the military harbor was built along, entering the central canal of the city. The Samurott Commissioner and guiding Gyarados Administrator carried forward, passing the stone multistoried buildings lining the channel, along with the swarm of small boats and swimming Pokémon that plied Canalhouse's waterways. The pair and their craft followed the canal past the raucous _Strandmeer Arena_ , the water-straddling temple complex erected in honor of the city's Protector, and the central square overlooked by the Company's local offices before reaching the open lagoon. As Canalhouse and its gabled roofs faded out behind them, Zorn sidled up against the Argent Aviso's starboard, prompting Lyn to approach and air a question that had been troubling him since they left harbor.

"Administrator Zorn, if I may, but is there something that I don't know about this mission?" the Samurott prodded. "At my briefing I was told that this would be a cut-and-dry matter of capturing some pirates."

"There were a few details that were withheld in your briefing that the Board felt were on a need-to-know basis," the sea serpent answered.

Lyn frowned as a mixture of confusion and suspicion etched itself across his face. Just what was so special about this request?

"How so? Aren't the pirates I'm chasing the same ones who raided the Merchantry warehouses in _De Kust_ just two nights ago?" the otter demanded. "That seems like a fairly mundane mission to me."

"The Merchantry stored something of importance to the Company in those district warehouses," Zorn explained. "When we did a damage assessment, we found that some documentation the Merchantry was slated to turn over to us was missing."

"This is the Taloons' Chronicle that I've heard of, right?" Lyn asked. "Why don't you just demand that the Merchantry send you a copy?"

"Because the documentation in question was a _source_ document that the Board deemed strategically important," the Gyarados said, giving a shake of his bulky head. "We have reason to believe that the Merchantry couldn't have given us a full copy of it even if it wanted to."

"Ah, I see," the otter murmured. "I take it that's why you're coming along, Administrator?"

"Yes, I am. It's important we retrieve this register," Zorn grunted. "Besides, I have a report to pass after we're done."

Lyn cocked an eyebrow at the Administrator dubiously. Perhaps it was to be expected from such a high-ranking member of the Company, but he sure did have a lot of secrets to keep.

"What do you mean, a report?"

"Don't worry about it, Commissioner," Zorn rebutted. "Just focus on doing your job."

Lyn frowned before deciding to shrug the matter off, reasoning that it wouldn't be needed in a mission that was mostly there to prove himself to the Board anyways. As the Argent Aviso approached the rampart-laden barrier islands at the mouth of Vollezee's lagoon, Lyn looked back one last time towards Canalhouse, its stony buildings now hazy and indistinct from each other, only to be interrupted by the sound of a Gyarados clearing his throat.

"Anyhow, since we're about to hit the open sea," Zorn prodded. "Have you find any leads so far?"

"Actually, I think that I have…"

* * *

Meanwhile, on Kenobi Island, Mossaisle Town's mass of colorful hillside buildings slowly roused itself into a morning buzz. Shops opened, Pokémon came in with crops from the field, and rescue teams gathered at the local guild. As the rhythms of Mossaisle's normal life began to pick up in activity, so too did the gaudy and seedy alleys of Andaku.

The crews of visiting ne'er-do-wells came out to tend to their ships, some staggering along less soberly than others. The local merchants daring enough to do business with their shady clientele began to spread their wares, taking care to keep a sharp eye for any strange behavior from would-be customers. It was in this collective rousing that a group of three Pokémon in white scarves carried along. An Illumise leading the charge, a skeptical-looking Unfezant following behind, and a deathly pale Fraxure trailing at the rear.

Beatrix flitted along briskly, never turning her eyes to meet the sight of the various Pokémon casting glances at her from the shifty shops. If any of the usual gossip shifted to focus on her and her acquaintances, she made no attempt to engage the scruffy prattlers. Shortly behind followed Pladur and Pat, walking from shop to shop with some notable difficulty, though they too made a point of avoiding eye contact as much as possible.

"C-Captain Beatrix?" Pladur gulped. "Couldn't we have done this on the ship?"

"I tried, but they were adamant about meeting at a land site," the Illumise captain sighed. "Just don't draw any attention to yourself, and this deal should go down smoothly."

"B-But why did I have to come?!" the Fraxure cried. "I'm a cook, not a negotiator!"

"We need some strength, just in case," the firefly insisted. "And once you've gotten a Dragon Dance going, you're one of the toughest Pokémon on the entire crew."

The Illumise's words failed to ease Pladur's tense and nervous gait, which did not go unnoticed by his Unfezant teammate. The Flying-Type gave an uncomfortable rustle of his feathers before giving a begrudging sigh.

"Well, whatever happens, it better be a good job for it to be worth coming into _this_ pit..." Pat murmured.

The pheasant gestured down an alley next to a low-slung shop smelling strongly of Lansat Syrup, where the three made their way down a winding, dingy maze of alleys before coming to a stone warehouse with a tile hipped roof.

"Looks like this is it…" the Illumise buzzed.

"A-are we sure?" Pladur stammered. "This really doesn't look inviting."

"This is the only building with a hipped roof I've seen so far in this district…" Pat muttered. "Which is what that Kecleon said to expect."

" _Tranquilo_ , Pladur," Beatrix reassured. "It's nothing that I haven't seen before during a run like-"

The Illumise caught herself as she saw movement coming from deeper within the warehouse, followed by the sight of vibrations rocking the roof of the structure. The three looked ahead apprehensively, as a rough-looking trio consisting of a Zangoose, a Flareon, and a Banette came out the door and into the alleyway.

"Bah, what sort of reward was that?" the Zangoose fumed. "We could have gotten more from those lizards if we'd tried to snatch 'em right there!"

" _Really_ , Scian?" the Flareon huffed. "I'm pretty sure that attempting to kidnap one of those Kecleon with that bodyguard of theirs watching would've been the _last_ mission any of us went on."

"Yeah, lighten up," the Banette added. "We still have an entire hull full of loot!"

The vibrations grew stronger and stronger, as a growling voice asserted itself over the three Pokémon, and a pair of glowing eyes high off the ground caught the attention of Beatrix, Pladur, and Pat. The three watched as the strong-jawed form of a Tyrantrum emerged, and felt their blood run cold.

"All of you, pipe down. I didn't take you three along so you could argue the entire time!" he snarled. "That said, I wonder why those lizards were so hung up over that little parcel…"

It was a sight that the Pokémon of Tromba knew all too well, from the days of Administrator Darzin's rule of the island. A hundred questions swirled through the minds of the petrified sailors, with one coming to the fore as the Dragon-Type stopped in front of the Tromban group.

Were _they_ also familiar to this Tyrantrum?

"What are _you_ looking at?" the tyrannosaur snarled, glaring down at a pallid and faltering Fraxure.

"E-eeep…"

"We were just moving along!" Pat squawked, ushering Pladur and Beatrix hurriedly along to the warehouse. The three quickly slipped into the darkened building, leaving the pirate crew's voices to fade into the distance.

"Captain, come on, let's get going!" the Banette exclaimed. The Ghost-Type's words fell on deaf ears as the Tyrantrum continued staring after the Pokémon disappearing into the warehouse, leaving the Zangoose named 'Scian' to ask as the three sailors slipped out of sight.

"Eh? Why are you just standing there like that?"

"Their voices," the Dragon-Type murmured. "That accent of theirs sounded familiar to me..."

Evidently they weren't _that_ familiar, or at least not enough for the sawtoothed fiend to stop and investigate them. The three paused in the darkened warehouse, panting as their hearts pounded with racing beats.

"That was way too close," Pat murmured.

"Well, at least we made it-" Beatrix began, only for her reassurance to be cut off from a squeak by her Fraxure subordinate.

"Ah- Ah- Ungh…"

Pladur faltered, only barely keeping himself from falling over. He teetered back and forth on his feet, his eyes losing their focus, before a startled Unfezant rushed to his side to keep him upright.

"Pladur!"

Pat hastily threw out a wing underneath Pladur, feeling the weight of his Fraxure compatriot weighing it down limply. Beatrix rushed over and tugged at the Dragon-Type from his back, dragging him back up to his feet as the reptile's senses started to return and the Fraxure uneasily regained a quivering footing.

"Keep it together!"

"Wh-What- W-Why is Commander Tarquin here?!" the Dragon-Type squeaked. "I thought that we got rid of him!"

"I'd heard rumors that Tarquin turned his claws to piracy after the Company sacked him," Beatrix said, shaking her head. "I suppose those weren't just rumors."

"Yeah, but even so, something's not adding up here…" Pat murmured. "What was he doing at our rendezvous point?"

The three Pokémon mulled uneasily. Pirate or not, it _did_ seem strange that Commander Tarquin would just be loitering around their meeting place. And what business would the Merchantry have had for pirates to give them anything other than a price on their heads?

The trio's pontificating was broken by the sound of a creature in the darkness clearing its throat, which made the three sailors jolt upright with a start.

"Aherm, I'm not sure how promptness is understood back on Tromba, but are you coming?" a voice called from deeper within the warehouse. "We've all been waiting for you."

"Right, we'll be right over!" Beatrix said.

Beatrix lead her subordinates on towards the light of a desk illuminated by candles up ahead. There, a gathering of four Kecleon had already formed. At the head of the desk, a violet Kecleon with green frills and a yellow-green counterpart with a zigzag of blue scales on his belly sat, tucking away some notes jotted on scrap paper. Beside them was a bookish-looking one fiddling with a red journal, along with a noticeably larger counterpart watching the proceedings with a keen eye, evidently their bodyguard.

"Eh?" Pladur asked. "Weren't you that Kecleon that told us about this job back in Vollezee?"

"Bruna, right?" Pat added. "What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like?" she scoffed. "I'm here to give you your work!"

"This 'job' is a bit sensitive," the Shiny Kecleon explained. "Bruna here insisted on overseeing the proceedings in person, so I arranged for her and Calino to be present with us."

"Pah, you didn't have to arrange anything, Nitori," the bookish Kecleon, evidently 'Calino' chortled. "With Bruna, everything is a hands-on matter, whether or not you know about it yet!"

The bookish Kecleon's teasing was swiftly met with a trio of glares from his now ruddy-scaled colleagues. Sensing his banter was unwelcome, Calino bit his tongue and hastily attempted to change the subject.

"Er… right," the bookish chameleon said. "We should get down to business."

"Well, what exactly are we transporting here?" Beatrix asked. "It's not often that the _Merchantry_ has to reach out to common free-traders like us."

"We have a small parcel delivery to Giotto," Bruna explained. "Time sensitive."

The Kecleon reached under the table and pulled out a small paper parcel before sliding it across. Beatrix reached to pick up the package, only to realize that it was a ratty dust jacket. Underneath it was a bulky codex wider than the ropes used for the Siglo Swellow's rigging. The tome was bound in a red lacquerware cover, adorned with a golden swirl inside a diamond with four leaves, and what looked like a line of footprints.

"Eh?!" Pladur exclaimed. "This is just a book!"

"If you needed a book sent over to Giotto quickly, why not send it with a mail carrier?" Pat wondered.

"Because as of two nights ago, this book was officially stolen by a band of pirates from one of our storage facilities on Vollezee," Nitori said.

"You mean the ones we ran into on the way in?" Beatrix pried, giving a skeptical twitch of her antennae.

"That's correct," the chameleon replied.

"But why go through all this trouble to begin with?" Pat questioned. The Unfezant's question drew an uncomfortable pause from the group of Kecleon, as Bruna's extremities started to turn a flustered pink.

"We've had some… complications after one of our own received a high position with the Imperials earlier this month," Bruna explained. "The Company gave our outfit's branch in Vollezee a week's notice to surrender it over to them."

"Naturally, we have no intention of playing along if we don't have to," the Shiny Kecleon added. "But the Company has undoubtedly been tracking Tarquin and his gang ever since they sailed off in search of the Taloons' Chronicle."

"Our best hope of actually getting our book to Giotto would be to contact smugglers and place it aboard a ship that can defend it and still move reasonably quickly," Bruna said. "Which is where you come in."

Bruna's colors returned to their normal purple as the creature pulled out the tome and slid it across the table towards the three sailors.

"We need it in Tidemill City by the crack of dawn tomorrow," the creature continued. "We'll pay 40,000 Poké if it comes in, and not a single coin if it doesn't arrive in one piece."

"But what's inside that book that's making you turn to a crew like us?" Pladur asked.

"This," the bulky Kecleon answered.

The guard flipped the dusty book open on the table, showing page after page of yellowed paper filled with handdrawn illustrations and line after line of runes composed of footprint shapes. Beatrix, Pat, and Pladur stared at the pages and then at each other… did this book contain what their mission was supposed to be?

"Er… I can't read that," the Fraxure murmured.

"I wouldn't expect you to," Bruna scoffed. "It's a family heirloom written in Footprint Runes."

"Eh?" Pladur asked. "But then what does it say?"

"... That's something that you don't need to know for this job," the purple Kecleon said, before clamping the tome shut on the table. "So do we have a deal, or what?"

The Illumise fluttered over the desk and studied the lacquerware cover of the book closely. Even though the sun had just cracked over the horizon, a run to Giotto by dawn tomorrow would undoubtedly be a tight squeeze. She'd have to empty the hold as much as possible to reduce weight and lean on her ship's escorts for help… but, with the free-trading jobs her crew had taken in the past, it shouldn't be _that_ unprecedented for them.

"We'll take it," Beatrix buzzed. "Though... is there anything else we should be aware of?"

"Yes, Calino will be accompanying you for this mission," Bruna responded, pointing at her bookish counterpart. "In our line of business, it's important that we both trust _and_ verify our business partners."

"If any further information is needed for your mission, he will provide it to you," the blue-banded Kecleon added.

"Hrm, right! I'll be sure to keep them up to speed."

Calino headed around the table and joined up with Beatrix and her subordinates with a wave and a cheery pink flush of his scales. From there, the three members of the Siglo Swellow and their new ally set off from the table and towards the light peeking through the warehouse's doors. Along the way, Pladur and Pat sized up the Kecleon, wondering if it was just _them_ who needed to be brought up to speed.

"So… you travel on ships much?" Pat asked.

"Nope!" he cheerily replied. "The trip to Kenobi today was the first time I've been on one!"

The three sailors stopped in their tracks and looked back at the Kecleon blankly. How was a Pokémon who didn't know the first thing about working on a ship supposed to _help_ them?

"... Come on," Beatrix sighed. "We can give a primer once we're back aboard the ship."

The four continued off for the entrance of the warehouse, carrying on back out into Andaku's spoiled sea air. All the while, the sailors of the group were filled with a sense of trepidation…

Just what other surprises did this mission have in store for them?

* * *

Unbeknownst to the Pokémon inside the warehouse, their conversation wasn't as private as they had thought. Outside, the Tyrantrum they had bumped into earlier had been eavesdropping through a window covered with a damaged shutter, his subordinates close behind him. Now that the conversation inside was done, the Dragon-Type turned towards his underlings, a glowering expression having fallen his face.

"… I knew it."

"Eh?" the Zangoose behind him piped up. "What'd you hear in there?"

"That accent _was_ familiar," Tarquin growled. "Those 'mons are Tromban."

"Wait, Tromba?" the Banette asked. "Wasn't that the island that you-?"

The Ghost-Type was answered by a low growl, which made the creature flinch and clamp his mouth shut. The Tyrantrum shook his head and gritted his teeth, the mention of the accursed border island stirring up unwelcome memories.

"I have some history with that island from my old job, yes. I don't need to be reminded, Cerny," he spat. "But more importantly, those Kecleon _were_ leaving us out of the loop on that book."

Tarquin caught himself and paused for a moment. After an inquisitive sniff at the air, his maw began to open into a toothy, devious grin that his Flareon lackey was quick to notice.

"Captain, what's with that look in your eyes?" the Fire-Type wondered. "What are you thinking of?"

"I'm thinking that we have a prime business opportunity here, Kai," the Tyrantrum answered "One that allows me to get a little revenge on the side."

"Oh, that's _easy!_ " Scian exclaimed. "We'll just ambush those 'mons as they make their way back to their ship-"

"No, too soon, and it'll tip off the other crews here," Tarquin interrupted. "Let's wait for them to hit the water and ambush them there."

His malevolent, toothy grin widened as his maw cracked open just so, light glinting off of his bared fangs.

"I'm not in a very charitable mood to those hicks," he sneered. "I say we take them for everything they've got!"

* * *

After setting off from Kenobi, the crew of the Siglo Swellow made a few attempts to try and fit Calino in with the crew. He didn't seem to get the hang of tending to the sails and rigging, and deck work similarly met premature ends thanks to his lack of sea legs.

Eventually, Calino made passing mention of having cooked for some friends in the past, which led to his assignment to accompany Pladur down in the space of the ship's steerage that served as the galley. There, the chameleon finally found his footing with the Fraxure, and soon enough the two were hard at work making a batch of poffins for the crew. Calino was set to work stirring batter, as his Dragon-Type partner monitored a tray of the pastries baking in a crude clay oven.

"How's that poffin batter coming along, Calino?" Pladur asked.

"Great!" the Kecleon answered. "If I'd known stirring would be easy enough to do with one claw, I'd have done started doing so earlier!"

Pladur whirled back at Calino's words, and saw that the Merchantry scribe had stirring the contents of his mixing bowl without holding it steady on the table. The Fraxure went wide-eyed and hastily cried out to his new teammate.

"Hey, hold on!" the Dragon-Type exclaimed. "Make sure to stabilize that bowl! We're on a ship!"

"Eh?!" Calino protested. "What are you going on abou-?"

A powerful wave sent the ship lurching, causing Calino to lose his footing. The chameleon stumbled back and in a frantic attempt to keep his balance, sent the contents of his mixing bowl flying. The batter sailed through the air, before splattering against Pladur's belly, coating the Dragon-Type in a layer of gooey, sugary glop.

"Er… oops?"

"At least we have time to make another batch…" Pladur sighed. Grimacing, he drew the flat side of a claw up his battered stomach, scraping some of the poffin goop off of his hide. After a moment's pause glancing at the batter dripping off his claw, he shrugged and popped it into his mouth for a taste. "Flavor's not bad for a first attempt, though. Just keep it _in_ the bowl next time."

"How did you learn to cook anyways?" the Kecleon asked. "When I saw you the first time, I'd have never pegged you as the type to be a chef."

Pladur looked up from clearing off the last of the poffin batter, before giving a sheepish smile back at the chameleon.

"Well, working with fire does tend to come naturally to a dragon," he answered. "And it gives my mate and children something to look forward to whenever I'm home."

"Oh?" the Kecleon pried. "How many?"

"One and the other was still an egg during my last shore leave," the Dragon-Type answered, trailing off. The Fraxure started to have a wistful look creep across his eyes, his thoughts clearly not with Calino or the rest of the galley around him.

"... Sometimes I wonder if I'm spending too much time away from them," he sighed. "I mean, Beatrix's pay helps to cover for their needs, but I wonder sometimes if I'm not around for them when I really need to be."

"I dunno, hatchlings are adventurous types," Calino reassured. "So even if you can't be around them constantly, I'd think that being able to take some adventure back to them is a decent consolation."

"Eh?" Pladur asked, giving a quizzical tilt of his head. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, they need role models for getting out eventually, right? I think that they could do worse than having someone to learn from by example!" Calino chortled, only to be interrupted by a startled Unfezant's squawk from above deck.

"Gwark! There's a Company ship on the horizon coming straight for us!"

Pladur's jaw went slack, his eyes widening in panic. He paced nervously in place, his heart and mind racing at the alarming news.

"C-Come on, we need to get you-"

"Let's see what's going on up there," the Kecleon said. The chameleon turned and bolted down the corridor for the stairs leading up to the deck, leaving Pladur behind spluttering.

"Eh?! H-Hey! Calino!" he protested. "Wait up!"

Pladur stumbled out of the galley, hurrying down the passage after his hasty new teammate. He slowed somewhat as he neared the top of the stairs to the deck, feeling short of breath from his hurried pace.

"It's a galleon," Beatrix's Hitmontop first mate said. "Judging from the Gyarados in the water up front, looks like it's more heavily armed than normal."

At that revelation, Calino flushed a deep brown color, seemingly stricken by panic. Wide-eyed, he turned on his heels and bolted back towards the stair leading to the belly of the ship. In more normal times, the Kecleon's hasty retreat might have earned a jeer from one of the more braggadocious sailors of the Siglo Swellow, but with the Company ship prowling towards them, it was difficult for any of the Pokémon to muster a show of bravado.

"Captain Beatrix," a Golduck gulped. "Wh-What do we do now?"

"We... I..." she stammered a moment, struggling to come up with a solution for the new problem which loomed over them from the horizon. Despite her best efforts, every plan she came up with seemed likely upon second thought to cause twice as many problems as it'd have solved. Heaving a dissatisfied sigh, she offered the best plan she could come up with given their limited firepower.

"… Push the ledger into one of the hidden compartments and tell the crew to prepare for to be boarded," the Illumise muttered. "We'll have to hope that whoever captains that ship doesn't figure out how to open them."

" _Wait!_ "

A call came from below deck, accompanied by a crescendo of footsteps approaching the stairway. Bursting out onto the deck came Calino once more, this time holding a hardcover book bound in vivid red lacquer... the very ledger Beatrix had just ordered the crew to stow away!

"Huh?!" Philips exclaimed. " _Qué estás haciendo?!_ "

"Yeah! Captain Beatrix said we needed to _hide_ the journal!" Natrix cried. "Not give it to the Company on a silver platter!"

"I'm not giving the Company anything!" the Kecleon snapped. "I'm giving you a way out! There's some notes about secret sea routes around here in this thing!"

Calino set the tome on the deck of the ship, skimming through pages at a lightning-fast pace. Looking over his shoulder, Beatrix spied a blur of illustrations, visible only for a split second before the page was flipped to the next. Each page of illegible runes was fully illustrated - some displaying pictures of Pokemon, others detailing objects which must have been found in a dungeon, and others yet seeming nothing more than a simple landscape sketch.

"Come on, come on," Calino grumbled. "Their journeys took them here, so they had to have written _something_..."

He flipped through the pages ever faster, until after a tense moment he finally seemed to find something which caused him to double-take. Flipping backward a few pages towards the middle, he came to a page depicting a column of fog at sea obscuring a stony channel. The Kecleon looked up towards port, where he saw that there in front of him was a column of fog marking the presence of a Mystery Dungeon. At this, the chameleon leapt up and pointed out to the left.

"There!" Calino cried, pointing off towards a foggy column with his claw. "Towards that Mystery Dungeon!"

"Eh?!" Beatrix buzzed. "That'll take us straight into the Dead Zone!"

"It'll also take us into a detour we can shake that Company ship in!"

Beatrix looked skeptically at Calino and his tome before turning her attention off to the Mystery Dungeon he was gesturing at. His route was _in there?_ She presumed that he meant for them to skirt the edges, but even so, that would take her crew through the Dead Zone! The patch of sea around Conntow where since its destruction ships that strayed too close to the island were sometimes never heard from again. The Illumise hesitated and looked back at the galleon rapidly closing on them, before shaking her head and buzzing an order out to her subordinates.

"Hard to port!"

The ship lurched left, and a cry went up among the escorts. The sea Pokémon accompanying the Siglo Swellow whipped up a wave as their aerial counterparts gave the ship a tailwind, sailing against the natural current of the sea and directly for the red buoys marking the edge of the Dead Zone's waters.

The sudden flurry of activity did not go unnoticed as the galleon also turned, with a few stray beams zipping past the white-sailed sloop. Beatrix watched as her ship neared the foggy expanse ahead, before looking back and watching the Company ship slip back further and further… Wait a minute!

They stopped chasing after them!

The crew watched as the lavender-sailed galleon started to fade with the fog at the edge of the Mystery Dungeon. The ship's escorts eased their current, discovering that the waters calmly trickled opposite the sea's course outside. Some of the escorts went up ahead to scout the way forward as the rest of the crew exhaled a sigh of relief, before turning curious eyes to Calino as he scooped up the ruddy tome.

"So... what is in that book anyway?" Natrix asked.

"Yeah," Philips chimed in. "How were you able to pull that shortcut out of your hat so easily?"

"Oh, it's nothing special," Calino shrugged and waved a claw dismissively, the barest hint of a sheepish grin showing on his face. "I knew that this journal had some bits about the old sea routes the Merchantry used around here, so it was just a matter of finding them."

"Eh? Just what kind of journal _has_ that sort of stuff in there?" Beatrix asked.

"A log of the different journeys that the Merchantry's founders went on," the Kecleon explained. "All the way back to the days of Taloon the Explorer!"

The nearby sailors traded puzzled looks to each other. The Merchantry had hired pirates to raid their own warehouses, and offered them 40,000 Poké just to keep the Company from reading some musty old diary? Why go through all the trouble?

"But Bruna made it sound like it was something important!" Pat exclaimed. "Why would the Company be so interested in a bunch of old journal entries?"

"Because our founders gave the Merchantry some of its best trade secrets and recorded them in this book," the Normal-Type answered. "Ever since the Branch Manager in Giotto got a position in the Imperial Admiralty, the Company's been pushing to pre-emptively even the playing field."

"So... are those secrets the reason why the book has that strange writing?" Pladur asked. "Because you're using it as a code?"

"Er… I think you didn't quite follow me earlier. It's not just a book _of_ our founders' secrets," the Kecleon re-iterated. "It was actually _written_ by them all the way back when Pokémon were still using Footprint Runes to write."

"Footprint Runes?"

The chameleon gave a small smile and lifted the book closer up to the Fraxure's eyes. Now that Calino mentioned it… the writing really _did_ look like a bunch of little footprints! The Dragon-Type gave a puzzled stare back at the Merchantry employee as a bemused smile crossed his maw.

"It's exactly what it sounds like. Back in the old days of the Cradle, it's how Pokémon wrote things," Calino explained. "Naturally, it was a bit hard to do that a lot of the time, so for travelers and bookkeepers like Taloon the Explorer and the founders, they would write out rough versions of those footprints."

The Kecleon's scales started to flush a proud, purple hue as the lizard ran a claw over a few lines of the footprint-shaped text in the tome for the gathered sailors to see.

"It's a little tough, but for a few of them, you can see what runes they wound up becoming in our modern writing. Take a look at this one here…" he said, pointing out a three-toed footprint with a pair of single-toed footprints oriented at angles underneath them.

"'Fire'?" the First Mate asked. "I mean, I guess _that_ one is obvious since it looks like a Fire Blast if you squint at it hard enough, but how's anyone supposed to make sense of the other ones?"

At the Hitmontop's question, Calino gave a shake of his head before proudly puffing out his chest.

"You'd either need to learn how to read Footprint Runes, or you'd need someone to write a transcription for you…" the Kecleon replied. "Like me!"

"Wait, you mean you can read this?" a Golduck asked.

"Well of course!" Calino chortled. "How else would I have told you about this route here?"

Some murmurs and nods of agreement floated about the gathered sailors. Satisfied with the aid that Calino's journal had given her crew, Beatrix gave a twitch of her antennae before buzzing to draw attention.

"Well, it looks like it's smooth sailing out from here," the Illumise chuckled. "So I guess we have you and your ability to read those dusty old runes to thank for that."

"Heh, who knows?" the Kecleon said. "If you make it worth my while, maybe I'll be able to teach you some of the basics before we all pull into port!"

A chorus of hearty chortles went about the crew as the Siglo Swellow continued its slow course along the rocky channel. Even as the fog thickened around them, the crew felt as if a weight had been lifted from their shoulders. After all, they had already gone through the eye of the storm in their journey to Giotto…

Right?

* * *

As the Siglo Swellow sailed away, Lyn's ship had come to a rest just behind the red buoys marking the edge of the sea patch the Siglo Swellow had sailed into. The Samurott leaned on the railing, a spyglass in one paw and blade in other, twitching his whiskers irkedly as he watched the sloop's crew gather around the form of a Kecleon holding a hefty tome. Elsewhere along the deck, the Pokémon in the crew gave apprehensive gazes at the waters ahead, as if they were a massive patch of poison.

"So much for searching _that_ ship," a Krokorok muttered.

"Yeah, they must be desperate if they're sailing off _that_ way," a Fearow added.

"And of course they'd wind up making things difficult for me…" Lyn grumbled. The otter grit his teeth and lowered his scope from his eye, before giving a shake of his head and turning back to his crew on the deck.

"We're going in."

"C-Captain?! That's the Dead Zone!" an Absol with a Second-Rank scarf spluttered incredulously. "Nothing but disaster awaits you if you go there!"

"Yes, and that ship that just turned tail on us showed up in the registrar of recent dockings at Kenobi!" the Samurott growled, gesturing at the fading form of the Siglo Swellow with a seamitar. "To top it off, there's a Kecleon onboard prancing around with our prize-!"

"Hold it right there, Commissioner!"

Before Lyn could finish barking out his order, he was cut off by the sound of churning water as Zorn raised his head from the sea. The Gyarados gave an irritated twitch of his barbels, before shooting an unamused scowl over at his subordinate.

"Lyn, you're a Third-Rank," the sea serpent scolded. " _You_ of all Pokémon ought to know better by now that the Dead Zone's waters are dangerous to navigate."

"Administrator Zorn, if I may, but wasn't it _you_ that told me that this journal was of strategic importance to the Company?" Lyn prodded. "Surely _that_ would be reason enough to head into those waters while we have that ship in our sights."

"You should learn to better manage your risks, Commissioner," Zorn chided. "The journal _is_ important, but denying its utility to our rivals is an acceptable alternative outcome to the Board. I don't consider 'running up a score' worth risking an Administrator and a Third-Rank's crew."

Lyn scowled back at the Administrator, incredulous as to how the Gyarados could so casually accept losing his target like that. The Absol first mate, sensing the tension in the air, spoke up, hoping to help sway his superior's mind.

"Captain, there _has_ to be another way we can catch up with them," the Dark-Type insisted. "Assuming they don't die in those waters, they have to come out _somewhere_ , right?"

The Samurott gave a dismissive shake of his head before huffing back unconvinced. Just what were they supposed to do _other_ than letting the sloop sail off?

"Well, do either of you two have any _alternative_ proposals, then?"

"The current the smugglers' sloop took exits the Dead Zone at the rocks on the other side of the fog," Zorn offered. "Assuming they make the trip over without incident, we should be able to safely cut them off there."

"Hrmm..." Lyn paused, working over Zorn's suggestion in his head. After running through a number of possibilities, he realized that while the plan wasn't necessarily ideal, it seemed viable after all. And with the Chronicle as important and sensitive as it was, there was no sense in splitting hairs over a strategy that worked.

"… It'll be a stretch," the Samurott murmured, "but if we sail now, we might be able to make it."

With that, the two Company higher-ups had reached a consensus. Now that he had a destination in mind, Lyn felt ready to mobilize his crew. The Samurott sheathed his blade, before turning to his underlings and barking out an order.

"Turn us hard to port and take us south!"

A chorus of 'ayes' went up as the crew set about to turn the ship. The escorts stirred up the air and sea to force the Argent Aviso against the ocean's natural current. The Water-Type glared back at the Mystery Dungeon just past the edge of the Dead Zone before giving a harrumph. Detour or no detour, he would not allow those smugglers to elude him so easily.

* * *

Ahead of both the Argent Aviso and Siglo Swellow was a galleon with orange sails with white jawbone designs on it. The Tramontane Tyrant had been Tarquin's reliable partner since even before his days in piracy, and it allowed him to remain a force to be reckoned with after his transition to his newfound trade of raiding and plundering.

But out on the high seas, there was nary a companion but some feral Tentacool passing in the distance at sea, Wingull above, and the sound of trumpets being played by some more idle crewmembers. In spite of that, as the Tyrantrum spotted a rocky outcropping in front of a column of fog up ahead, he seemed as focused and battle-ready as ever. The Dragon-Type breaking the relative silence with a growling cry to his lackeys.

"Drop the anchor and pull up the sails!" Tarquin ordered. "This is it!"

A _splash_ rang out as the ship's anchor slipped under the water's surface. The deck flew into a commotion as Pokémon hoisted the rigging to pull the sails up, and the fliers and sea escorts quickly set to work whipping up currents to slow the galleon. The ship's momentum soon came to a stop, leaving behind only the gentle rolling of the waves as the crew began to crowd around the stern's deck where Tarquin stood scanning the surroundings.

"Captain, why did we stop here?" a Meowstic asked. "I thought you said we were chasing after a mark you spotted back in port!"

"Yeah, we haven't seen a ship since we left Andaku!" a Cacturne added. "The only thing I see around here is a bunch of seawater and that Mystery Dungeon's fog on the starboard side."

"That's because our marks aren't _here_ yet," Tarquin snapped. "Back in port, I overheard those lizards on the way out from delivering that book. It's apparently valuable enough that they went through all the trouble of using _us_ as fall guys to steal it from the Company."

Tarquin looked over the railing and gestured at the stream in the seawater with his claw, tracing westward, opposite of the current's course.

"They contracted a crew as couriers back in Andaku to take it to Giotto by midnight tonight," the dinosaur explained. "Their only hope for being able to make that deadline would be to sail against the current and through this pass."

Uneasy murmurs circulated amongst the crew about how absurd this plan was. Going all the way out to the edge of the Dead Zone around Conntow to lie in wait over some book? That hardly seemed worth the trouble at all! Sensing the dissatisfaction in the air, Tarquin gave a low growl, quickly silencing the chatter as he continued on.

"That wasn't the _only_ thing I was planning on shaking down from those Tromban hicks," the Dragon-Type added. "We'll be taking their cargo and ransoming their crew."

The theropod gave a thoughtful stroke of his beard, a greedy grin creeping over Tarquin's maw as thoughts of the prestige his young crew would gain if their job turned out well. After all, expanding from one ship was the first step to being seriously considered to be in the higher ranks of Orleigh, and an expansion thanks to one's own skills as a pirate was all the more impressive.

"Who knows? If this all goes smoothly enough, maybe I'll hang my colors from their ship and turn us into the 'Strongjaw _Fleet_!'"

The mention of loot and perhaps even a second ship to hang the Strongjaw Gang's sails from drew excited chatter among the crew. Even so, a few skeptics remained, including a Medicham who waved for attention and cleared her throat to speak.

"But how exactly does that happen, Captain?" the Fighting-Type demanded. "We can't _get_ any of that stuff if those couriers spot us and give us the slip."

"Simple," the Tyrantrum began. "We'll take our ship into the outskirts of the fog and keep Cuvier and his fliers on watch to tip us off when those couriers pass by-"

"Oh, you'll pay for that!"

"Bring it, snake!"

Tarquin turned his head as the sound of a commotion in the gathering broke out. The Tyrantrum looked up just in time to see the crowd scatter to avoid a Zangoose and Seviper locked in heated battle, the tangled pair coming to a rolling stop in front of the Dragon-Type. The two righted themselves from the deck, and prepared to lunge for each other only to feel the boat rock underfoot with the sound of a loud stomp and a bellowing roar.

"What is going on here?!"

The crew traded unimpressed looks with the feuding pair, prompting Scian's Flareon partner to throw a paw over his snout and his Banette teammate to grit his zippered mouth and freeze. The Zangoose and Seviper hastily separated from each other, and traded piercing glares before they launched into recriminations.

" _She_ started it!" Scian exclaimed, pointing a claw at a visibly fuming Seviper.

"You _clawed me_ while I was passing by, you miserable ferret!" the serpent hissed.

"Yeah, well maybe you shouldn't have done that tongue thing at me!"

" _Sōna no?!_ " the Poison-Type seethed. "Then maybe I'll do my _sword_ thing on you now-!"

"Knock it off, Akane!" Tarquin snapped.

The Seviper froze, blinking stunned before turning to her superior with an incredulous hiss. The Captain couldn't seriously be choosing the ferret's side over hers!

"E-Eh?!"

"You've been on my crew from the start," the Tyrantrum growled. "Try and _act_ the part already!"

"But he-!"

"Nyeh!" Scian jeered, gleefully pulling his right eyelid down and sticking his tongue out at the Poison-Type. "Looks like _you're_ in trouble-"

"And _you_ …"

The Zangoose froze in place at the sound of the tyrannosaur's snarl. The Cat Ferret Pokémon looked up as a couple beads of sweat formed below his pelt, staring into a piercing glare from the Dragon-Type.

"Er… yeah?"

"On this ship, all our jobs require working as a _team_ to pull off," Tarquin growled. "When things go south because some moron doesn't play ball, I get _rid_ of him. Are we clear?"

Scian flattened out his ears and gave an aggravated hiss. The Normal-Type reflexively tensed his claws, only to feel a pair of presences tug on them from behind. Much to Scian's surprise, Kai and Cerny had darted up, the two visibly nervous as they tried to smooth things over.

"Scian gets it, and I'm sure this won't happen again. Isn't that right…?"

Scian gave an unamused frown at his Flareon companion, knowing full well that the Fire-Type had put him on the spot. Cerny for his part seemed to be confused, as he gave a quizzical tilt of his head at Kai's claim.

"Eh? Since when did he ever get along with a Sev- Ow!"

The Banette yelped and yanked his hand back after Kai bit down on it, shooting a glare that promptly silenced the Ghost-Type. Scian rolled his eyes, unamused by his teammates' insistence on always interfering with simple matters like these, and decided to take his response into his own paws.

"Fine. _If_ the mission needs it, I'll play ball."

Scian's fur pricked up at the sound of a low growl. The Normal-Type looked up, and saw that Tarquin was leaning over him, giving a piercing glare with teeth bared directly in the Cat Ferret Pokémon's face.

"Er… I mean, 'I'll play along?" the Zangoose hastily said. "Couldn't hurt, anyways."

The Tyrantrum pulled his maw back with an eye roll and an unimpressed huff. After giving a shake of his head to sufficiently clear his mind from the annoying distraction, Tarquin turned his attention to a Toucannon perched on some nearby rigging.

"Hrmph. Go on ahead and set up a lookout with your fliers, Cuvier," the Dragon-Type said to the Flying-Type. "Give us a shout when you see them, we'll be waiting in the fog."

The toucan gave a salute and took wing with a small entourage of fellow fliers, leaving Tarquin to turn back to his crew. At the bellowing orders of their Tyrantrum captain, the crew of the Tramontane Tyrant set about easing the ship into the foggy periphery of the nearby Mystery Dungeon, to lie patiently in wait for their mark. As the mist thickened around him, a smile began to creep over Tarquin's maw, the Dragon-Type relishing a chance to deal some revenge back to the accursed island that had made him stoop to this level in the first place.

"This'll be just like old times…"

* * *

The Siglo Swellow's course was plotted through a narrow, rocky pass. Beatrix and her Hitmontop First Mate dutifully alternated between turns at the tiller and vigilantly watching from the bow, navigating carefully on the very border of the Mystery Dungeon's area of influence. The rest of the deck was near-empty, a majority of the crew having retreated down below for a brief break. Some passed the time playing cards, while others took the precious downtime off to scarf down some rations before they'd be called on for work once again. Even Calino managed to relax a bit, taking the downtime to give a crash course on Footprint Runes to a few curious onlookers in a red paperback journal he kept for transcribing notes.

Despite the relaxed atmosphere of the ship, something odd lingered in the air: an oppressive feeling which began to unnerve even the jubilant crew, given time. Their surroundings didn't help, either - a few Pokemon made note of a hazily visible cluster of what seemed to be Pokémon statues clustered on a sea rock about halfway through the passage, with reports following soon thereafter of a faint shriek, and a sighting by Pladur of a hazy reddish-black shape in the distance.

By the end of their voyage through the Mystery Dungeon zone, every crewmember seemed unnerved to some degree by the omens which seemed to follow them through the passage. Nevertheless, after what felt like ages, the ship finally pulled out of the craggy waterway and into the open waters. A collective sigh of relief could be felt as the dungeon's fog dispersed, giving way to azure-blue midday skies. The crew gathered back up on deck, reassured by the clear skies, and slowly the jolly mood began to wash over the ship's crew once more.

"Heh, that shortcut wasn't half bad," Pat chuckled. "Maybe we'll use it again sometime in the future!"

"I dunno, Pat… ever since we went down this route, I've had the feeling that we were being watched," Pladur muttered, chancing a nervous glance out at the horizon. "And then there was that red _thing_ off in the distance."

"I mean, I'm aware that these aren't safe waters to navigate, but I didn't hear of any of the other crewmates seeing anything of the sort," Beatrix said. "Are you sure it wasn't just anxiety playing tricks on you, Pladur?"

The Fraxure anxiously shifted, looking back apprehensively at the fog. Calino, sensing that his new partner seemed rather on-edge, gave a shake of his head and tried to reassure the Dragon-Type.

"Well, regardless of if there was something out there, let's not sweat it," the Kecleon added, breathing a sigh of relief. "We're out of that sea route now, and it should be smooth sailing to Giotto from here-"

_**BLAM!** _

The crew of the Siglo Swellow flinched as a swarm of projectiles whistled over the top of the bow. A startled yelp went up as dead ahead, the form of an orange-sailed galleon broke out from the fog, a pair of cannons trained on the Siglo Swellow as Tarquin stood at its head.

"A-Ack! Pirates! Pirates!"

"Quick!" Beatrix buzzed. "Hard to starboard- !"

_**THUNK! THUNK!** _

Pladur and Pat looked over the railing where they saw three harpoons embedded in the hull of the Siglo Swellow. The sea escorts hastily cut through one, only to be driven off by cannonfire and a school of sea Pokémon in orange scarves. The crew of the Siglo Swellow was pulled closer and closer in as the cannons trained their targets on the deck itself, their blood running cold as Tarquin leapt the remaining gap and landed on deck with a snarl.

_**WHAM!** _

The Tyrantrum disgorged a searing beam along the deck, sending Pokémon diving out of the way in panic as a long, smoldering gouge was burnt into the timbers. As the crew of the Siglo Swellow tried to shake themselves from their stunned panic, a loud _thunk_ resounded as a wide gangway dropped onto the deck, allowing a mob of pirates to cross over onto the smaller sloop. There was for example a sneering Seviper; a Zangoose flashing his claws, ready to pounce at any uncooperative sailors; and a Toucannon giving a withering glare at their trapped quarry. The crew's attention quickly centered back on Tarquin, as the tyrannosaur snarled, smoke still curling from his maw.

"Anyone tries any funny business, and the lot of you hicks will be getting swimming lessons right here and now!"

The cornered crew blanched. As paws were raised disarmingly, they all took a few slow steps back, putting some distance between themselves and the pirate captain. Seeing their victims so overtly shaken, some of Tarquin's lackies saw fit to have some fun with them: a Seviper slithered forth, hissing as she swiped at the air with her bladed tail, and a Raticate snarled menacingly, gnashing her teeth at the terrified sailors. Now that his boarding had went off without a hitch, Tarquin let his maw open just to flash his razor-sharp teeth, a delighted growl rumbling from his throat.

"I see you still haven't forgotten about me from my days back on your accursed island," the Tyrantrum sneered. "Good, it'll save me time having to remind you of what I'm capable of."

"What- What do you want from us?" Pat stammered.

"A little bird told me that the Merchantry contracted you to transport a book chock full of valuable secrets," Tarquin snorted. "I was already angling to clean you Tromban hicks out for everything you had, but I figured that we ought to start with the _important_ stuff…"

The Tyrantrum craned his head down to Beatrix. The Bug-Type felt the former Company Commander's hot breath and saw embers flicker at the back of his throat as a toothy, predatory grin spread over Tarquin's face.

"You're their captain, aren't you?" the tyrannosaur demanded. "Where is that book?"

"What book?"

"Don't play games with me! The one I just talked about!" Tarquin roared. "I _know_ you're carrying a journal those lizards gave to you!"

Beatrix looked side to side, and after a noticeable pause looking at the hole in the railing Tarquin and his lackeys had left, she shook her head and gave a begrudging sigh.

"Calino… I don't think we can get out of this one," the Illumise sighed. "Give them the book."

"E-Eh?!" the Kecleon protested. "But that's a-!"

"Give them your journal, Calino," she insisted. "The one they're looking for and you were just showing off earlier."

"Wait, you mean _my_ journal?" Calino asked. "Are you _sure?_ "

"That's right," Beatrix said, shaking her head. "I'm sure these 'mons would like to get a chance to read for themselves-"

"Hurry it up!" Tarquin snapped.

"Alright…" Calino gulped. "Here goes nothing..."

The Kecleon rooted through his bag and passed a paperback journal in a ratty dust cover over to Beatrix. The Illumise held out the covered book in a tarsal, as the Tyrantrum reached with his stubby claws and snatched up the the book for himself. As the Dragon-Type gave a triumphant growl, his Seviper First Mate licked the air and gave an askew look.

"Boss," the snake hissed. "Something smells fruity right now."

The Tyrantrum, too enamored with self-confidence from his easy victory, gave a dismissive shake of his claws.

"That's the smell of victory, Akane," he answered flippantly. "My favorite kind of smell."

"No really, something smells weird!" the Raticate insisted. "It smells like a meadow here at the middle of the sea!"

The tyrannosaur paused and realized that now that they mentioned it, things _did_ smell unusually sweet. As the pirates looked around, his first mate noticed that the crew seemed to have eased out of their initial petrified shocked and were whispering to one another. The snake turned her head to the Illumise where she noticed that the Bug-Type was still holding her tarsal out, pointing in the direction of the hole in the railing behind the pirates.

"Hey!" Akane exclaimed. "That bug's signalin-!"

"Ack!" a Toucannon lackey interrupted. "There's a company ship coming!"

"Huh?!"

Growling, Tarquin whirled around, eyes to the horizon. The gathered pirates followed his gaze in turn, the lot of them sharing their own shocked silence at the sight of another galleon flying the telltale Company sails.

"Wait, _what-?!_ "

Back behind them, the crew of the Siglo Swellow watched as Tarquin and his underlings turned to the sea. Sensing the opportunity of a lifetime, Beatrix gave a loud buzz and motioned forward for the attack.

" _Now!_ "

* * *

"That's the smugglers' ship up ahead," a Crobat said, pointing out the Siglo Swellow and the Tramontane Tyrant up ahead. "Looks like they're meeting their client."

Lyn spotted the hazy form of two ships, a larger one with orange sails and a smaller one with white sails. The Samurott decided to get a closer look, digging into a shoulder satchel for a scope that he raised to his eye. Through the looking glass, Lyn skimmed over the two seacraft, coming to the sight of a mob of orange-scarved Pokémon at the edge of the Siglo Swellow staring startledly back at him. There, towering above the rest was the heavy, lumbering gait of a Tyrantrum…

Wait a minute. A ship with orange sails, lead by a _Tyrantrum?_

"That's no client!" Lyn exclaimed. "Those are the pirates who raided the compound in the first place!"

He continued watching intently, spyglass trained on the dumbfounded Tyrantrum and his cronies. Suddenly, Tarquin was shunted forward, flailing his arms in vain to keep his balance on the edge of the ship before being heaved - along with his subordinates - headlong into the water. The sea around the ship flew into a frenzy as a shoal of aquatic Pokemon struggled to haul their flailing leader and comrades back towards their own ship.

The smugglers' crew seemed aware that there was no time to celebrate, though. Even as their attackers flailed in the water, an Illumise among them began barking hurried orders to their own sea escorts, who began to scramble towards the back of the ship. The sea Pokémon alongside the sloop stirred up a mighty current, swiftly ferrying the Siglo Swellow away from its aggressors. Tarquin and his now-sopping boarding party were helped back aboard their own vessel just in time to catch the tail end of the opposing ship sail away from them.

The drenched dragon visibly seethed, his posture tightening and his stubby claws balled into fists. His Seviper subordinate raised her head to speak- perhaps to try to calm her irate superior- but fell down as Tarquin stamped his foot into the deck of his ship, sending a splinter of planks about the area. Lyn set down his spyglass with a condescending tsk, he'd seen quite enough of the Strongjaw Gang and their competence by now.

"Amateurs," he scoffed. The Water-Type turned around to give his crew fresh orders, only for his First Mate to stammeringly interject.

"Um… Captain? We should really turn the ship around right now."

"Are you _daft?!_ They're making a break for it right now!" the Samurott bellowed. "Take us northwest, we'll cut them off-!"

_**BOOM!** _

A distant peal rang out as a hail of colorful projectiles zipped through the deck. While some managed to avoid the incoming shot like a Sneasel who skillfully dodged a nutty pellet, other crewmembers weren't so lucky. Lyn watched his first mate got struck by a blue blur, dissolving into light and getting sucked into an Apricorn that came to a tumbling stop on the deck. Panicked shouts rang out on the ship as the same fate befell other crewmembers, prompting their compatriots to break ranks instinctively.

Lyn whirled back to the orange-sailed galleon and reflexively raised his spyglass. There, he saw the captain berating a hapless Shiinotic as startled, sinking expressions spread across the faces of his lackeys. By chance, the Samurott noticed upon a Zangoose picking up an item off the deck in the background, which on closer inspection was a soggy tome in a ratty dust jacket with a Merchantry logo emblazoned on it.

"Grr..."

Lyn shoved the spyglass back into his bag and grit his teeth as the sound of some crew members breaking out of their Apricorns sounded on the deck, before turning his attention to the still-intact blue Apricorn trapping his First Mate. The otter brought his seamitar down on the blue nut, cleaving it in two under his blade as a white light shot out, coalescing into the form of a panting and wide-eyed Absol.

"Looks like our prize is right here!" the Samurott snarled. "Bring out the cannons and fire at will!"

The deck flew into a chaotic flurry as the crew assumed battle positions. While the cannons were wheeled out and fired at the pirate ship, the two galleons slowly began to close in on each other. As gap became close enough, Lyn spewed out a torrent of water while capable underlings similarly contributed beam attacks of their own.

The two vessels hastily shrouded themselves in arrays of Protect barriers, serving to imperfectly shield the ships, along with their crews. Under withering fire, Zorn and the sea escorts charged ahead to battle Tarquin's sea escorts. From his vantage point on the deck, Lyn could see the two sides rapidly stalemate after Zorn was separated from his underlings and got forced to fend off a ring of attackers.

At that, the Samurott drew a blade and hopped onto the railing, prompting a surprised yelp from his Absol first mate.

"Captain?!" the Dark-Typee exclaimed. "What are you doing?!"

"I'm going in with Administrator Zorn," Lyn answered. "Hold down the fort and keep suppressive fire on that galleon!"

The Water-Type dove into the sea and felt the waters close in overhead. Lyn looked ahead and saw that while his superior and his charges managed to push closer to Tarquin's ship, they continued to struggle against the enemy school of attackers, lobbing pressurized jets of water along with scattered electric currents. The otter dove down, and cut through the water underneath before diving up for the surface, ramming aside a Bruxish and a Wailmer along the way. The school, disturbed by suddenly having its lines pierced, broke off into disorganized groups that Zorn and the swimmers with him swiftly pursued, while others swam up to harry the pirates near the edge of the ship back.

Lyn swam forth, racing for the galleon as his eyes came upon a Zangoose, Banette, and Flareon overpowering and shoving a tottering lavender-scarved Poliwhirl overboard. There, still in the mongoose's claws, was his prize, the Taloons' Chronicle. Without missing a beat, the Samurott caught a wave, and launched himself into the air. The Water-Type sailed on through the air for the deck, coming to a stop in front of Cerny and Kai with a bellowing roar that made the pair flush pale before their ringleader hastily piped up.

"Wha-?! Don't just stand there, you two!" the Zangoose cried. "Get that Company rat!"

The Flareon lunged at the Samurott with fangs bared as his Banette partner ran over with his claws trailing a shadowy substance. Before either of the two could reach their target, Lyn reared up and brought his seamitars in a cross-shaped sweeping motion, catching the pair with agonized yelps.

Scian watched as Kai sailed headlong into a wall with a thud and slumped against the deck, while Cerny fell overboard with a splash. The Zangoose, acutely aware that it was now just him against the Commissioner, went wide-eyed and stammered out of fright.

"G-Gih! Get away from me, you sea ferret!"

The Zangoose turned and bolted for the entrance below deck, running as fast as his legs would allow. Halfway to the door, Scian heard a startled squawk and a loud crack as a burning beam zipped through the topmast of the nearby sails, prompting the Normal-Type to look up and see a crow's nest freefalling into his path.

The mongoose jumped out of the way as the structure came down and crashed into the doorway. The Cat Ferret Pokémon looked around frantically for another way to escape, only to see his Samurott assailant running at him with blades drawn.

"Y-You asked for it, ya overgrown weasel!" Scian cried. "Take this!"

The Zangoose tensed his free claw as whitish auras formed along its tips and leapt up. The Normal-Type swung his claw overhead and brought it down with the pull of gravity, aiming his desperate strike at Lyn's shoulder.

"Get _out_ of my way!"

The Samurott parried the mongoose's claw with a strike of his seamitar, making his foe wobble and lose his balance. His mind fully preoccupied with his desperate battle, Scian dropped the journal to free up his other claw to try and swipe again at Lyn. As the Normal-Type swung, his otter opponent balled up his paw around his blade's hilt and catch the Scian's chin with an uppercutting punch.

_**WHAM!** _

The Samurott's blow sent the Zangoose flying atop the ruined crow's nest, before tottering and tumbling over the other side. With his foe stunned and audibly groaning, Lyn turned his attention back to the journal as the din of surrounding battle hung in the air.

"Hrmph, they just don't know when to give up..."

With his last obstacle removed, the Samurott darted over to grab the journal, his paw falling on the cover just as he felt the ship rock with heavy footsteps. Before the otter could leave the pirate ship with his prize, he felt a crushing bite into his shoulder and hot breath on his hide.

Lyn bellowed out in pain and watched as a large, red, three-toed foot kicked away his prize. Reflexively, the Water-Type changed his grip on his other seamitar and jabbed backwards at the biting presence. The Commissioner felt the grip on his shoulder release with a pained roar and quickly rolled free, turning back to see that his assailant was none other than the glowering Tyrantrum captain of the ship.

"I'm the captain here, and I'll be taking that back!" Tarquin growled.

"Carrying illegal weapons on an unchartered ship _and_ firing on a Company vessel," Lyn snarled. "Tell me, lizard. Just how much of a death wish do you have?"

"Hmph, I was with the Company for over a decade before they decided to throw that out the window," the Tyrantrum spat. "Your ship is nothing I can't handle!"

"We'll see about that!"

Green sparks began to trail off of Tarquin's right claw as the Tyrantrum brought a swipe down at the Samurott, only to hear a _splutch_ and wrench his claw back as a sharp pain shot through it.

"Gyaaah!"

The Dragon-Type felt something wet dripping down his claw and reflexively pinned it against his body when he saw a seamitar coming for his face. Tarquin hastily jumped back, leaving his assailant to swing at air. The tyrannosaur then opened his maw and lunged at his foe.

Tarquin was stopped dead, however, as a biting cold gripped his lower body. With a cruel grin on his face, Lyn stared him down, targeting a beam from his mouth at the Tyrantrum's feet. Snarling, Tarquin struggled to free himself from the growing layer of frost on his legs, but it was no use; the icy weight grew heavier and heavier until finally he couldn't budge from where he stood.

"Stick around," the Samurott jeered. Lyn allowed himself to shoot a smug, victorious grin at Tarquin before turning on his heels and darted towards the tome, which laid open facedown on the deck a short distance away.

Tarquin struggled against the ice caked on his feet to no avail. Realizing that his foe was about to steal his prize, the Tyrantrum fished around his bags for items, anything to help tip the scales.

The Dragon-Type felt his claws run over a round, scaled object, which made his eyes light up upon realizing that it was none other than a Blast Seed. Reflexively, Tarquin grabbed the seed and wrenched it out, scattering the bag's contents as he threw an orange seed into his mouth…

And bit down.

_Fwooooosh!_

Tarquin winced as he felt fire singe his legs, and pulled his feet free of now thinned and fragile ice. The dinosaur darted forward, flinging water and ice fragments from his lower body as he ran forward with a bellowing roar.

As Lyn picked up the book, he heard the roar and loud footsteps behind him and saw Tarquin once again charging for him with his maw wide open. The Samurott attempted to slash the incoming Tyrantrum, but with a timely stop from the Dragon-Type and a step backwards, Lyn was left slashing at empty air, prompting Tarquin to hastily lunge at the book Lyn was holding in his paw.

The two wrenched the tome back and forth, Tarquin's maw occupied as he clamped down while Lyn's grasp with his paw undercut his balance to slash back at his foe. Tarquin's underlings hastily gathered around, each waiting uneasily for the other to make the first strike against the much stronger Samurott, only for his First Mate to slither through with her sword-tail honed for a jab.

"Captain, hang in the- Argh!"

The serpent felt a crushing blow at the back of her head and hit the deck stunned. As the Seviper attempted to regain her bearings, she saw a white, furry creature running off ahead for the squabbling captains.

"Butt out, _péist!_ " Scian hissed. "I've got this!"

The Normal-Type ran towards the Samurott, preparing a swipe of his claws at Lyn's paw. Suddenly, the otter forced Tarquin off balance, yanking the book and tugging the Dragon-Type directly into Scian's path. The Zangoose hastily attempted to compensate, dragging his claws to the side and away from his captain…

_Thwip_

Directly over the spine of the book. The two captains fell away from each other as the damaged binding gave way under their tugs, scattering the tome's pages just as a sea wind picked up and carried them off the deck.

" _AAGH!_ "

Both Lyn and Tarquin stared for a moment of stunned silence, jaws agape, as they watched the many pages of the journal float away on the sea breeze. Lyn grabbed out at the air, trying in vain to snatch a stray page as it fluttered by. The two began to quiver furiously almost in unison, words alone not enough to express one's rage to the other or the white furball that had caused this disaster.

"Grr! You-!"

Scowling, Lyn drew a seamitar and reared up to strike, only for the bulk Tarquin's stony tail to catch him first, slamming into the side of his gut with enough force to lift him off the ground and clear off of the ship. The seamitar flew out of his grasp, and he dropped unceremoniously into the waters below with a bellowing shout. Tarquin glanced around, realizing Lyn had been the last real threat standing in their way, and the path was now clear for them to escape without a hitch. He turned to his crew to give the order.

"Pull the wounded aboard and whip up a current!" Tarquin ordered. "We're getting out of here!"

Lyn managed to recover soon after hitting the water, the cold seawater shaking him from his punch-drunk stupor. He cut through the water, dodging and weaving around pot-shots taken by Tarquin's nearby sea escorts. With one last dive, he managed to snatch his seamitar and stow it into its sheath, after which he turned tail and darted back towards his own ship. His pride as bruised as his underbelly, he breached the water and landed on the deck of his ship, looking perhaps angrier than he had at any other time that day.

"After them!" Lyn bellowed. "I want that pirate hulk at the bottom of the sea even if we have to chase them into Garanza to do it-!"

"Hold it right there, Commissioner!"

The Samurott turned his head at the sound of Zorn's admonishment, just in time to see the Gyarados surface. The sea serpent slithered over, his face etched with an unamused frown all the while.

"Administrator Zorn, they're slipping away from us right now!" the Samurott seethed.

"I'm aware of that, Commissioner Lyn," Zorn answered. "But it doesn't matter, your mission is complete."

"It would be _more_ complete if that Tarquin was in my brig in chains right now!" the mustelid spat.

"And risk getting your ship further damaged?" Zorn demanded. "Need I remind you that Imperial patrols regularly come into these waters? Do you think they'd pass on the chance to pounce on one of our ships if it was a tattered wreck?"

Lyn grumbled wordlessly. Once again, loath as he was to admit it, the Administrator had a point. The last thing he needed today was a skirmish with the Imps, no matter how badly he wanted that pirate in his brig. Defeated, he turned to his First Mate and gave the final order of the mission.

"... Turn around and set sail for Vollezee," Lyn said, shaking his head. "We've accomplished what we need to here."

"Aye, captain," the Absol responded.

The First Mate passed the order along to the crew, and slowly the sails were lowered and the ship turned around with the current. As the Argent Aviso sailed off, Lyn shot one last glare at Tarquin's ship as it slipped over the horizon before giving a dissatisfied huff. The Board did say that destroying the journal was an acceptable outcome, so that was the end of that…

So why was there a nagging feeling that this matter _hadn't_ been settled?

* * *

"You blithering _idiot!_ What on earth made you think it was a good idea to interfere like that?!"

Tarquin's bellowing shout rang out on a crowded deck, the dinosaur stomping against the timbers underfoot. The captain shot a piercing, hateful glare at the object of his fury directly in front of his snout: a visibly defensive Zangoose looking around uneasily at a now glaring sea of orange-scarved pirates ringing him.

"Hey, _excuse me_ for trying to help!" Scian snapped back. The Tyrantrum spluttered angrily and dug his toeclaws into the deck. This impudent cat had wrecked _his_ journal, and now had the _gall_ to backtalk him after everything that had happened?!

"Grr…"

As the Dragon-Type glowered and growled, a Flareon and a Banette at the front of the crowd hastily rushed up try to calm their superior down and prevent him from attacking their big-mouthed companion.

"H-Hey, it's not all bad Captain!" Kai interjected, his Banette companion swiftly chiming in with a reassurance of his own.

"Yeah, thanks to Scian, you were able to punt that square-neck off so we could get away!"

Although still visibly seething, the Flareon and Banette's words seemed to have their desired effect. The huffing tyrannosaur began to calm down and reflect on how perhaps there truly was a silver lining to his predicament… only for the white furball to abruptly pipe up.

"And it's not like I came away _totally_ empty-clawed!" Scian exclaimed, before presenting a pawful of loose pages in his right claw. "Chill out, Whitebeard."

**_GRAAAAAAAAAWR!_ **

Tarquin roared and slammed the deck, before charging at the wide-eyed and petrified Zangoose. Before the Cat Ferret Pokémon could brace himself, he felt a heavy kick in his stomach and tumbled against the deck. Scian yowled in pain as a heavy foot grounded him against the timbers. The Normal-Type looked up, still panting for breath as a Bibarel gathered up his dropped pages. Tarquin pulled his foot back, glaring at Scian's Flareon and Banette companions as they gulped and traded visibly apprehensive looks with each other.

"Grab these three idiots and bring them to the railing!" the Tyrantrum snarled. "I want to see the lot of them walk the plank!"

At the Dragon-Type's words, the deck flew into a frenzy as Scian, Kai, and Cerny were seized and drug along yelping and struggling towards a railing. There, a Passimian lowered a plank and pinned it under a stack of crates as the three pirates were forced out onto it to a chorus of jeers, Akane taking a particular relish in the trio's plight with a taunting wave of her tail and flick of her tongue.

"Have a nice fall, _ferret!_ " the serpent jeered.

The three stumbled onto the plank, the lot of them struggling to keep their balance on the thin and sagging strip of wood. The Flareon in particular grew alarmed at the sight of the churning waves below, shooting a desperate look back at his Zangoose teammate.

"S-Scian!" the Fire-Type pleaded. " _Do_ something!"

Scian looked back frantically at the glaring Tyrantrum back on the galleon's deck, and at the churning waves underneath. The Zangoose fought to keep his footing, the thought of drowning at sea motivating him to to try his claw at sweet-talking Tarquin into calming down.

"Er… h-hey! Aren't you being a bit hasty here?" Scian insisted. "Any captain worth their salt wouldn't throw us out after _one_ mistake-"

"Shut your face and get off my ship, you useless cat!"

**_THWACK!_ **

"GYAH!"

With one swipe of his tail, Tarquin sent the three of them sailing off of the ship. The pirates pinwheeled in a high arc through the air, their shouts and screams fading with distance. The Tyrantrum watched as they plunked into the water one by one with the sound of faintly audible splashes, before turning to his crew to bark out more orders.

"Serves them right," he growled. "Now let's get moving, already!"

The Tramontane Tyrant changed course with a lurch and sailed along with the current, the crew going back to work tending to the damage Lyn and his cronies had left on their ship and crew. Tarquin took out his scope to catch a quick peek back in the direction where he had knocked his victims into the water, and frowned as he saw Scian and Cerny swimming in the water, with Kai stubbornly latched onto the Banette's head. One after the other, the three stumbled onto the sea rocks, the wind changing course just enough for the Tyrantrum to faintly hear them cough up sea water and launch into recriminations against each other.

"Nice _going_ Scian," Kai spat.

"What? This wasn't _my_ fault!" The Zangoose insisted, to an exasperated sigh from his Banette teammate.

"We're gonna be stuck on these rocks awhile, aren't we?"

The Tyrantrum put his scope away and scowled. He had hoped he could have made examples of the three, but with them stranded on rocks in the middle of the sea without food or water, what were the odds they'd make it back to shore anyways?

Tarquin gave a satisfied harrumph before turning to the Bibarel from earlier to take the pages Scian had recovered in his claws. It wasn't an ideal outcome, but the journal _was_ valuable, so even a few scraps of the Footprint Rune text might be worth something!

"Hrmph, it wasn't as good of a haul as I'd hoped," the Dragon-Type grunted. "But at least we got one over those Tromban hicks- _Huh?!_ "

The Tyrantrum raised the pages back up to his snout in a start. Barely any of these runes looked remotely footprint-like like he'd overheard. This wasn't some collection of secrets and maps to treasure, this was a glorified vocabulary primer written in some clerk's Torchic scratch!

"Captain, what's wrong?" Akane asked, the Seviper's tongue flicking anxiously at the captain's sudden darkening of his demeanor.

"This is all a bunch of useless clutter that some pencil-pusher wrote!" the Tyrantrum exclaimed, angrily crumpling up the pages. "Then... that means that the real journal's with-!"

* * *

Underneath a bright blue sky, the Siglo Swellow sailed peacefully off on its course towards Giotto, far ahead of of the Argent Aviso, the Tramontane Tyrant, and the other trials they had left behind. On the deck, Calino triumphantly flashed the Taloons' Chronicle before a gathered crowd of crewmates on the deck and in the surrounding waters, trading cheers and congratulations over their victory snatched from the jaws of defeat.

"Whew, I haven't had to test my acting skills like that since the last time I had to ask Bruna for a raise!" the Kecleon chortled. "Looks like I've still got it!"

"I'll say!" Pat cheered. "Good job there, Calino!"

"Yeah, you really pulled through for us there!" Philips added.

"Well, as flattered as I am, I'd have to give _some_ credit to your captain," Calino said, pawing some dust off of his scales. "If it wasn't for that idea, who knows what those thugs would be doing to us right now?"

Beatrix gave a small chuckle at the Kecleon's flattery After a few moments to suck in her subordinates' cheers, the firefly gave a dismissive wave of her tarsal to try and downplay the matter.

"Oh really now, Calino, we just got lucky this time," the Illumise corrected. "That said, I _think_ that if we stay careful, we should be in the clear here."

The Illumise flitted up above her crew and gave a buzz to quiet down her subordinates. It had been a great reversal of their fortune, yes, but there was still work to be done for their mission.

"But we can sweat the details over pay and shore leave," she buzzed, giving a playful smirk. "Onto Giotto!"

The jovial atmosphere lingered as the Siglo Swellow's crew sailed towards the horizon. They had been graced with another lucky break, one which would hopefully last this time. There was still a tight schedule to make, but when they reached port it would afford them some much-appreciated and long-overdue rest and relaxation in Giotto.

* * *

Much to the crew's relief, the rest of the journey went by without incident, the only interruptions to the sea waves being an occasional ship, flotilla of swimming Pokémon, or school of ferals. A couple hours after midnight, the first lights on the horizon were spotted, which when followed led the Siglo Swellow past a bay plastered with fortifications and into the harbor of Tidemill City.

Although its denizens weren't as unseemly, just like Andaku in Mossaisle Town, Tidemill City's open-port provided a place for any Pokémon to come and trade as they pleased regardless of their colors or affiliation, if at the expense of freedom of movement beyond the district. Fortunately for the crew, their receiving port was a far friendlier place than the pirate-infested hive that they set off from. There was a seaside market, and shipyards that hummed with activity despite the early hours. There were even a few of Tidemill's famous theaters that catered to the sailors that came and went through the district.

The ward with its squarish courtyard buildings and long, thin islands divided by canals was a colorful, if somewhat grimy microcosm of the greater city. The fineries and new monuments that had been erected in Tidemill's expansion since the Empire made it its new capital just barely peeking over walls staffed with fierce guards and even more odious red tape to penetrate. Fortunately for the crew, the Merchantry, in keeping with its freeporter sensibilities, maintained its Tidemill offices directly in the harbor, which Beatrix, Pladur, Pat, and Calino were summarily summoned to by a messenger in Merchantry colors.

After a short walk through the canal-ridden streets, the four entered a blocky stone building where there inside was an elderly Kecleon waiting for them. The chameleon, donning a red silk scarf with his organization's sigil in gold thread, led the group up four flights of stairs to a windowed hallway overlooking the harbor. The party eventually reached a grand office at the end with ornately-carved push doors which their Kecleon guide led them in to. As the doors shut behind them, the Pokémon of the Siglo Swellow cast furtive glances out the window.

"You know, I was kinda expecting that we'd be meeting someplace a bit more cloak and dagger," Beatrix murmured.

"Hardly," the aged Kecleon answered. "In a place like Tidemill City, the best places for someone like me to conduct their business are often hiding in plain sight.".

"What _is_ this place anyways?" Pat asked.

"It's a Regional Office," Calino explained. "Pokémon in our organization like Branch Chief Walpole here have used it through the years to conduct business."

"Well, I think that this meeting certainly falls into that category," the elder Kecleon added. "I'd been getting a lot of anxious letters from my counterparts in the other branches, and having _this_ around should be able to quiet them down a bit."

Walpole flipped the ledger open to no page in particular, glancing at a few different images in the book as he leafed through them. With a satisfied nod, he shut the mighty tome and slipped it into a nearby drawer.

"Eh?" Pladur wondered. "What do you mean?"

"This journal contains trade secrets that could be devastating to the Merchantry if a strong rival discovered them," Walpole explained. "Hence why we've had to move it around from time to time to keep it in safe hands."

"Huh? But just what does this journal _have_ that it could be so damaging?" Pat pressed.

"Our predecessors found that there were a few things that simply couldn't be found without breaching the Veil around the Cradle and going into the Wastes," Calino explained. "Why, if it weren't for what's in that journal, our outfit probably wouldn't have enough raw materials to make Poké-"

"Yes, yes, well done Calino, well done Calino!" Walpole interrupted with an exasperated sigh. " _However_ , this isn't the right time to be discussing our little free-trade experiment here, and I believe you had something that was meant to accompany the Taloons' Chronicle…"

Calino blanched and started to flush pale. Yes, he'd helped the Chronicle get to Tidemill safely, but it was at the expense of his notes that kept the thing readable in the first place!

The Kecleon gulped and steeled himself. Walpole would surely understand, wouldn't he?

"Erm… about that, I was thinking… maybe there didn't _need_ to be a transcription for the Chronicle?" Calino proposed. "After all, we've survived all this time without it!"

Walpole's extremities started to flush red as a scowl came over the chameleon's face, his eyes hardening into a piercing glare at Calino.

"Calino, we've survived all this time without it thanks to a bunch of patchwork notes various readers put together," the Branch Chief snapped. "That was the entire point why we commissioned you two years ago to put this transcription together! Where, _is_ it?"

"Uh… it might be in a shredded pulp with some pirates right now?" Calino sheepishly replied. "B-But that's fine, right? All part of the cost of adventure, and we were able to get the _real_ prize delivered safely!"

"Calino, that _cost of adventure_ destroyed two years of work that this organization has been counting on!" the senior Kecleon shouted. "How on earth did you even _lose_ it to pirates in the first place? You did your transcriptions inside a diary for crying out loud!"

"Uh… I used it as a distraction during a raid?" Calino answered, forcing an uneasy smile onto his mouth. His superior was having none of Calino's comments, as all of Walpole´s scales now flourished a red color.

"Now hold on a minute here," Beatrix protested. " _I_ was the one who suggested that Calino use his journal as bait!"

Walpole's scales darkened to a seething scarlet as he scowled at the Bug-Type, before turning a furious glare at Calino that practically bored through the hapless archivist.

"And you _listened_ to her?" Walpole demanded.

"Er... well you see-" Calino stammered, only to be cut off by the sound of a fist pounding against his desk.

"Well if you like listening to them so much," Walpole snapped. "Maybe you should ask your new friends for a ride to your new job."

"¨Wait, _what?!_ " Calino exclaimed.

"We've been looking for someone to set up a new Merchantry outpost on Tromba ever since their revolt happened," the Branch Chief said. "Since you seem to have an ear for Tromban sensibilities I'm sure you're perfect for the job."

Calino blinked as his scales turned gray with shock and stared at Walpole with open mouth. He was getting reassigned all the way to _Tromba?!_

"But- but-"

"Er… so are we still getting paid?" Pladur asked. "I mean, our contract _did_ just say to bring the journal here…"

Walpole fumed and rooted through a drawer before digging out a large pouch. The chameleon tossed it onto the table with an unceremonious thud before glaring at Beatrix and her subordinates.

"Just take it and get out," the Kecleon huffed.

The Siglo Swellow's crew, collectively feeling the sense of gloom radiating from Calino, snatched their pay from the Branch Chief's desk and made themselves scarce posthaste. Calino cast a hopeful, pleading glance at his superior, hoping for some change of heart, but all he found on the other Kecleon's ruddy-red face was the same displeased scowl he'd been wearing the entire time. Drooping with a disheartened sigh, Calino moped as he dragged himself out of the office, catching sight of his scales turning a melancholy blue as he reached out to open the door.

He stepped out into a long hallway, lined with windows giving a great view of Tidemill City's canal-lined harbor outside. Although on a good day it would be a sight for sore eyes, Calino felt no desire to tear his gaze away from the floor. A maelstrom of thought stormed in his mind as he tried to make sense of the events of the day, his world being so harshly pulled out from under his feet. Before he could fully process his despair, though, a chirping voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Hey, Calino! Aren't you coming?"

"Wha-?" For a moment, Calino had forgotten there was anyone else around. Straightening his defeated posture, if only slightly, he glanced up towards the source of the voice.

Despite their hasty egress from Walpole's office, it seemed the Siglo Swellow's crew had waited around for him in the end. Pat and Pladur headed towards the chameleon, extending a helping wing and claw towards Calino.

"You're going to be stuck on our island for a while anyways, right?" Pat asked "We'll give you a lift over."

"And look on the bright side!" Pladur offered. "The weather's balmy, the beach is not too crowded, and Bluewhorl Town's a friendly place."

The sight of the supportive trio managed to warm Calino's dour mood, his deep blue scales slowly fading back to their neutral green color. A weak smile shining through on his face, he chuckled and accepted Pladur's generous offer.

"Heh… well, I don't think I can say no to that…" Calino replied.

"Then come on!" Beatrix cried. "We'll hash out the details on the way back to the ship!"

Calino joined Pladur and his shipmates, the four slipping into a new equilibrium of playful chatter about Tromba and how Bluewhorl would soon feel like home away from home. As implausible as it would have sounded to him just yesterday, Calino could tell that in spite of the dead-end position, he would get along with Pokémon like these just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _Strandmeer Arena_ \- Dutch: "Lagoon Arena"  
>  \- _De Kust_ \- Dutch: "The Coast", used here as a place name.  
>  \- _Tranquilo_ \- Spanish: "Relax" (interjection)  
>  \- _(¡¿)Qué estás haciendo?!_ \- Spanish: "What are you doing?!"  
>  \- _Sōna no?! (_ _そうなの_ _?!)_ \- Japanese: "Is that so?!" (Hepburn Romanization)


	47. In Harm's Way

After taking a circuitous route off the Nektar Weide to avoid being spotted, Ketu and Ellsberg journeyed back to the wood-and-stone fort across the stream from Fensedge Village. There, Ketu led Ellsberg deep into the bowels of the building in Mengir's fort where Zorn's haunt was, weaving up stairwells and through corridors. The Dark-Type's guidance led him and the following Mothim to a stop in front of an engraved hardwood door with a metalworked push latch. The Weavile gave a look about his surroundings, before leaning up against the door and giving it a sharp, rhythmical series of thumps with his claws.

The two heard the sound of movement from inside, and paces drawing nearer and nearer. The door opened with a creak, as the head of a Zoroark poked out, an impatient frown etched on his muzzle.

"You're _late_ , Ketu," the Dark-Type said.

"Sorry about that," the Weavile replied. "It was a little tricky to get Buzzy here out without anyone asking too many questions."

"Hrmph, I'll take your word for it," Elilan answered. "Hurry up and come inside, we have business to tend to with Ellsberg here."

As Ketu and Ellsberg made their way through the doorway, they looked around and saw they had entered a timbered office lined with bookshelves and sunlight peeking in through glass windows. Paintings of seascapes and of the Company's Directors from past ages adorned the walls, along with a map of Anyilla that had been dutifully divided up into sectors reflecting the Company's de jure and de facto holdings.

The Zoroark led the two to a low table with a weathered red-and-white sphere of some strange material sitting on it, surrounded by short ottomans. On his way over, Elilan stopped to grab a thick, well-read tome off the desk before sitting down and beginning to lazily leaf through its contents.

"So Ellsberg, how has adjusting to your new position been going?" the Dark-Type asked, peering up from his tome. The Administrator was answered with a reflexive buzz from his Mothim guest, an exasperated frown firmly coloring the creature's expression.

"That well, hm?"

The Mothim hesitated and flitted up from his seat uneasily. Administrator Elilan didn't call him all the way out here just to make light of his circumstances… had he?

"Administrator, why _did_ you call me here, anyways?" Ellsberg asked. "Commissioner Lyn left me swamped in work and I shouldn't be away from it for too long."

"It's simple," Elilan replied. "I called you here to offer you a proposal."

Ellsberg reflexively batted his wings before standing up on his cushion and giving a puzzled tilt of his head. Administrator Elilan was clearly driving at something… but what?

"A proposal? Just what have you got in mind?"

"As I'm sure you already know from personal experience, Lyn is a bit of a troublesome colleague to work with," the Zoroark began.

"That's an understatement if I ever heard one," Ellsberg scoffed.

"Then surely you'd agree with me that his temperament is an ill fit for the Board," Elilan answered. "And if he were to join, he would potentially endanger the Company's long-term future."

The fox shrugged his shoulders and gave a knowing smirk. The Administrator set aside his book on the table, turning his attention fully to the flitting Mothim before him.

"That's why I wanted to _do_ something about that," the Zoroark said, before pointing a claw at his moth guest. "And I want you to be a part of it."

Ellsberg jumped up with a buzzing shock. Did- Did Administrator Elilan really just say that? And Ketu, he was _in_ on this?! What was going _on_ here?

"Eh?! But Lyn is _Director Inler's pick_ for this mission!" Ellsberg exclaimed. "There's no way that he'd give approval for something like that!"

"You're right, he wouldn't," Ketu remarked. "But that doesn't mean that we can't do something about it anyways."

"Office politics has a way of hamstringing the best decisions from time to time, since he certainly wasn't _my_ pick for the job," the Zoroark harrumphed. "That's why I've felt the need to sidestep protocol for a bit in this situation. I'm sure Lyn has promised you something to keep you so close around him, but would it really be worth letting the Pokémon currently in charge of your ship climb the ranks to greater power?"

Ellsberg caught himself and paused. Commissioner Lyn was already exasperating enough at times to deal with as a Second-Rank. Even if Lyn made good on his word and gave him his Commissionership, he would still be in the rank above to boss him around, and with even more power at his disposal...

"… You know how to make a compelling argument," Ellsberg admitted. "But what is it that you would need me to do? And what would I get in return for going against the Director's orders?"

A small smile began to creep over the fox's face. Pleased to see that the Bug-Type seemed to be amenable to his argument, the Zoroark continued on and gave a calming wave of his right claw.

"Don't worry, it's just a little errand that I'll see that you're amply rewarded for," Elilan reassured. "All I need is for Lyn to be demonstrated to be the incompetent that I know him to be in front of the rest of the Board. "When the topic of replacing Lyn comes up, my preferred candidate would be in a much better position to be selected."

"But how is that something that _I'm_ supposed to do?" Ellsberg asked.

"Simple. We wait for Lyn to grab the bird, and then snatch him out from underneath and send him off to the Administrator here," Ketu said, pointing a claw at his chest. "Just follow your orders from me, and we'll complete this mission sooner than you kno-"

"Actually, Ketu," the Administrator interrupted. "I think that you'd be better off working in tandem with Ellsberg here."

At once, Ketu's normal confident and lackadaisical air evaporated, replaced with a stunned blanch. The Weavile gave a shake of his head feathers before launching into a swift protest towards his superior.

"H-Huh?! Administrator, what do you mean?!" Ketu exclaimed. " _I'm_ the Pokémon who's been working this mission for you for almost three years now! Why would bringing a complete newcomer as my _partner_ be a better option?!"

"Because, unlike you, Ellsberg here knows the ins-and-outs of our more bureaucratic divisions," the fox countered. "Besides, the Sea Guardian already eluded _you_ once when he escaped Lyn's ship. I think it would be wise not to turn down extra help."

"Administrator, the Lugia escaping was something that was completely out of my control!" the Weavile spluttered back. "It's _not_ a matter of my target eluding me if it's _not even there_ when I was supposed to-"

The Weavile was cut off by a raised claw from the Zoroark, along with a stern glare that quickly prompted the Sharp Claw Pokémon to drop his protest. After watching Ketu shift his gaze to the ground and grudgingly table his objections, the Administrator turned his attention back to Ellsberg.

"Anyhow, I'm aware that there is a good deal of risk to this mission, but there's also reward, which I will leave you to choose from, Ellsberg," Elilan answered. "Would you rather be known as _Commissioner_ Ellsberg...?"

_Whap!_

The Zoroark clamped the book in his claws shut, nonchalantly tossing his tome back onto the table. The Dark-Type rose up and leaned over the table, peering directly into Ellsberg's eyes with a piercing gaze.

"Or _Elmer_ , the notary whose name Pokémon can't even remember properly?"

The Mothim paused and thought over Elilan's offer. It was undoubtedly risky, and he couldn't really expect the Administrator to come to his aid were the scheme to fall through...

"Elmer, hurry up and make a decision already-!" Ketu hissed.

The Weavile was quickly met with mutual glares: one from his irked superior, and one from a Mothim with wounded pride. If nothing else, Elilan's offer did hold the cachet of finally being able to end this blasted 'Elmer' nonsense once and for all as a Commission- Wait a minute.

Lyn too had offered him Commissionership for help in getting the Sea Guardian under his control. So then, regardless of _whose_ side he ultimately took, he would be sure to get his desired position in the ranks. Then... for now, there would surely be no harm in taking advantage of this opportunity.

"I think the choice is obvious there, Administrator Elilan," Ellsberg answered. "Count me in."

"Urgh… yeah, yeah, that's great," Ketu grumbled. "Can we go back to the ship now?"

The Weavile gave a disgusted scoff and furrowed his brow, turning on one heel in the direction of the door, only for Elilan's voice to call out after him.

"One more thing."

"Eh?" Ellsberg asked.

"Based off prior experience, it is possible that the past Protectors we and our rivals have encountered may emerge from the shadows," the Zoroark explained. "Most notably one you should be familiar with, Ketu."

"Hrmph."

The Weavile rolled his eyes and harrumphed quietly before looking the other direction. Administrator Elilan frowned and shot a stern glare, before deciding to wave the matter off and continue with his explanation.

"If you happen to stumble across one of them, by all means feel free to improvise," the Zoroark offered. "After all, there are more things in the Company's best interest than simply keeping Lyn off the Board."

"We'll be mindful of it," Ellsberg replied. "Come on, Ketu, we should be getting back to the ship."

Ellsberg flitted up from his seat and began to make his way for the door, Ketu begrudgingly following after him. The Mothim's conversation with Elilan had served to lift his spirits tremendously, with his earlier troubles on the Nektar Weide now feeling as if they were in a bygone era. As the Bug-Type made his way back into the hall, dormant daydreams from when he first stuck his alliance with Lyn came back into mind: of being _Commissioner_ Ellsberg, of having respect, and most importantly, getting his newfound power on his _own_ terms…

No more getting yelled at… No more getting his ship trashed or commandeered… No more getting bullied by underlings…

Everything would finally stay the way things were meant to, and he'd finally get the respect he'd worked so hard for in the Company's ranks.

* * *

As Ellsberg daydreamed about his future, the Company's quarry continued their arduous trek through the Mystery Dungeon they fell into. Nida and her companions quickly discovered that the direction of the dungeon went downwards, forcing the four to search out stable zones and trace passages in the fog between floors of watery expanses with tight bubble-covered paths…

"Huh?!"

Though much to Pleo's surprise, the floor coming into view after exiting the foggy periphery of their latest shortcut was far more terrestrial. The space consisted of tightly-packed trees and undergrowth studded with colorful gems, flanking sides of marshy ground that formed the chambers and paths of the floor. Above them, past the shade of the overshadowing tree litter, was the vague brightness of the sun peering through the mist, its orientation at an unnaturally low angle for this time of the day.

"Where did all these trees come from?!" the young Lugia squawked.

" _Gardie_ , do you know what's going on here?" Guardia pressed. "We obviously haven't left the dungeon since I can still see fog and those crystals everywhere, but dungeons don't change _this_ much."

"Actually, they do sometimes," the Growlithe said, much to Guardia's stunned befuddlement.

"... What?"

"Some Mystery Dungeons have different areas depending on the places the Distortion touches," he explained. "We came in via the sea, and have been working our way up. This obviously doesn't look a lot like the sea, so it's a fair bet that _normally_ Pokémon come through here from land to go to the sea."

Nida nodded, her mind turning back to the dungeon back on Tromba which the stronger members of the guild similarly said linked land and sea. Pleo and Guardia on the other hand stared blankly, as if the Growlithe had just told them about a flying hilltop. The Fire-Type shrugged off the pair's puzzlement, giving an impatient shake of his head.

"Whatever," Elty grumbled. "The important part is that we're on our way outta here."

The fire-dog turned tail and led the group into the corridor, his companions following closely on his heels. Along the way, Nida realized that something was strange about how naturally Elty was able to discern how this dungeon went from the sea to land…

"You seem to be pretty familiar with this place, Elty," Nida murmured.

"Eh, it's nothing," Elty insisted as he turned his back towards the Nidoran. "When you've gone to as many places as I do, some dungeons are just easier than others to get the hang of- Oof!"

Lost in his line of thought, Elty had failed to notice a small avian Pokemon covered in downy pink feathers round a nearby corner. The bird flew directly into his path and bumped into the Fire-Type, the two knocking each other back. The Spritzee ruffled her feathers, eyes narrowing as she shot a glare down the length of her beak at the inattentive pup.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, you village runt!" the bird squawked.

"Er… sorry?" Elty gulped, folding his ears and tail back. "We were just passing through and-"

" **GET OUT!** "

The Spritzee gave a great shout, enough to cause visible reverberations in the air and knock Elty back into his teammates.

"AGH!"

Any hope at reconciliation lost, Team Traveler instead scrambled back along the corridor away from the furious Spritzee, who followed them in hot pursuit into a chamber hemmed in by a pond. Guardia, having been knocked from her perch atop Pleo's back, was the first one into the room. The Cubone nearly tripped on a wayward Gravelerock as she ran, stumbling forward and casting a glance back towards the stone. A spark of realization of shot through the Cubone's mind, the lizard realizing the rock's helpfulness in her situation, she lunged over and grabbed it before continuing on her way.

"Hey _bird_ , heads up!"

The Ground-Type dug her feet into the ground and lobbed the stone forward at the bird, catching her in between the eyes with a loud squawk. The Spritzee tumbled towards the ground, hastily righting herself and pulling up. As the Fairy-Type climbed back into the air, she dove for Guardia with a glare and her beak thrown open wide for what seemed to be a nip.

"Ow! Oh, you're _finished_ , _laghairt!_ "

Her stony missile spent, Guardia moved to grab her trusty weapon - her old familiar club - which she... had thrown away earlier that day. Dread set in as that old feeling of total helplessness took hold of her, and she found herself at a loss, frozen in a panic.

"Leave her alone!"

Before the Spritzee could reach her, Guardia looked up and saw Pleo running in with a sharp cry, plumes of blue aura trailing on his lower body and wisps forming around his head. The Lugia charged ahead and knocked the Fairy-Type back with a startled squawk, leaving Pleo to pant from exertion as his Cubone teammate stared dumbfounded at him.

"P-Pleo?! What was _that?!_ " Guardia exclaimed. "You had blue lights all over your body!"

"I… did?" Pleo asked.

"Grr… you call that an attack?" the Fairy-Type spat. "That barely _did_ anything to me-EEEK!"

The Spritzee squawked as a toxic needle from Nida dug into her side, followed swiftly by a gout of fire from Elty. The sudden onset of attacks dashed her tough facade somewhat, sending her crashing to earth with a pained grimace.

"Nrgh…"

The Spritzee weakly struggled up, her legs tottering from the effects of the burn and the poisoned barb, flapping her wings to try to get back into the air. Before the bird could properly raise her head, Nida caught the bird's face with a pair of spinning kicks, sending the assailing fairy tumbling backwards into a wall with a squawking thud, followed by weak groaning.

"Some dungeons are easier to get the hang of, huh?" Nida asked. The Poison-Type gave an unamused look at her guide, the Growlithe reciprocating with a glare.

"Oh shut up, spike ball," he snapped. "You _know_ what I meant."

"But is this a good idea, Elty? We're getting worn out pretty fast here…" Pleo murmured. "Maybe we'd be better off waiting for help?"

"And hanging around here is safer than traveling around defenseless like this…" Guardia added. "And it _would_ let me get to know this place better so I can pass it down onto my colony's lore…"

" _No._ "

Elty simply couldn't let this chance slip. He was so close to Rosequartz Town now, his old haunt - his home! He couldn't stand to have come so far only for his 'teammates' to screw it all up now.

"I know what I'm doing, okay?" the Fire-Type growled. "This dungeon isn't as bad as Mengir and we've been doing fine so far! Besides, don't you think that those two fish aren't looking for us too?"

" _Ya, ya, entiendo_ ," Nida sighed. "Just… let us know if something's going on, alright?"

Elty gave an indifferent grunt and continued steadily down the passage. The day's events had worn heavily on the party's morale, and they felt it now more than ever. A spell of tense silence fell over the group for some time, before Nida piped up.

"I hope that Dimitri isn't too worried about us…"

* * *

Back on the outskirts of Braveshoal, the resting grounds of the _Khranitel Rod_ were awash with activity. All about the patch of reef, the clan's Pokémon swam here and there, busy loading little finfuls of sundry objects into bags of sea netting. Happy chatter among the Pokémon circulated in the waters, punctuated by orders barked out by a Dragalge's voice.

"Sergei, put the durables in _before_ the delicates!

"Irena, make sure the kids to put on their best doll-eyes for the buyers today!"

"Nikolai, for the stars' sake, stop playing with that vodka bottle and get your fins _moving_ already!"

Viktor's sharp barking was quickly followed by a short visit by the _Khranitel Rod_ 's leader, which was more than enough to rectify whatever caught the seahorse's eye. The Golisopod loading crates atop Wonder Orbs in his netting swiftly emptied his bag to repack. The Milotic was off and quickly calling a small school of various young Water Pokémon about her. Even that lackadaisical Whiscash he'd caught toying with a discarded glass bottle hastily made an attempt to look busy.

"I want to see cargo nets on backs and our haul at the main square in ten minutes!" the Poison-Type barked. "If we don't move this stuff today, we're swimming the next leg of our circuit with basic rations!"

Such was the routine the _Khranitel Rod_ went through when it came time to bring the fruits of their school's wanderings about the Cradle's sea to market in Braveshoal. A place where Pokémon of all stripes from sea and land gathered to trade with one another, and a mainstay for the sea clans of the Cradle, including Viktor's. Even so, there was still time to be found for levity in the midst of the clan's preparations, which prompted Kuda to swim up and greet his superior after finishing up overseeing some Pokémon pushing knots of seaweed into a net on their back.

"You're certainly chipper today, _Ataman_ ," the Kingdra said.

"We've got a bigger Market Day to look forward to thanks to that small haul you got us from those golden-scarved losers," Viktor replied. "And we finally managed to put Dimitri's landlubbing to good use to get those kids out of our scales and off to safety…"

The Dragalge gave a contented bob of his head. Yes, there were the customary annoyances here and there, but with the way things were shaping up in the clan's affairs, there only seemed to be one logical conclusion.

"That sounds like a pretty good day to me, don't you think?"

" _Ataman! Ataman!_ "

The distressed burbling promptly pierced through the Poison-Type's relaxed demeanor. That chittering voice… Wait a minute, that was-

"Dimitri?!"

The Dragalge whirled around as the work at the reef ground to a halt. Sure enough, it was the form of none other than the Kabutops guide he had posted to lead Team Traveller to Sormus. Except, here he was back a full day early with neither hide nor hair of his charges to be seen, wincing from a large number of scrapes and dents covering his chitinous body.

"Oi, hurry up and get the medics in here!" the Dragalge cried. "He's injured!"

At once, a trio of Luvdisc swam over to begin inspecting the Kabutops' wounds. News travelled fast among the rest of the clan, as a gathering of Pokémon young and old quickly formed about the battered crab. Throughout the seawater, uneasy murmuring floated about of what could have befallen the Rock-Type to make him return so suddenly.

"Dimitri, what happened?" Viktor asked. "And where are the _deti?_ "

"A pair of Imperials ambushed us as we came out from Spirit Trench! I tried to outswim them, but they forced us into a Subway tunnel and collapsed it with a landslide," the Kabutops explained, nervously rubbing the edges of his scythes against each other. "The last I was able to see was that they chased Team Traveller into the Crystal Mangroves."

The fossil Pokémon's explanation drew shocked gasps and cries of dismay from the gathered Pokémon. The _Empire_ had already found out about the children? But all of them had expected that they were still in the dark about Team Traveller! And if the team was all the way in the _Crystal Mangroves_ and Dimitri was _here_...

"Dimitri, I _told_ you not to go too far east on the way over!" Viktor snapped.

"And you just let the Imperials go after them?!" Kuda demanded.

"Those Imperials chased me off my original path! And they turned _tail_ , Kuda," Dimitri snapped. "They must have been just as unprepared to head in as I was, since they turned and swam off after they lost the kids."

"… Then that means we still have time to find them," Viktor said.

Puzzled burbles floated about the gathered sea creatures. Their gazes shot between each other before settling on their leader, hoping for some clarification.

"Eh? _Ataman_ , what do you mean by that?" a Lumineon asked.

"What I mean is that those Imperials gave Pleo and his friends a head start for getting away," the Dragalge explained. "If they had to prepare, it means they'll have to go _back_ in order to _get_ prepared, which we can use as a chance to find the _deti_ before they do."

"Eh?!" the Whiscash burbled in protest. "But what about the Market Day-?"

"Keep your priorities in order!" the Poison-Type snapped. "There will be other Market Days, there _won't_ be another shot at getting that _chayka back!_ "

The Dragalge's outburst quickly quieted down any would-be protesters, but even so, skeptical looks floated here and there among the gathered Pokémon. After a tense silence, one of the Luvdisc healers grew emboldened enough to raise an objection.

"But _Ataman_ , surely you don't mean for _all_ of us to go along!" the Rendezvous Pokémon insisted.

"Yeah, our own kids aren't all 'hunter' material!" the Milotic objected. "And we'll lose our spot at the grounds if we all leave!"

"For crying out loud, use a little common sense!" Viktor groaned. "Everyone who is _able_ to make it into that dungeon is coming. I'll expect the rest of you to hold down the fort and try and salvage what you can from Market Day."

"Should we tell the other _Atamanov_ about this?" a Relicanth offered. "If they knew what was going on, I'm sure they'd help with _this_ Protector, too."

" _No._ Before today, I thought that it was only the Company that we had to worry about," the Dragalge rebutted. "Clearly, the Empire also knows about this Protector, and they've been watching this town. If we keep things to our _rod_ , it will be a lot easier to disguise."

A chorus of affirmations rose up in response to the Dragalge, though before they could drag on, they were cut short by a huff and a motion of the seahorse's fins for silence.

"Now, hurry up and get moving!"

Once again the resting grounds of the _Khranitel Rod_ flew into a whirlwind of activity, if of a sort entirely different from the one just moments before. The goods for Market Day were largely sidelined and stowed away. In its place, seeds, orbs, and other tools for the arduous work of prowling through Mystery Dungeons were dug out in preparation for a visit to the distant dungeon. Even Dimitri, still stinging from his wounds set about preparing, bothered all the while by a nagging dread that he shared with the clan's Dragalge leader as he started to swim away.

" _Ataman_ , will this really work?" the Kabutops asked. "I mean, we all know what lies at the other end of that place…"

Viktor twitched his fins uneasily, a grim look coming over his eyes. After a pregnant pause, the sea dragon shook his head, giving a resigned sigh.

"Let's just hope they haven't reached land yet."

* * *

High above the _Khranitel Rod_ 's grounds on the seabed, at that time, a flotilla of swimming Pokémon and their passengers in white scarves with red saltires made their way into the atoll. The group was waved along by a group of guards posted at an inlet, who allowed the group into the lagoon. There, an elderly Clawitzer swam out ahead, making a beeline for a frigate tied up against a simple wooden dock.

As Nagant neared, she noticed that the ship seemed uncannily empty above the waterline… only for the sound of shouts to draw her attention to the beach. The shrimp turned her head and saw her crew cavorting on the beach: sunbathing, digging up the sand, playing games with one another. Every manner of childish pursuits one could imagine, all of which swiftly came to a blanching end as Nagant and her flotilla passed, prompting the crew to take a hasty turn to made-up busywork on the dock and frigate.

"… Looks like the others were hard at work while we were out," Berecien sighed. The Clawitzer gave an annoyed twitch of her feelers followed with an aggravated groan.

"Ugh… the things I have to put up with from this crew…"

The Clawitzer shook her head and clambered up some netting dangling over the side of her ship onto the deck. There, she propped herself up onto her tail, and gave a skeptical scowl as her Beedrill first mate flitted over to check on her.

"Jun, what is going _on_ here?" Nagant demanded. "I'm leading an expedition to snag a _god_ , not a pleasure cruise!"

"In their defense, we started running out of things to do for the members of the crew who couldn't swim after the second day," the Beedrill buzzed. "There's only _so_ much intel that can be gathered from the nearby ferals."

The Clawitzer twitched her feelers before giving a begrudging sigh. Jun did have a point, and it sounded like in spite of the poor first impression, perhaps he and the crew _had_ discovered something of value.

"So you _have_ learned something, then?" she asked.

"Well, we've restocked the ship in case we need to make a longer leg," the Bug-Type said. "And we sent in some of our own around the atoll and into Braveshoal to try and get a feel for what's been going on…"

"And…?"

"Erm… well, we didn't really pick up anything consistent with a 'flying sea god'," he admitted. "The closest we picked up was that a 'Blue Fairy' apparently passed through lately. She's apparently some manner of mystic that these sea Pokémon revere."

"That's hardly a new development," Nagant scoffed. "Talk of this 'Blue Fairy' has been going on for years."

"Well, we _also_ got a couple reports of Commissioner Lyn being sighted in town earlier this morning..." Jun began.

Nagant waited for her First Mate to continue when the sound of ruffling feathers and whispers reached her ears. There, up in the rigging were a Pidgeotto and a Togetic, whispering to a Drifblim latched onto the ropes about what happened on Mengir and if 'Captain Nugget's' talk with Jun was leaving anything out. The Clawitzer huffed and shot out a pressurized pulse of water, narrowly missing the three with startled squawks and drawing their attention back down to the deck.

"Some tact with your mouths would be appreciated," Nagant growled. "'Loose lips sink ships', and there will be a special place in the afterlife for the idiot whose lips sink mine."

The three yelped apologies and hastily flew off from the rigging, retreating to a safe distance outside of earshot. Even so, the three's curiosity continued to linger, as the trio continued to sneak glances at Nagant as she carried on with Jun.

"And just how do you know that, Jun?" Nagant prodded. "It's not as if Lyn would swim in here with his Company Lavenders."

"We heard the name being thrown around, and there was apparently a Samurott that swam in from the outside today," the hornet explained. "It just seemed to logically be intertwined."

The shrimp captain paused and wriggled her mandibles reflexively. Jun's logic admittedly wasn't ironclad proof, but even so there was reason to think that the Beedrill was onto something.

"Hrm... That _would_ match up with what we found out from our end..."

"How so?"

"The Board arrived in port shortly after we made landfall on Mengir, and Lyn set off on his own in the direction of Braveshoal afterwards to meet up with a contact," the shrimp answered. "Berecien and his friends helped me track them into the village fort, where we were able to listen in on their meeting after some guards 'loaned' us their scarves."

"Eh? The entire Board meeting in that little hamlet?" Jun asked. "What on earth was going on there?"

"They apparently had just missed capturing the Protector. Based off what I overheard, it sounds like he slipped away with an injured wing," Nagant said, moving a claw pensively under her mandibles. "I'm not sure if the Admiralty already knows about it or not, but there's also some degree of friction going on within the Board itself."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Administrator Darzin apparently had a falling out with his peers some time ago," she explained. "He accosted us while we attempted to follow Commissioner Lyn out of port, and strong-armed us into working with him to retrieve the Protector."

Jun gave a startled buzz, and even a couple nearby sailors paused from their work to stare blankly at their captain. She'd done _what_ with a Company Administrator?!

"Bzzt! _Mwo?!_ " Jun cried. "But Captain Nagant, that's-!"

"Something that will _stay_ a matter of this crew and our crew alone until I see a need to change that," Nagant chittered. "I don't trust that Dragonite further than I can throw him, but he's ready to defect from his position, _if_ he has the right incentive."

With her smaller claw, Nagant retrieved Darzin's shed scale and held it up to her crew, the shining orange tarnished by a streak of dull red: their safety net, in case the deal went south. After it'd been acknowledged, she stowed it back in her bag for safekeeping.

"More importantly, we learned from that meeting that the Sea Guardian's escape route leads through here," Nagant said. "Which is why you were hearing reports of Commissioner Lyn's presence here."

"The sea god must have gone another way," Jun murmured. "None of the crew have reported seeing any sign of him."

"I _know_ what I heard, Jun," the Water-Type harrumphed. "And what you're telling me just isn't adding up…"

The Clawitzer twitched her feelers tentatively, moving her little claw near her mandibles deep in thought.

"We _must_ be overlooking something…"

As Nagant mulled, she overheard some surprised cries coming from the water. The crustacean turned and watched as Cyanea and Katyusha limped along in the water for the frigate, covered in cuts and scuffs.

"Gah… that crab hit harder than I thought."

"And just what happened to you two?" their Clawitzer captain demanded.

The Tentacruel and Sharpedo froze, watching as their peers turned curious glances at them. The pair quietly fumbled for explanations as chatter started to swirl and Nagant's gaze hardened more and more into a fixed glare.

"Er… just a little scrap with a school of ferals," Cyanea answered, giving a sheepish wave of her tentacles. "It's nothing major."

The shrimp captain leveled her firing claw at the two escorts. The chitinous flaps at the end opened, ready to accommodate the backblast from a pressurized shot of water, evidencing the thinness of their owner's patience.

"I distinctly heard you two mention a 'crab' earlier," Nagant hissed. "I'm _not_ in the mood for games right now, so I'll ask again: what happened to you two?"

The duo glanced at one another nervously. It seemed they'd been cornered... Katyusha looked at her partner expectantly grudgingly, coming to a sinking realization that they had no choice now but to tell the truth. Tensing herself in preparation for the backlash she'd receive, Cyanea corrected herself:

"... We found the god you were looking for and went after him on our own," the Tentacruel admitted.

" _What?!_ "

On deck, in the sea, and in the air, Cyanea's admission drew an outpouring of startled cries and questions. Even Nagant was taken aback for a moment, the shrimp having to take a moment to shake her head and compose herself to return to her normal, cantankerous demeanor.

"Cyanea, I want an explanation for this, _now._ "

"W-We saw him and his friends leaving town while we were at Soapy's!" Cyanea interjected, only to be met with a prodding correction from her partner.

" _Sophie's…_ "

"Whatever!"

While the Tentacruel and Sharpedo continued arguing about the name, their admission made the Beedrill first mate fly up with a start. All this time, they'd been so close to the Protector they were searching for and these two had kept quiet about it?!

"Cyanea, why didn't you _tell_ us about this?!" Jun buzzed.

"It was then or never!" the Tentacruel exclaimed. "If we had gone back to the ship and alerted the crew he would have slipped away for sure!"

"Well, you don't have the Lugia with you," Nagant scoffed. "So I don't think it made much of a difference."

"Captain," Katyusha began. "That's-"

The shark was interrupted with the sound of a splash and a moving, angry presence in the water. Captain Nagant had leapt into the water and was now directly in front of her, the Clawitzer glaring into the Sharpedo's eyes.

"Quite enough from both of you," Nagant interrupted. "I don't believe everything in that little story you just gave me, but I'm feeling gracious, so I'll cut to the chase. _Where_ did you lose him?"

"Just outside the Crystal Mangroves, he swam into the fog from the side," the shark explained. "So he's somewhere in there now."

The uproar from the nearby crewmates swiftly returned at the mention of the 'Crystal Mangroves'. Cyanea and Katyusha had lost the sea god _there?_ Eager to bring thing back under control, Nagant suddenly braced her shooting claw and aimed it skyward, firing a shot of water into the air with a resounding crack which echoed off of the ship's timbers. As the crew's other conversations came to an immediate halt and their peers from the dock were drawn to the gathering, she turned to address her newly-captivated audience.

"Alright, listen up everybody," the crustacean barked. "I need you all to double back into town and pick up any items you can use for battle. We leave port as soon as they're on the ship!"

"Eh?" a Salandit asked. "But we already loaded up this ship!"

"Yeah, what's the deal with suddenly us suddenly needing more?" a Vespiquen added.

"Because the area around the Crystal Mangroves isn't some quiet beach you can sunbathe on!" the wizened shrimp spat. "There's good odds we're going to have to fight, and you'd _better_ be prepared for it!"

A sober silence settled over the gathered crew, as the gravity of the situation became apparent. Without further prompting, the Pokémon set off: some to the sea, others to the town beneath the waves, some back aboard to clear space for the extra cargo, and still others to the docks to hurry aboard the last of the frigate's cargo. As the Imperial ship slipped back into the normal hubbub of a hasty departure, Nagant's first mate turned to his grizzled captain, something about her mannerisms striking the Beedrill as odd .

"Just how much firepower are you expecting us to need, Captain?" Jun asked. Nagant paused and cast a look over the horizon, before giving a grunting shake of her head.

"Knowing that accursed island the dungeon's attached to, the more the better."

* * *

Back in the Crystal Mangroves, Team Traveller's climb had taken them to a floor where the paths and surroundings jutted off through foggy space at odd angles. In spite of going up, around, and even upside down, the pull of gravity always seemed to be bound to the ground underfoot. More concerningly, the team also found that a number of the paths seemed to loop in onto themselves, which started to stir up uneasy whispers about their Growlithe guide's directions.

"Elty?" Pleo murmured. "Are we lost?"

"No, we're not _lost_ ," the Growlithe huffed back.

"But we passed by that branch thirty minutes ago!" Nida exclaimed.

"Some things just look similar around here, okay?" Elty sighed. "Just trust me, I know what I'm doing."

" _Gardie_ , if you don't tell us what's going on, how are we supposed to help get _out_ of here?" Guardia hissed.

"Oi, _I'm_ the one who got us this far," Elty growled. "So just butt out and let me lead the way, unless you fancy bumbling around this place for who knows how much longer!"

The Cubone gritted her teeth and stamped her feet irately. After everything they'd been through, this mutt had the _gall_ to lead them along on what for all anyone knew was just a wild goose chase?!

"Grr! Butt out of _this!_ "

The Cubone lowered her head and charged the Growlithe, striking him in the the face with a loud yelp. The Fire-Type flopped backwards onto the marshy ground, before wobbling back up to his feet and lowering his body to lunge back-

_Click_

"Hey what the-"

Elty suddenly dropped out of view, a series of pained yips and the sound of something thunking onto the ground sounding throughout the dungeon. The racket echoed around the area before fading out, leaving the rest of Team Traveller staring blankly in shock.

" _Elty!_ "

The three quickly darted over to the hole and peered down it. There, they saw their Growlithe teammate uneasily righting himself at the end of a stony flight of stairs, still wobbling from his sudden fall.

"Eh?! He fell down the stairs!" Pleo exclaimed. "Quick, this way!"

The rest of Team Traveller hurried down the newly-revealed staircase after their fallen companion. As they rushed to the floor below, something clicked in Nida's head, slowing her pace somewhat as she realized that something was amiss.

"… Hey, wait a minute," Nida murmured. "The stairs between floors aren't hidden like this..."

The Nidoran crept down the steps, her Lugia and Cubone companions following close by. There, much to their surprise, they discovered that just behind Elty was a patch of thick fog. The Growlithe, still shaking sense back into his head, also seemed to grasp the enormity of his accidental discovery.

"Gah… Like I was _saying_ , bonehead. I've got this," Elty groaned. "So are you going to let me lead or what?"

"… Urgh. Fine," Guardia huffed. "But something feels weird about this place."

Team Traveller gathered around behind Elty and began to march into the fog, the sounds and the sensations of their floor quickly vanishing into the ever-thickening haze. The visibility whittled down until- as usual for passages from the Distortion to stable areas- it began to clear along with the filtering of sounds and smells of the next area. A sniff revealed the faint whiff of food, as well as the sound of voices up ahead. The four children tensed themselves as they saw a ring-like shape floating off up ahead, bracing themselves for sudden battle.

"Good afternoon, and congratulations! You've found the Crystal Mangroves' Secret Bazaar!"

The four Pokémon traded confused looks and darted out ahead, where there waiting for them was a Klefki hovering over a pink cloth mat spread over the marshy ground of a forest clearing. A quick look about the clearing revealed a Happiny on a green mat with potted berry bushes and a bowl set out on a stump table, and to the side a Snorlax dozing on a red mat ringed by burlap sacks. Wait a minute! Were these-?

"Wait, are those _shops?_ " Guardia asked. "What are they doing here in a dungeon's stable zone?"

"Since when did being in a dungeon ever stop shops? The Merchantry gouges Pokémon in them all the time," Elty countered.

"But that's _in the dungeon_ ," the Cubone insisted. "And there's always one of those green lizards who will knock you into next week for taking something off their mat!"

"Well it would be hard to do the work we do if we had to tear down and rebuild our shops every few hours," the Klefki chuckled. "It makes it well worth being a little out of the way for both us and our more adventurous customers!"

The Klefki waved an arm and bade the youngsters to follow after him. The Key Ring Pokémon led Team Traveller into the center of the chamber, where they saw that there were two additional mats in the room, colored blue and yellow respectively. The lot were staffed by shopkeepers who gave cheerful greetings and invitations to the wayward wanderers to come and pay their mats a closer look.

"I heard back home that there were places like these hidden in dungeons. But this is the first time I've ever been to one myself!" Nida exclaimed. "That said… what exactly _do_ you sell here?"

"All kinds of things! For example the Happiny at the green mat over there sells food to either fill your belly or heal you up," the Klefki explained. "Or, on the blue mat over there, the Minccino there can get any of your items cleaned that were affected by Sticky Traps."

"Uhm… Is there anything that would help us to get an Escape Orb working?" Pleo wondered. "We came into the dungeon the wrong way and I think we broke it."

"Oh, so you're looking for a way out?" the Klefki guide asked. "Try talking with Bech. He's the Ribombee on the yellow mat with the red panel over there."

The Klefki jangled his keys in the direction of the yellow mat with the Ribombee. Nida scrutinized the makeshift shop, which beyond a seat and a red cloth screen along one of the earthen chamber walls seemed to be completely bereft of anything to sell, much less help a team escape a dungeon. Still, the guide had insisted this "Bech" could help... perhaps it was best to give him the benefit of the doubt?

"Thanks for the tip," Nida said, giving a thankful bow of her head. "We'll visit him right away-"

"Oi, spike ball, hurry up!" a yipping voice cried. "Some of us want to get _out_ of here!"

Nida turned her head and saw Elty sitting in front of a flustered-looking Ribombee, wagging his tail impatiently. The Nidoran traded glances with her teammates before they too made their way over to the yellow mat as the Fairy-Type sized them up.

" _Conas atá sibh_ , young ones?" the Fairy-Type buzzed. "Had enough exploring for a day today, huh?"

"Oh?" Pleo began. "Well, we actually haven't spent all that much time ex-"

" _Yes._ "

"Well in that case, I can take you through my trademark secret passage and back out onto terra firma," Bech said, starting to trail off before straightening up and clearing his throat. "For a price, that is."

Each team member's face soured at the mention of money. Desperate as they were, they only had so much Poké to spend… Would they even be able to afford this mysterious Pokemon's services?

"How much are we talking about here?" Nida asked.

"Well it varies from case to case," the dungeon guide replied. "But for you… I'd say… 100 Poké."

The entire team paused, unsure if they'd heard the Bug-Type correctly. Only a hundred Poké? Could he really offer a measly price like that for such an invaluable service?

"… I may not know a whole lot about pricing, but isn't that supposed to be not that big of a number for those coins of yours, Nidoran?" Guardia questioned.

"It _isn't_..." Nida answered, before turning back to the Ribombee proprietor. "Why are you charging so little for this, Bech?"

"Well, my job is to help out Pokémon who would normally be stuck in here, so if my customers need a little slack, I'll try to give it when I can," the Fairy-Type explained. "It's a rough world out there at times, and I figured that a bunch of worn-out kids like you could use a break from it."

"Sounds good enough for me," Elty grunted. "Give him the money, spike ball. I could go for seeing some proper sunshine right about now."

Nida rooted through her shoulder bag and set down a pair of misshapen coins onto the mat. The Ribombee snatched up the glinting baubles and stuffed them into a small pouch tucked under the corner of the mat before coming to a stop in front of the rounded panel at his shop's end. The Fairy-Type gave the display a firm knock, sending it tumbling down, and revealing the arch of a stony tunnel behind it.

"And there we go," the Ribombee said. "Follow me, we'll be out before you know it."

"Hey wait a minute, you charged us 100 Poké to go through a tunnel that was right in front of us?!" Elty exclaimed. "What sort of rip-off is- Ow!"

Elty yelped in pain as he felt something wrench his right ear. The Growlithe pulled his head back, and saw that a fuming Guardia had latched onto it with her claws.

" _Enough Gardie,_ " she snapped. "Let's just follow the nice bee and _replace my bone_ already."

Not needing a further hint, Elty pulled his head back and begrudgingly decided to table his objections to Bech's fee, leaving Nida to fold her ears back with a frustrated shake of her head. The bee gave a puzzled look before shrugging his shoulders and bidding the four youngsters to follow after him, leading the party deeper into the earthen tunnel and off towards what they hoped would be the end of their ordeal.

* * *

"See anything you like, Crom?"

After leaving Mengir's green-sanded beaches, Crom and his companions' search for work to do around town took them to the domed Guild Hall of Fensedge Village. There, under the central chamber's dome, Crom scanned a message board sparsely flecked with illustrated papers with mission descriptions on them. The morning rush had evidently left the board bare, and one constant seemed to characterize the still-unclaimed missions.

"Uh… well, a lot of these look kinda tough…"

"Searching for some ferals accused of battery… Crate hunting on the thirtieth floor…" Kiran muttered, before giving an exasperated shake of his head. "Everything here that will get us as much money as we need is stuff that's way outside our rank."

"What about that one with the apple over there?" Pladur offered, gesturing with his claw at a mission notice for an all-too-familiar mission of gathering apples.

The suggestion immediately drew a chorus of groans and exasperated looks. Even out here, was it really that impossible to avoid apple-picking?

"Uhm… I mean, I suppose apple-gathering is something any Pokémon could do," Ander sighed. "But with a reward like that, we could work until our grandchildren are in their autumn years, and we _still_ wouldn't have the money we need."

"But there must be something we can do…" Crom murmured.

"But Guildmaster Stewart, this is important!" a slightly agitated voice protested. "What do you mean you can't list my mission?"

"Huh?"

The little Druddigon turned around, where he saw in the neighboring hallway, a Mienshao in the garb of a First-Rank Company grunt trying to sway an elderly Sawsbuck.

"I'm sorry, Hertsog. But guild policy is guild policy," the Sawsbuck replied. "You _know_ how we feel about bending our rules, especially if it's not for a good reason."

"Stewart, this is my last opportunity to ask for help!" the Fighting-Type pleaded. "Surely _that's_ grounds for shifting the guild's rules a little?"

Crom peered at the Mienshao as he continued to try and persuade the Sawsbuck guildmaster. The Druddigon initially thought to turn away and leave the Company Pokémon's problems remain his own. But… the weasel seemed to be particularly affected by whatever he needed help with. As member of a Rescue Team, wasn't it his job to help Pokémon in the Fighting-Type's place?

"Eh? What's the mission that you're trying to post?" Crom called out.

Hertsog and Stewart exchanged glances. The Sawsbuck's stern expression softened as he saw this issue begin to resolve itself, and he bowed his head in salutation before turning to leave.

"I'll leave you be for now," the Guildmaster said. "It looks like you won't need my help after all, Hertsog."

The Sawsbuck trotted off, leaving Crom and his companions to make their way over to the Mienshao. The Fighting-Type sized up his audience, and upon noticing their fellow First-Rank scarves, started to develop a skeptical glimmer in his eyes.

"Eh?" the weasel asked. "Shouldn't you all be at work?"

The four Pokémon all began to stammer a different excuse before catching themselves and trailing off awkwardly. After some clumsy glances to one another, Pladur cleared his throat and tried to offer a suitable explanation.

"Uh… we're from a crew that's just passing through?" Pladur answered sheepishly. "You don't have to worry about us shirking from work if that's what you're talking about."

"Fair enough, and I don't believe I'm in much of a position to be picky about my help…" Hertsog sighed. "Who are you all anyways?"

"Well, I'm Pladur," the Fraxure said, before pawing at the Druddigon beside him. "And this is my son Crom."

"I'm Kiran," the Swellow added, raising a wing in greeting.

"And I'm Ander," the team's Scyther buzzed, giving a flicker of his wings. "We had a bit of ship trouble and had to cover some repairs out of our own pocket."

Hertsog brought one paw to his chin, regarding the party dubiously. It seemed to be almost too convenient that they should show up right when they did... but - he reasoned - there was no point being so suspicious when they were essentially his only hope here.

" _Razbiram_. Anyhow, I'm Hertsog," the Mienshao said. "Until recently, I was the Captain of the Guard in this town, but there's been a bit of an incident that led to my reassignment. As such, I wanted to give back to this town before I got sent to Vollezee for my new assignment."

"Eh?" Crom asked. "But then why didn't that Sawsbuck want you to post your mission here?"

"Well, it's because it's not exactly a request for something to be done in the dungeon," Hertsog answered. "I wanted to get some help to repair something that I and a lot of folks around here have been putting off."

"Hrm?" Kiran murmured. "And what would that be?"

"The shrine to our local Protector. It's up on the path going up to the Mystery Dungeon and badly needs renovation," the Fighting-Type explained. "I'd be willing to offer 4000 Poké if you can get the job done before I leave."

Crom, Kiran, and Pladur's eyes lit up at the mention of the reward. This Mienshao was offering so much just for a little construction work?

"4000 Poké?" Pladur asked. "Why, for that much, of course we'd be-"

"No! Absolutely not!"

The three turned and stared at Ander with stunned silence. The Scyther reeled back, and shot a glare back at the lippy Fraxure.

"I'm _not_ dipping my scythes into this matter," the mantis hissed. "You _know_ what those shrines mean to Marked like me, Pladur. We can get that 4000 Poké in the dungeon like a normal team-"

The Scyther's rant was abruptly cut off by a pained squawk from the main chamber. The group turned its attention to the room, where in the center, a haggard looking Pipikek and Pidgey were helping up a Fletchling after tumbling onto the floor. The three were covered in scuffs from battle, and all were evidently too exhausted to take wing.

"I _told_ you that you shouldn't have gone off on your own," the Pipikek said.

"Hey, it still- Ow!" the Fletchling winced. "It still worked out, right?"

Ander looked uneasily at the young team of Pokémon. While it was surely just coincidence, that was not a promising omen for going into the dungeon. The mantis turned his gaze back to Hertsog, where he noticed the Fighting-Type giving a shake of his head

"… I can understand if you don't want to take my mission, Scyther," Hertsog responded. "But you weren't seriously thinking about going into the dungeon with your team in your present condition, were you?"

"Hrmph. And why not?" Ander demanded.

"The ferals here have been more aggressive since even before the Empire's collapse, and they have a tendency to bend the rules with regard to the Pact's protections," the weasel explained. "I couldn't in good conscience recommend a team in your condition head in there."

A sinking realization began to settle over the four Pokémon as Ander hesitantly racked his brain for an alternative. Regardless of whether or not they turned down Hertsog, his mission was the safest and most plausible opportunity they had to help scrape together the funds they needed get the Siglo Swellow seaworthy again in time. The longer they waited, the more likely it was that Lyn and the Company would beat them to the punch for finding Pleo.

"… Is there really nothing at all that would convince you to take this mission, Ander?" Kiran murmured.

"I- I mean, this really isn't something that I'm taking glibly, Kiran," the Bug-Type buzzed.

"But- But you said you'd help us out back at the ship!" Crom insisted. "Please, Ander, we really need your help!"

The Bug-Type paused and looked away. After an uneasy moment of silence and tapping his blades together, the Scyther sighed and reluctantly looked back at his teammates.

"… Fine. Given our circumstances, it doesn't look like we have many realistic alternatives," the Scyther begrudgingly replied. "I'll make the materials you need, but I will _not_ stick my scythes deeper into this matter. What you do with them afterwards is none of my business."

"It looks like we're in, Hertsog," Kiran chirped. "We'll head out right now-"

"Hold on a minute," the Mienshao interrupted. "I admire your sense of punctuality, but there are a couple of important matters that I feel need to be cleared up first."

"Huh, what do you mean?" Pladur asked.

"The first is that I unfortunately don't have materials for you to work with," the Fighting-Type explained. "I gave a larger reward than normal since I anticipated that whoever fixed the shrine might need to get some on their own… It's admittedly a bit of a squeeze if you're trying to stretch your reward money."

"I'm sure we'll manage, we've been stretching our money just to patch up our ship," the Fraxure answered. "Though what was the other thing you were going to mention?"

"Namely, that I'm going to be swamped with work from preparing for my reassignment which comes in two days," the weasel explained. "I'll still try to make it up to the shrine to help, but if you don't see me there, that's the reason."

The four stated back at Hertsog blankly. While it was never wise for a Rescue Team to harangue its client with questions... just how were they supposed to fix up the shrine without someone who was familiar with it helping?

"Er… that could be a bit of a problem," Kiran groaned. "You're the one who knows about the shrine better than any of us here. Do you at least have something we could use in your absence."

"I'll try and see if a few of my old subordinates can help, but in the meantime, take these."

The Mienshao rooted through a shoulder satchel, and pulled out a small stack of dog-eared papers. On them were drawings of a monolith with a pair of nearby pavilions, sporting motifs of trees and a blue stag with rainbow horns.

"It's admittedly not a whole lot, but surely a visual reference is better than nothing," Hertsog sighed.

"I think we can work with that," Kiran chirped. "We'll head out to the site now to get an idea of what's needed."

"Yeah, we'll get that shrine looking as good as new before you know it!" Crom cheered.

Hertsog opened his mouth to reply, but faltered before he found the words. The task he'd laid out for his new allies was already such a longshot; perhaps it was best not to get their hopes up on the matter...? On the other paw, their hearts _were_ in the right place. With the zeal they'd already showed for the job, it would be downright counterproductive to shoot them down before they'd even taken off.

"I'm sure that you will," Hertsog said, a small smile creeping over his muzzle. "Thank you, and good luck."

The Mienshao crossed his arms, retaining his supportive smile as he watched Crom and his party fade into the distance. As they rounded a corner out of his sight, his expression deflated, shaking his head to himself with a heavy sigh.

"You'll need it."

* * *

As Crom and his teammates started their journey off into Mengir's interior, Team Traveller's journey out of the Crystal Mangroves wound down under Bech's guidance. The Ribombee took the four through a winding path in the dungeon's fog, which at the end cleared to reveal a forest of deciduous trees with their leaves all stained shades of red and orange. Nida, Guardia, and Pleo nosed around, looking about curiously at the wooded surroundings.

"Where _are_ we?" Nida asked.

"Eh? You didn't know? You're on Orleigh," their guide explained. "The town here's a bit scruffy, but it's certainly a place that would scratch your adventuring itch."

Nida blinked and gave a puzzled tilt of her head at the bee's statement. Meanwhile, her partners traded tired looks with one another, their own thoughts more preoccupied with much-needed rest.

"Eh, I personally could use a rest before any more adventures," Elty said. "What do you all think?"

"It _would_ be nice to give my wing a rest..." Pleo added.

"Well, I still want to learn the local lore," Guardia insisted. "But I kinda need a new bone for, well- living."

The group turned to Nida so she could weigh in on the matter, but she seemed hesitant. She stared at the ground, apparently lost in thought, mouth partway open as if her answer was on the very tip of her tongue, but she remained silent.

"Something the matter, Nidoran?" Bech wondered.

"Oh, _no es nada_ ," Nida said. "It's just that I thought this island's name sounded familiar for some reason."

Elty abruptly went rigid at the Poison-Type's words, his fur pricking up. Bech for his part found the Nidoran's words to be similarly disconcerting, as he traded a wary look back to the little rabbit.

"Eh? Would you four need a guide around town?" the Ribombee asked. "It would help you get the lay of the land a bit better."

"Well…" Nida began.

"We'll be fine, I'm sure," Elty hastily interrupted. "Come on, let's get going."

The Fire-Type turned and set off down a dirt path snaking down a hill. The other members of Team Traveller faltered, before relenting and following after. It would be best not to stumble onto a new island with the team scattered, but even so, just _what_ was giving Elty this confidence?

"Elty, what was _that_ all about?!" Nida exclaimed. "This isn't a place we've been before!"

"Yeah, I'd be able to learn about this place _faster_ if I had someone to learn lore from!" Guardia grumbled.

"Considering how hit-or-miss our past guides have been, do we _really_ want to take the chance when at least two different groups of Pokémon are chasing after us?" the Fire-Type demanded.

The three Pokémon paused at Elty's words. Pleo and Nida's minds turned back to their time in Seahive. There, their guides from Team Chasseur had shown them around the town, and even saved their necks on more than one occasion. By the same token though, the team's blind trust in Salvini's guidance had almost led to disaster, even if she ultimately came around in the end. And the less said about their stint with Team Taxonomy, the better...

"I guess that's a good point…" Pleo answered.

"Then let's keep moving-" Elty began, only for the sound of a feline voice to carry along the winds.

"That's it, one at a time, there's plenty of food for everyone."

"Huh?" Guardia asked.

The four turned and crept through a cluster of bushes, where they saw that a large number of scarfless Pokémon had gathered in a clearing. In the middle of the crowd were a Cacturne and a Meowstic bearing orange scarves with a white jawbone design on it, who were freely handing out donuts from a basket.

"See, we take _care_ of the 'mons around our town," the Cacturne reassured.

"Yeah, and we take care of 'mons with our colors even better," his Meowstic partner added. "Join us, and you'll never have to worry about finding food again!"

Team Traveller watched silently as the pair handed out donuts, their stomachs giving envious growls. Guardia in particular seemed particularly enticed, the ring-shaped pastries making the Ground-Type's mouth water and her worries about her bone melt away (if only for a moment).

"If they're just handing that food out, maybe _we_ could get some?" Guardia asked.

"Um. Guardia," Nida answered, flattening her ears out. "I think those are meant for ferals."

"Oi, _I_ was one of your 'ferals' just a week ago!" the Ground-Type shot back. "That has to count for something!"

The Cubone, having been given newfound confidence by her stomach, crept along and slipped into the back of the gathering. A few of the ferals noticed her, and traded puzzled looks, but didn't question the matter as donuts continued to be passed around.

"Bonehead!" Elty whispered. " _Dość tego_!"

"But it's _free food_ -"

The lizard's protest was cut off by the sound of a loud snarl, which made her tumble back with a start. The reptile, now once again aware of her defenselessness, yelped and bolted back to the safety of Pleo's back, as the two orange-scarved Pokémon trained harsh glares on the quartet.

"Hey! Take a hike, you lousy brats!" the Cacturne growled.

"Yeah, this is _our_ group," the Meowstic spat. "Go get your own!"

"Alright, alright, we're going!" Elty yipped.

The Growlithe hastily lead his teammates back to the forest path, and then turned off running. After the four could no longer see the pair from the clearing, Team Traveller took a moment to pause and catch their breath, the shock of their encounter giving way to puzzlement and sour grapes.

"… Clearly the hut-dwellers on this island are very possessive about the alliances they strike with Pokémon that don't wear scarves like them," Guardia growled.

"Eh? But why?" Pleo asked. "Weren't they just trying to be helpful?"

"Sounded more like they were trying to bribe them into joining their team," Nida grumbled, flattening her ears out with an unamused stare. "But if that's so, why were they trying to do that with such a large group?"

"Eh, their team, their rules," Elty said, shaking his head. "No need to worry your prickly head about it."

"But-"

"Let's just keep moving towards town okay?" the Growlithe pressed. "We could all use some rest anyway."

After a look back in the direction of the clearing, the four shook their heads and continued on. The forest was starting to look less and less wild now. The undergrowth grew thinner by the step, and the nests in the trees and burrows on the ground were joined with fields of crops, reed mats, and mailboxes. All signs of an impending approach to a town…

Team Traveller's ears perked up at the sound of a hiccuping voice, which drew their attention towards a lean-to nestled among the trees. Pleo gave a puzzled tilt of his head before waddling forward. What was this shack doing here by itself?

"Shooo… where do we stash the goods?"

Hey wait a minute, that shack wasn't alone! There were a pawful of shops, some attached to residences, including what looked to be a Juice Bar.

"I say we bury our loot on the beach," a Hippopotas said. Its companion, a similarly inebriated-looking Weepinbell took umbrage and countered the creature's assertion.

"No, the woods! Beaches are too cliche!"

An unusually _active_ one for the time of day. But, was this really this island's town? A quick count revealed there were a mere eight structures in the cluster, without any of the expected features of a town attached to it. There was no Guild, no guard outpost, not even a Post Office!

"These eight huts are the entire town for this island?" the Cubone asked, giving a skeptical raise of her brow.

"What? No, this is just a trading post on the outskirts," a Tsareena from behind the bar answered. "A lot of Pokémon around here don't like bothering to go all the way into town for a drink, so some of us brought our businesses out to our customers."

"That certainly isn't how the town on _my_ island worked," Guardia countered. "What's so special about yours that it needs all of this?"

"Eh, sometimes a little more peace and quiet's better for business with the visiting ships in town," the Grass-Type replied. "They can be a bit of a handful to do business with."

"But then where _is_ the town?" Pleo wondered.

"Just keep following the path on the right," she said, motioning at a dirt path continuing under the canopy. "It'll take you to the ridge overlooking the eastern side of Rosequartz Town."

The mention of 'Rosequartz Town' brightened up Elty's eyes, prompting the Fire-Type to give a brief wag of his tail. As soon as Nida noticed her partner's demeanor, the Growlithe stiffened up and became more businesslike before speaking back to the Grass-type bartender.

"Oh trust us," he said. "I'm sure we can't miss it."

Once again, the members of Team Traveller set off, Elty taking the lead with humming as his teammates followed after. All the while, the trip drew uneasy twitches of Nida's whiskers. They were on a new island, knowing nothing about who controlled the place, and here Elty was even *more* comfortable and at ease than he'd been back in Bluewhorl!

"Hey, Elty? Didn't you say you were tired earlier?" the Nidoran asked.

"And what's your point?" the Fire-Type demanded

"You seemed awfully… energetic for someone who was in a hurry to get some rest," she pressed. "What's going on?"

"We almost got killed by bugs, then almost got forced to pick Apricorns for the rest of our lives, and _then_ got stuck at the bottom of the sea over the last couple days," Elty answered. "I think there's nothing wrong about looking forward to some _proper_ rest."

"But, the way you were talking earlier," Pleo murmured, "do you _know_ this place, Elty-?"

Before the little Lugia could finish his question, Guardia shot to attention, calling out to her teammates as she gestured off into the distance with a claw.

"Oh, I think I see it!" she exclaimed.

Nida, Pleo, and Elty turned their heads to the right, where the sight of a seaside town at sunset caught their eye. The settlement seemed to be a little larger than Bluewhorl, though its buildings were primarily composed of dark stone with slate roofs, punctuated by the occasional painted structure in the shape of a Pokémon's head. Smoke curled up from alleyways and ventilation holes, while a number of larger structures flew colorful banners… Perhaps flags of the local rescue teams? Off in the distance, there was the faint sight of a harbor, along with ships shuffling in.

"Whew... looks like we finally made it," Nida sighed.

"Nida! Nida!" Pleo exclaimed. "Look at all those ships in the harbor!"

"Huh?"

" _Go, jū, jū-go, ni-jū_ … Hey, wait a minute, there's almost as many ships as in Mossaisle down here!" Guardia exclaimed. "Why does a smaller town like this need so many?"

Nida blinked and peered off into the distance at the harbor. Although the vista was muddy for the Nidoran's eyes from that distance, she could see that there were indeed far more shapes in the harbor than back in Bluewhorl. But… it's not as if it would be that surprising, would it? The town _seemed_ bigger when they came in...

"… I can't really see them from here, but it's not like there wouldn't _ever_ be reasons for a lot of ships in a small harbor," Nida offered. "Maybe they're here for all those crystals we saw on the way over-?"

"Tch."

"Huh?" the Nidoran murmured. The Poison-Type looked down next to a colorful gambling hall with simple roulette wheels and card tables under a slate roof, where she saw a Floette and Dewpider duo prattling with each other as they passed below..

"I can't believe we have to walk all the way out to the edge of town for the new hangout," the Floette grumbled. "What was wrong with our old one by the seaside?"

"Eh, the captain had to use his share of the booty for _something_ ," the Dewpider countered. "Besides, you can't go wrong with a bit more space, right?"

"I dunno, _I_ for one don't like being made to drag _my_ share of the loot halfway across town just to be able to kick back and unwind," the Fairy-Type said, rolling his eyes.

"Eh?!"

Nida froze and a sinking feeling began to churn in her stomach. She suddenly realized _why_ Orleigh had seemed so familiar to her: Valatos and his friends had marked it as a hangout on their map! With the conversation between the drunks back at the cluster of huts, the ships in the harbor, and with everything they'd seen from this town so far...

There was only one logical conclusion to be drawn.

"This entire town is a pirates' den!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _laghairt_ \- Irish: "lizard"  
>  \- _Atamanov (Атаманов)_ \- Russian: Plural of "Ataman", used here as title of a "clan leader/chieftain" (BGN/PCGN Romanization)  
>  \- _Conas atá sibh_ \- Irish: "How are you"  
>  \- _Razbiram (Разбирам)_ \- Bulgarian: "I understand" (BGN/PCGN Romanization)  
>  \- _no es nada_ \- Spanish: "it's nothing"  
>  \- _Dość tego_ \- Polish: "Knock it off!"  
>  \- _Go, jū, jū-go, ni-jū... (_ _五，十，十五，二十_ _...)_ \- Japanese: "Five, ten, fifteen, twenty..." (Hepburn Romanization)


	48. Do-Gooders

"Eh?! This entire town is a pirates' den!"

As Nida's squeaks lingered in the air, the Nidoran looked back at her teammates, and saw that Pleo and Guardia's faces were etched with the same blank, helpless expression that she had when the realization of everything had set in. They had left that death-trap of a dungeon, only to stumble across a haunt of thieves instead of the restful shelter they had expected. Their last stint with such a hive in Andaku was already bad enough... would they be able to deal with an entire _town_ like that horrid port district?

The Nidoran stared ahead blankly for a moment, realizing that she and her team were on their last legs, and they would be in far worse shape to fend off an ambush. Then there was only one seemingly rational thing to do...

"We need to get out of here," Nida muttered. "There's no way that we'd be able to-"

The Nidoran chanced to move her eyes over towards Elty, and saw that the Fire-type wore an excited grin. A wave of shock crested onto Nida, which Pleo and Guardia quickly picked up on and similarly drew their attention to their canine teammate. The Growlithe's expression quickly melted away into nervous unease after finding himself in the crosshairs of piercing glares.

"Er… why are you looking at me like that?" he gulped.

"You _knew_ about this?!" Nida exclaimed.

"Now h-hold on," Elty stammered, starting to backpedal nervously. "Let's talk this-! Ack!"

The dog was cut off by a tackle from the team's Nidoran leader, sending him tumbling to the ground. Elty yelped as he felt a sharp pinch of his left ear, and stumbled along as the blue rabbit dragged him along into a bush. After the town slipped from sight under the cover of a layer of undergrowth, the Fire-Type felt the grip on his ear release, and wrenched his head away with a vigorous shake and a paw at his now-throbbing ear.

"Agh! Yeesh!" he snapped. "What is your _problem?!_ "

"What is _our_ problem?!" Nida hissed. "You were going to lead us into a town full of pirates! What in your right mind made you think that that was okay?!"

"Because this is where _all my friends are?_ " the Growlithe harrumphed. "Honestly, I held up _my_ end of the deal and kept you in one piece this far. Now I'm back. Why _shouldn't_ I head off?"

"S-So you're just going to _leave_ us?!" Pleo cried. "We don't know anything about this place!"

The answer Elty expected to give was "Of course I am," but his words were caught in his throat. While it was true that he wanted nothing more than to finally return home after this giant mess he'd gotten himself into, he found at least some small part of him doubtful. When he imagined leaving his team in the dust here, he felt... bad. Even if his new companions grated on his nerves sometimes, could he really do that to them?

"It's- It's not like you can't find some other way back in town," he began begrudgingly. "You could join a crew, and-"

The Growlithe trailed off, seeing that his suggestion was drawing nothing other than angry glares and scowls. The Fire-Type cleared his throat, hoping to try and change the subject, only for Guardia to stomp over with her claws balled up into fists.

"I oughta replace my club with one of your bones right _here and now!_ " she snarled. Elty saw no reason to dismiss Guardia's threat as empty or exaggerated. Growling, he hopped back, lowering himself into a battle-ready stance.

"Well _excuse me_ if I'm trying to give you tips!" Elty spat. "If you're going to be like that I'll take _my_ bag back and head off and we can pretend that we never met each other!"

Nida's eyes narrowed, the Nidoran gritting her teeth and twisting her face into a challenging scowl.

" _No._ "

"Say what?" the Fire-Type demanded. The dog crept forward and lunged for the bag, only to spring and pounce on air as Nida hopped back and yank the satchel safely away.

"This bag is staying with _us_ ," the Nidoran snapped. "If you want it so bad, you can suck it up and stay on the team until we're _home._ "

"But- But I've had that since I got my first scarf!" Elty yelped. "You- You can't just walk off with that like it's some cheap trinket!"

"I can do it as easily as you can leave us behind right here," the Poison-Type hissed. "If you want to try and fight us for it, I'll remind you that we've beaten the tar out of you just fine in the past. So _what's it going to be_ , Elty?"

Elty paused and poked his head out of the bush to look at the town in the distance, before turning his attention back to the singed bag on Nida's shoulder. The Growlithe's expression drooped even further, before he finally offered up a response.

"… I'll stay?"

"Could you say that again?" Nida asked. "I didn't _hear_ you."

"Grr… I'll stay," the Growlithe spat. "For _now._ "

"Great. Then let's hurry up and get _out_ of here," Nida grumbled. "Pleo, is your wing feeling any better?"

The Lugia looked down at his bandaged wing, giving a skeptical tilt of his head. It _had_ been a few days… perhaps it had healed by now? In response, Pleo gave an experimental beat of his wings, only to wince harshly and draw his wing back with a pained whimper.

"A-Ack!"

"It's alright! It's alright!" Nida reassured. "We can think of some other way-!"

" _How_ , spike ball?" Guardia demanded. "Even if I _had_ a club right now, if we tried to swim off this island, we'd be easy pickings for any 'mon out in the water who wanted us."

Nida's ears drooped and her expression started to sink at the ex-feral's words. As much as she hated to admit it, the Cubone had raised a good point. Cyanea and Katyusha were both creatures of the sea and both were looking for them. Lyn and his entire crew moved aboard the sea on their ship, and so did the pirates in the port below. If Pleo could still fly, they had some chance of outmaneuvering them, but trying to outrun them on the sea surface…?

It was an impossible task, one that Elty was all too aware of as a smug grin began to creep over his muzzle. After all, if escape right _now_ wasn't a feasible option...

"Looks like we're going into town after all," he crowed.

Nida, Guardia and Pleo shared an apprehensive glance at one another. To spend the night in a den of thieves was almost as bad as roughing it in a dungeon! It was far from an ideal solution, about as far from ideal as Nida could think of, but... did they really have a choice?

"Fine, we'll look for a hostel to lie low in," Nida growled. "But the bag is _still_ staying with me, and don't you forget that!"

"Hrmph, whatever."

Elty and his teammates traded lingering glares with one another. After a pause, the Nidoran set off down the path, followed by the rest of Team Traveller as they began the descent into the foreboding stony town below.

* * *

Elsewhere in Rosequartz Town, Rodion led Hess and the rest of the Iron Fleet along a back alley, ending a five minute-long trek from the docks in front of a skeletal, half-completed building with a thatched roof. It was an unsatisfying structure, located on an unsatisfying plot of land that was unsatisfyingly far from the docks to be convenient, and not nearly mountainous enough to truly make its owner feel at home.

"Well, we're back," the Floatzel said.

But even so, it was still the home of the Iron Fleet. The First Mate pushed the door open, leading a batch of more impatient pirates into a rounded space lined with still-scaffolded walls. There were mats spread out for the crew to sleep on one end, a central area lined with tables next to a small rock garden, and steps down to a padlocked - if ever-bare - basement that was guarded by a dutiful Watchog.

"Omigosh! We have a _base?!_ " a Hoppip with a still-fresh Iron Fleet scarf exclaimed, giddily flitting to and fro. "Just look at this place! There's card tables, and a rock garden, and-!"

"Oh for crying out loud, it's not _that_ great!" Hess spat. "It's still under construction!"

The Aggron buried his head into an open claw, giving it a bitter shake. In normal times, a return to the Iron Fleet's perennially half-completed base would have been welcoming, but after the recent series of debacles, the half-finished walls and unmanned construction scaffolding were cold comfort to the Steel-Type's conviction that fame and fortune were just over the horizon.

"Urgh... I need a drink," he muttered. At once, the eyes of his underlings lit up, and excited chatter floated about the space under the high thatched roof.

"Alright! Now you're speaking my language!" a Litten cheered.

"Just the thing we needed to come back from after a hard mission like that!" a Cherrim added.

Hand-in-hand with a firm brow pinch from their Aggron captain. A damaged ship, an incomplete base, and underlings who cared more about their next swig of rum than actually maintaining their public image. Just the thing he needed to really drive home the feelings of complete and utter incompetence he'd felt as of late...

"Urgh… Claire, get a keg from the vault," Hess groaned, gesturing towards a crude bar fashioned from wooden planks. "I'll be at my usual spot."

There, a waiting yellow-feathered bird with puffy plumes at her wingtips gave a firm salute and headed off to the padlock on the basement door. Hess turned and shuffled off in search of his seat as the Oricorio carried on, followed by some more impatient underlings in their search for a keg of rum. Elsewhere, other pirates had taken seats under the thatched roof, whiling away their time with idle chatter and card games with each other.

The Aggron carried along for his favorite seat perched right beside the rock garden, only for Valatos to swoop in with a buzzing blur settle down right on his seat. Hess' blood boiled, and the Aggron stomped along, ready to paste the Yanmega into the wall for stealing his spot. The Steel-Type neared, only for the bug's Manectric friend to come and claim the seat beside him, followed shortly thereafter by his Marowak partner.

Hess froze, his yearning for his seat having ebbed away when he realized that the only way to get it would be to fight through that bone-headed monster with them, a fight that past run-ins with his kind indicated would only end in a good deal of excruciating agony. The Aggron moved along, his tail pulled tight against his legs, much to the smirking delight of a passing Ledian.

"Looks like I picked a real winner, didn't I?" Kichiro asked smugly. Hess glared and growled back at the Ledian, before coming to a stop at another table in a more secluded corner. The Aggron slumped onto one of the stump-stools and pinched his brow with a deflated sigh, only to feel a shorter creature pawing at his shoulder.

"Mind if I take a seat, Captain?"

Hess looked down, and saw that beside him, his Floatzel First Mate was waiting. A hint of concern seemed to flicker over the mustelid's face, which prompted Hess to accept his partner's request.

"Go ahead, Rodion," the Steel-Type sighed.

"Why the long face? I mean, we've had some obvious… difficulties in the past few weeks with ship damage and an unwanted run-in or two, but the crew's the most motivated I've seen in years!" the Floatzel reassured. "Sure, we left in rougher shape than we ought to have, but our raid on Tromba still got us one of our biggest hauls to date, and we even got to have the last laugh over that crew that gave us the slip in Andaku!"

"Rodion, I came out of Andaku in _debt_ and didn't even get to use my share of the loot on anything for myself," Hess grumbled back. "We're still operating at a net loss of deck hands, and that _thing_ that Kichiro stuck me with doesn't make things any better!"

Hess hung his head and pinched his brow with a claw, giving a grumbling sigh as his mind turned to ever more negative assessments of his current situation.

"There's not a whole lot of ways that things could be _worse_ right now," the Aggron grunted.

"Oi!" a voice from the front called. "Is Hess here?"

"Huh?"

The Aggron looked back at the door to the Iron Fleet's hangout, where a Conkeldurr was waiting. The creature carried a stern, serious expression, much as a bouncer or a loan shark would.

"I've got a summons from the Council for him," the Fighting-Type said. "They say they need to see him in person."

Hess froze. The _Council_ wanted him? The four head pirates who dictated the workings of Rosequartz Town? Among the locals, a summons before the Council was sometimes a sign of great fortune, meaning that they had found favor with a particularly promising captain and wished to reward or start up a collaboration.

The _other_ reason was that the Council wished to punish a captain that had fallen afoul of them. There were any number of fates that could befall such an unlucky soul, many of which Hess had heard of in whispers and dreadful rumors. And the Aggron knew all too well which of the two reasons the council most likely had for calling him.

"Ulp…" he squeaked. "Me and my big mouth."

* * *

"Hup!"

Out on the path leading to Mengir's shrine, the four Pokémon from the Siglo Swellow had been following the trail up deeper and deeper into the woods. Along the way, Crom had been gliding between trees, coming to a perch on their sturdier branches much as he had just a few moments ago. The Druddigon leapt and sailed back down towards the ground, giving a cheery beat of his wings and attracting a scolding chirp from his Swellow team captain.

"Tsk. You ought to be more mindful of your surroundings, Crom," Kiran admonished. "You're 100% more likely to disturb someone's home by clambering up stuff willy-nilly like that."

"Eh? But I haven't seen a mailbox in the last fifteen minutes!" the little Druddigon mentioned. "I don't think any Pokémon from town live here."

The elder Pokémon looked around their surroundings and blinked. Now that Crom had mentioned it, it _had_ been a while since they saw a mailbox, the telltale marker of a town-dweller living in the fringes. Was there something that was special about the path that they were travelling?

"That's strange," Ander murmured. "There's usually still places claimed this far out back home…"

"Maybe it has something to do with the Protector the town has?" Pladur mulled.

"Hrm?" Kiran chirped. "What makes you say that, Pladur?"

"Well, back home, our Protector is a sea god, and our town's main square is right by the sea," the Fraxure answered. "Here, the square is inland. Maybe whatever the local Protector is influenced the way they built their town?"

Ander paused his steady stride to prod at a bit of something on the trail, scowling slightly at whatever was at the tip of his blade. The others gathered around to inspect his find, only to stumble back in shock as they were able to see it: a smooth, brightly-colored fragment of some small shell.

"A-Ander, that's an Apricorn shell!" Pladur cried. " _Cuidado!_ "

"Hrmph. I would think there's some more down-to-earth explanations for where Pokémon live around here," the mantis countered, before flicking away the nut fragment. "It's a stormy island, and Pokémon obviously bring apricorns through here."

"But these Pokémon have had years to change their surroundings… Perhaps the real answer is something in between?" Kiran insisted. "That said, if the Protector _did_ play a role in all of this, I wonder what it's like if the Pokémon settled away from the sea, but also not too far inland."

"Not anything good if even common Pokémon don't want to get too close if you ask me," Ander muttered under his breath.

"Oh, I think I see something!" Crom cried.

Rounding the crest of a hill, a structure finally came into view of the Siglo Swellow's crew. However, the sorry sight before them hardly seemed like it could be the shrine they'd been instructed to find. Barely any of the ruin seemed recognizable as a shrine; it was more like a pile of painted rubble. As the four neared the site, the only signs of a Protector they could find were bits and pieces of some carving depicting some antlered creature. An altar in the middle of a rotting wooden pavilion nearby seemed to have been a spot for Pokemon to leave offerings for the local ferals, but the offering altar was totally caked in dust and mold, like it hadn't seen any donations in years!

"Is… this it?" he murmured.

"It _is_ in the spot that Hertsog told us…" Kiran answered.

"B-But this place is a ruin!" Crom exclaimed. "Why would any town let their shrine get like _this?_ "

"Ah..." Pladur and Ander traded a blank stare, totally befuddled by the state of this island's shrine. Neither one had ever seen a Protector's shrine in such a sorry state of disrepair - not ever, in their entire journey! Just what could possibly have been the cause of this shrine's ruin?

_Shhk-Shhk-Shhk_

"… What was that?" Ander murmured.

Flitting out of the trees nearby came a pack of Beautifly and a Dustox, looking to be in fairly poor shape. They flew in erratic, off-kilter patterns, and their chitinous bodies were scuffed-up and dirty.

"Huh?"

"Oh, it's just a bunch of fera-" Kiran began, only to be cut off by a slicing gust of wind.

"ACK!"

"Wh-What are you doing?!" Pladur exclaimed.

Pladur watched as the Dustox in the group beat her wings and her eyes began to glow. The Dragon-Type felt a force pull on him, yelping as he felt his body leaving the ground for empty air. . The Fraxure desperately flailed as the moth telekinetically drug him into the air , and spat up a blue column of fiery light into the bug's face. The Dustox screeched and let go of her Confusion, sending Pladur flopping back to the ground as both sides assumed battle positions and watched each other closely.

"Grr… what are _we_ doing?" a Dustox spat. "You have some nerve showing your face anywhere _near_ these parts this late, Inkfoot!"

"B-But we're trying to _fix_ the shrine here," Crom insisted. "We're not threatening you at all!"

"Why would you _defilers_ care about this _svetilishte?_ " the ringleader Beautifly hissed. "You stole our god's egg from us!"

The four Bug-Types began to encroach on the Druddigon and his companions, only to be hastily cut off by a buffet of slashes, slicing winds, and gouts of dragonfire. The four insects hastily fell back, and with their confidence of an easy victory shattered and their mind turning back to their lingering wounds, decided to take flight.

"A-Ack!" the lighter-colored Beautifly squealed. "Retreat! Retreat!"

The four Pokemon breathed a sigh of relief as their aggressors flew off, leaving them in relative peace for the time being. As silence settled back into place, one question nagged at Pladur's mind...

"... What just happened?" he asked.

"'Defilers'? Stealing a god's egg?" Kiran murmured. "What on earth were they going on about?"

Ander cast a wary glance back at the ruined shrine. The Scyther paused and mulled, looking back after the direction the four ferals fled in before giving a shake of his head.

"I think I'm starting to understand why this place is abandoned," the mantis muttered.

"But- But not _everyone_ in Fensedge could have been involved in something like that!" Crom exclaimed. "Maybe the ferals just need something to remind them of that?"

Pladur paused and looked warily at his surroundings. Mengir clearly was a place that was very different from Tromba if its townsfolk and the local ferals' behavior were anything to go by. Even if they knew the place better, just what would they be able to give as a reminder that the town hadn't been able to for who knows how long?

Though… perhaps there was one thing that they could try.

"Well... I suppose repairing that _ánima_ would be a good start," the Fraxure said.

"Come on, let's hurry up and figure out everything we'll need to do before it gets too dark," Kiran insisted. "This is going to be a longer mission than I thought."

The four took a final look around the site around to size up the work to be done, keenly watching the lowering sun in the sky and being mindful of presences from the nearby forest. It would be a stretch to get done, but they _should_ be able to get the shrine repaired before Hertsog left, and the Pokémon here on Mengir would surely appreciate having their god's monument restored…

Or so they hoped.

* * *

"Eh?! Didn't we already pass by that drawing a little earlier?"

Pleo gestured at a crude scrawl of a Nidoking in a Company scarf flailing furiously at similarly crude ships around him. The scrawl was accompanied by sloppy runes that were illegible to the young Protector and to his Cubone teammate, but drew some stunned blinking from his Nidoran counterpart. It had been half an hour since they entered Rosequartz Town, and Elty had been tasked to help the group find a hostel. They had passed Juice Bars, gambling halls, and some buildings with red lanterns that were strangely shuttered up in the middle of the day, but all the while they had not found a single hostel.

"Elty, you _said_ there was a hostel around here!" Nida growled.

"There _is_ , alright!" the Growlithe huffed back. "Just get off my case!"

"So why is it taking so long?!" Guardia hissed.

"Because this part of town is a maze of alleys, and I don't have a scent of someone who's gone ahead to _track_?" Elty spat. "Excuse me if I don't remember every single nook and cranny around here-!"

"I saw Captain Sibich hanging out at our old place earlier today chatting up the kids there."

Team Traveller's members stopped in their tracks as the sound of a low voice floated through the air. The four looked around them, when suddenly, from further down the alley, another voice spoke up.

"The Day Care full of Marked kids?" a clucking voice asked back. "He's not _recruiting_ there, is he?"

"Huh?" Pleo murmured. The young Lugia ruffled his feathers uncomfortably, before creeping along in the alleyway, his teammates following along closely behind.

"Well, I mean he has a stake in the place," the lower voice said. "So why not?"

"Because that's super creepy of him?" the bird's voice retorted. "Most of those kids are little ankle biters who are still chewing on crayons."

"Hey, I'm sure whatever he's up to there isn't _that_ bad," a third and raspy voice offered. "He gave _us_ our first jobs when we were younger right? And we turned out fine."

Nida froze and pricked her ears up. As she processed the raspy, reptilian voice in her mind, she realized more and more that she had heard it before. Wasn't this…?

"Wait, that voice…" Nida murmured. "That's-"

Nida tensed up as a Scraggy rounded the corner suddenly. The lizard bumped into her, knocking the both of them backwards with a start. His scarf had changed from the striped blue design with the red arrow on it into a black cloth with a gold, frond-like design, but the Marked comet on his head told all. Following the Scraggy was a Combusken and a Grotle, all three of them sporting the five-tailed comet of the Marked on their heads and going wide-eyed out of shock at the sight of her seabird companion.

" _Ack!_ "

"A-AAAAAAH!" the Scraggy shrieked. "Y-You again!"

"A-Again?! Wh-What do you mean again, Eric?!" the Grotle whimpered. "Y-You mean you _weren't_ high on Lansat back in Andaku?!"

"You're- You're-"

The Combusken looked around frantically, searching for something that she could use against the white-feathered fiend before her. Her eyes found nothing to set alight, nor anything to throw down onto the beast…

Except, she saw that the Cubone with it was without a club and undefended. Impulsively, the Fire-Type threw a claw on the Ground-Type and drug her up by the scruff of her neck with a yelp.

"You're coming with me, lizard!" the Combusken shouted.

"A-Ack! Guardia!" Pleo cried.

"Let her go!" Nida demanded.

"Sela?!" the Scraggy exclaimed. "What are you _doing?!_ "

The Combusken, evidently Sela, blinked incredulously, half disbelieving that her desperate gambit that the white bird saw some value in the Cubone had paid off. The Fire-Type's eyes narrowed, realizing that she now held an effective shield to keep the demon at bay. Her confidence returning to her, the chicken held a claw up to the neck of her flailing captive, the Ground-Type's struggles stilling in blind, wide-eyed terror.

"Getting us _out_ of here!" she answered.

"A-Aah…"

"Not one step further, demon!" the Fire-Type demanded. "Or your friend here gets it!"

"But- But I'm not a demon!" Pleo cried. "I'm not evil!"

"Yeah, sure you are," Sela snorted. "And _I'm_ just giving your friend a playful hug here!"

"Sela, don't _taunt_ it!" the Grotle pleaded. As her captors continued arguing, the Cubone looked desperately at her teammates, shivering and rigid with shock at her mortal predicament.

"G-Guys…?"

"Just let the bonehead go!" Elty barked. "We don't want to fight you!"

"As if! Let me tell you what's gonna happen!" the Combusken snapped. "The three of us are gonna back up and get out of here alongside your little friend here. If we're far enough and you don't follow us, maybe we'll let her go-"

Sela was interrupted by a minty-green claw digging into her shoulder. She flinched visibly, her muscles tensing at the forceful prick of the claws' points under her plumes.

"W-what the-?!"

"This seems far enough, don't you agree?"

The three brigands gulped and looked up behind, where there was the looming, glaring form of a Flygon, the creature's tail swishing impatiently. The Dragon-Type growled lowly and bared his fangs, squeezing Sela's shoulder with his claws.

"Let me tell _you_ what's going to happen," the Flygon snarled. "You're going to let the Cubone go, or you blotch-heads are gonna have bigger worries than your 'demon' there."

The Combusken and her companion's eyes widened and their bodies froze, leaving the three appearing not unlike Deerling about to be struck by a Flash Cannon. The Fire-Type moved her beak weakly, struggling to form a coherent response.

"We- We..."

The Combusken's mind blanked as she stared ahead at the snarling Dragon-Type, not noticing her grip slackening and Guardia wrenching herself free and running behind her teammates for cover. The Flygon leaned in on the petrified bird, flashing his fangs in the Fighting-Type's face.

"I think you three should get out of here," the dragon growled. " _Anois._ "

The Grotle and Scraggy instinctively turned and bolted down a nearby alley, the Dark-Type realizing halfway down that Sela still had not come, prompting him to rush back and tug at the arm of his still-petrified partner.

"Sela, come on!"

The Combusken stumbled back and hastily lurched to her feet, fleeing with the Scraggy as fast as their legs could carry them. The Flygon watched intently as the last of the brigands slipped away, before he shook his head and turned his attention back to the four panting and shaken members of Team Traveller.

"Are you alright?" the antlion asked.

" _Chigau yo!_ A _yajū_ was about to cut my throat just a few seconds ago!" Guardia fumed. "Of course I'm not alright!"

"Er… we could be doing a bit better, yeah," Elty admitted.

"What are you all doing in this part of town anyways?" the Flygon pressed.

"Well… we haven't really found our footing in this town and were kinda looking for a place to stay the night," Nida admitted.

The Flygon cocked his head slightly, eyes turned to the sky, deep in thought. After his moment's consideration, he shrugged and opened her arms in a welcoming gesture.

"Then follow me," the bug-dragon said. "I might be able to help with that."

The four youngsters looked hesitantly among one another, wondering if it really safe to trust a stranger in _this_ town of all places? After a pause, Nida decided to step forward, motivating Pleo, then Guardia, and finally Elty as the Dragon-Type bade them to follow. With the need for rest weighing heavily on their mind and the timely save the Flygon had made, their suspicions gave way to thanks and cautious anticipation as they followed their newfound guide down the warrens of Rosequartz Town.

* * *

Back in Braveshoal Town, the waters surrounding the settlement's web of air tunnels teemed with life. Sea Pokémon of all shapes and sizes flitted about between reefs and stony sunken buildings. A few of the creatures stopped at flooded storefronts set up specifically to cater to them, including a shop lined with metalware stored in a small air pocket in an attic with a space to smith to protect them from rust. There, a Slowbro slipped a pair of glinting metal lumps through the seawater across the counter, to a waiting Clawitzer.

"Here you go," the Slowbro said. "Two badges, as ordered."

The shrimp snatched up the metal baubles, giving each a careful inspection and feel with her mouthparts. The badges were freshly-made, to the point where the metal was still warm to the touch. Barring the obligatory misshapen part here or there, there were no defects, nor impurities. Though one glaring flaw still stood out to the crustacean...

"I was hoping for more," the Clawitzer sighed. "But it'll have to do."

"Eh?" the proprietor asked. "Got a big team for your next mission?"

A dark shadow passed overhead, prompting the Howitzer Pokémon to look up and see the hull of a frigate with the accompanying form of escorts in the water drift by overhead. Her cue that while not ideal, the pair of badges would have to do.

"Something like that, yes," Nagant answered.

The Clawitzer snatched up the badges and hid them underneath her scarf before swimming up, leaving the rapidly-fading reef town below her as she breached the surface. The Howitzer Pokémon surfaced in the middle of a group of her ship's sea escorts, and without missing a beat, leveled her claw and shot a pulsing burst of water at the tip of her Vasilek's center mast.

_Splash!_

The ball exploded into a deluge of water, drawing yelps and whines from the crew aboard. Along with the rude disruption of their calm, Nagant's Water Pulse served to draw the attention of the entire crew, as a sea of eyes on the ship, the water, and in the air focused themselves on her.

"I'm back," the shrimp grunted. "Jun, is everything prepared for the ship?"

"Aye," the Beedrill first mate buzzed back from aboard the ship. "All the armaments have been stocked, Captain."

"Good," the crustacean captain harrumphed. "Then let's hurry and cut to the chase."

One by one, the members of the crew gathered to listen to their captain, along the ship's rails, and around the shrimp in the water. A few grumbles over the sudden drenching floated around, only to be silenced with a hard tap against the hull from their captain's big claw.

"Alright, listen up everyone," Nagant barked. "We're about to sail off to what might be the most important mission any of you have seen in your Indigos, so pay attention and _don't_ make me repeat myself."

The Clawitzer swam away from the hull, gave a hard look at her gathered audience, and buoyed herself upright in the water, taking the opportunity to clear her throat before speaking.

"As you all know, the Protector we've been chasing was sighted going into the Crystal Mangroves," she said. "I wasn't able to get badges for everyone, but there is still plenty of stuff to be done."

Nagant shook her head and turned her body to face Cyanea and Katyusha, gesturing at the pair with her large claw.

"Cyanea. Katyusha. Since you two were so… 'eager' to go on this mission, _you_ two will be the ones to go into the dungeon after the Lugia," the shrimp snapped. "You'll be coordinating with Schuster so that we can set up an ambush that will catch them."

"Oh, so like a Monster House!" a Vespiquen exclaimed. "But without the ferals!"

"… Something like that," Nagant said, rolling her eyes. "As for the rest of you, if you're not on standby to head into the dungeon, I want you either out in the sea, in the Subway routes looking for those kids, or on the ship to keep an eye out for trouble!"

The Clawitzer gave a dismissive wave of her claw before shifting her gaze back to her Tentacruel and Sharpedo underlings from the corner of her eye, giving a grumbling huff.

"And it goes without saying that this is _not_ the time for any stunts for personal glory," the shrimp chittered. "If we're going to _get_ that bird, we're _all_ going to have to work together and do the parts we're assigned. Are we all clear?"

The Tentacruel's bell deflated a bit, the jellyfish blowing annoyed, grumbling bubbles under the surface before reluctantly acknowledging her captain's order.

" _Da_ , Captain…"

"I can't _hear_ all of you!" Nagant repeated. "Are we all _clear?_ "

A chorus of affirmations came at the Howitzer Pokémon's insistence. Satisfied that her orders had been heard by her crew, the wizened shrimp swam out in front of the Vasilek's bow, and gestured up to the deck .

"Good, take the ship hard to starboard," the Clawitzer barked. "We're getting _out_ of here."

The crew quickly flew into a hurry, unmooring the Vasilek as her escorts in sky and sea whipped up currents to speed it along for one of the atoll's exits. All the while, Nagant swam at the front, keenly casting her gaze over the horizon, eager to finally snatch her ticket to rebuilding the lost world of her youth.

* * *

Deep within Rosequartz Town, Hess had been led along by the Conkeldurr messenger into the seaside manor formerly used by Rosequartz's nobles. The gable-roofed chalet was made of stone, its walls covered in painted scrawls and obvious patchwork from past punitive raids on the town. In spite of its battered and diminished appearance, the place still managed to carry an imposing air, weighing down on Hess as he uneasily drew his head and tail close to his body.

The pair made their way through a set of hardwood doors, through an entrance room, and down a hallway. Hess and his guide passed a series of doorways, some barred, others opened to reveal disused rooms that had been picked clean, perhaps once-proud studies or salons. There, the Conkeldurr took the Steel-Type into a darkened chamber, where under an overhead skylight was a table next to a pool surrounded by a motley collection of seats including a stump-stool, a cushion, and a wooden throne. Seated on the respective places were a Primarina, a Tyrantrum, a Cofagrigus, and a Bisharp, all waiting and chattering in indistinct, impatient-sounding voices.

"Break a leg out there," Fighting-Type said. "Or considering your audience, maybe _don't._ "

_Slam!_

As the heavy doors slammed behind him, Hess gulped and inched along. The chamber had been designed as a gathering place in the past, with its high ceiling and a pool connected to the sea evidencing its intent to be accessible to guests of any sort. The four members of the Council had since put the room's layout to good use, gathering around a round table with maps and modest trophies of their exploits lining the walls.

There was Ingela, the cold-tempered and cold-hearted siren of a Primarina who had grown her mate's fleet after his abrupt passing into a scourge above and beneath the waves. On the cushion was Captain Sibich, the Cofagrigus captain who was connected to a good deal of the Marked in port. His reasons for doing so had always remained an enigma, and those from outside his crew who pried too deeply into the matter had a knack for meeting untimely ends. Tarquin of the Strongjaw Gang- the newest member of the Council- was also there. Although the Tyrantrum was by far the least experienced member of the Council, the stories surrounding him painted a picture of a Pokémon who was was every bit as cutthroat as in his days as a Commander for the Company.

"Ahem."

And of course, the Bisharp ringleader, Captain Dirk. The sole holdover from the Council from Rosequartz's glory days under the dread Captain Beatrice. Since her demise, he had fought his way up through cunning and ruthlessness, now the proud proprietor of a fleet of five ships and the first among his peers from Orleigh's current leadership.

With every trudging step forward, uncomfortable thoughts of his own mortality swirled in his mind. If the Council was displeased with him, they could easily pack him into an Apricorn to send him into the Wastes... Or they could trip the rumored trapdoor under their floor that - depending on the teller - supposedly held an inescapable oubliette to starve in, a cistern of water to drown in, or more Apricorns... _Or_ perhaps they might get more direct and reduce him to a stain on the chamber floor, and use his armor as ship cladding...

"You can stop stalling," Sibich said. "We just had a couple questions that we needed you to answer."

"S-So I'm not in trouble?" Hess stammered.

"You will be if you don't _hurry up!_ " Tarquin growled.

"Gih!"

The Aggron hastily darted over to the seated Pokémon and greeted the gathered council. After giving the Steel-Type a nod back, the Bisharp from the group stood and sized up his trembling guest.

"So… we heard that you came into port with some mast trouble after paying a visit to Tromba," the Dark-Type began.

"Er… well, I did, Captain Dirk," Hess answered. "But that was almost a month ago."

"Yes, I _know_ that," the bladed creature replied, glaring sharply. "But some other developments have come up since then, and we wanted to hear from you about what happened."

"Developments?"

"Well, there's the rumor of a god appearing in Boisocéan. The Marked have been trading stories of their own, of a demon prowling the docks in Kenobi…" the Cofagrigus responded, idly whirling one of his right hands. "You know, little things."

"All stories which seem to point to the arrival of a Protector," Ingela added. "If there _is_ indeed one that has just awoken, it provides our haven the opportunity of a lifetime if we can make cause with it."

"So..." Dirk pressed. "What happened out there, Hess?"

"Well, we'd pulled into Tromba after doing a little scouting. My ship's sea escorts sent the local harbor dorks swimming off easily enough, and we landed right in the main square," the Aggron started. "Everything was going just great until that strange bird showed up."

"Tell us about this bird," Tarquin said. "What did it look like?"

"Well, it looked kinda like an overgrown Wingull," the Steel-Type answered. "With a big long neck and tail, blue plates and a crest… Came up to about my belly or so."

The four Pokémon of the council turned and traded skeptical looks with each other. An "overgrown Wingull" that was about the size of a pushover like a Mothim was hardly the description of a mighty Protector...

"Well, that's certainly a… _different_ Pokémon," Sibich muttered. "And how did you run into this 'overgrown Wingull' in the first place?"

"I was heading down one of the paths into the interior trying to get my claws on this local shrine bell I heard about, and ran into him with a bunch of kids and some Nidorina," Hess explained. "I handled the kids just fine, and I had the Nidorina on the ropes, but then that bird suddenly started glowing and it threw me into the air-"

"Stop."

"E-Eh?!" the Aggron exclaimed. "But I wasn't finished!"

"I've heard enough to know when I'm being fed a blatant cover for someone's screwups," Dirk snarled. "And here I thought that this might have actually been something _important._ "

The Steel-Type began to stammer, looking around nervously. Sure, his story might sound a little absurd, but it was _true!_ If the Council called him out here to talk about it, they had to understand that!

"B-But that's really what happened-!" Hess began, only to be cut off by a chorus of snarls.

"Oi, you heard the mon," Tarquin snapped. "Take a hike!"

"You would be wise not to test our patience, Aggron," Ingela growled. "Take a hint, and get _out_ with all your limbs attached while you _can._ "

"Y-Yeek!"

The Aggron turned and bolted for the doors in a blind panic. A loud _crash_ rang out, followed by a yelp and pained whine as Hess nursed his toe claws from stubbing them into the door frame. The creature stumbled out of the doorway, and hastily took off, leaving the darkened chamber to return back to an uneasy, unimpressed silence.

"Unbelievable," the Bisharp grumbled. "Next time, bring some actual _proof_ behind your claims, Sibich."

"Very well, Dirk," the Ghost-Type answered, giving an exasperated sigh. "Though with all due respect, there are some things that you just have to go with your gut about."

The chamber started to clear out of its occupants, Dirk making his way for the door as Ingela shuffled from the pool's edge and slipped under the surface. Sibich too rose up, and started to float over for the exit, only to hear a growling voice call after him.

"Hey, Sibich," Tarquin said. "You didn't _really_ believe that metal-headed screwup, did you?"

"I do, yes," the Cofagrigus replied. "Because if there's one thing that I've learned about this world in my career, it's that there's usually more than meets the eye."

"But Tromba's Protector waking up and turning out to just be some kid? That Pokémon's supposed to be able to shake the heavens and earth like all the other high gods," the Tyrantrum scoffed. "I spent _years_ on that island and that take sounds fishy even to me. What are the odds that story's real?"

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Rosequartz Town, Team Traveller followed their impromptu Flygon guide down a back alleyway, passing stony buildings flecked with grimy shops and similar unseemly customers. The Dragon-Type led the four into a small plaza overshadowed by an apple tree in the center. Behind the tree, there was a wide, low-slung building with two levels and an entrance fortified with sturdy doors and reinforced shutters over windows with crude planters dangling outside.

"Is this what you were looking for?" the Flygon asked. The bug-dragon opened a push-door and bade his accompanying guests enter, the youngsters blinking to adjust to the dimmer light inside.

As their vision began to adjust, the four Pokémon looked around and saw that the antlion had led them into a room with tables lined with cushioned stools and a pawful of benches hewn from rough wood along the wall. In one corner was a desk with some papers strewn about it, and the back wall was a wide entrance to a courtyard surrounded by wings of the building. By chance, the team noticed some stray straw on the floor, which made them instantly perk up in realization.

"Ah!" Pleo cried. "This is a hostel!"

" _Nieważne_ , I could've found it eventually," Elty grumbled.

"Thank you so much for taking us here, Flygon," Nida said. "I don't know what we would have done earlier without you."

"You flatter me, and the name is Rasp. My family and I run this little joint," the antlion replied. "My dad helps fill my vacancies by picking up Pokémon crawling the dungeon and pointing them to this hostel if they need a place to spend the night."

Hold on- did he say his family owned this hostel? Which would mean that...

"You brought us here just so that way you could get money from us?" Guardia asked skeptically.

"Well, we _do_ have a business to run. And you seemed rather tired of trying to find one on your own," Rasp answered with a chuckle. "Call it a symbiotic relationship."

"Well, whatever it is, it's good enough for me," Elty sighed. "I'm beat."

"I've got a little spare time," the Dragon-Type said. "Come along and I'll show you around a bit."

The Flygon ushered the youngsters along, taking them down a windowed hallway ringing the courtyard on the first floor as the group passed doors that had been shuttered. Claimed accommodations, perhaps?

"So are you looking for a place on the mats in the common quarters or a room?" the Flygon asked.

The four passed a room with the door slightly ajar, revealing an open, furnitureless room filled with mats spread on the ground…

_THWACK!_

…and the sight of a Gligar sailing across the doorway and into a wall with a yelp, an irked Bagon pawing at the ground and a displeased Snover following shortly after.

"That's what you get for trying to cheat! Don't think I didn't see that Fire energy you snuck in!"

As the three Pokémon continued their heated argument with each other, Nida, Pleo, Elty, and Guardia blinked and noticed that their three potential roommates seemed to be rough in looks and temperament. The youngsters looked at each other, then back at their prospective roommates for the night, before finally turning to the waiting Flygon.

"... A room."

"Excellent choice," the proprietor answered.

Rasp carried on, prompting Team Traveller to follow after him, eager to put distance between themselves and the common room's occupants. The group began to set down a hallway lined with papered windows, Guardia casting wary glances at her surroundings all the while.

"What is _wrong_ with this town anyways?" the Cubone huffed. "You're supposed to be attacked _less_ often inside a town, aren't you?"

"It comes with the territory unfortunately," Rasp said, shaking his head. "Rosequartz Town is pirate territory and while pirates are good business, they bring a lot of unsavoriness with them."

"Why don't 'mons like you do anything about it?" Nida asked.

"Who would we get help from?" the Dragon-Type replied. "Neither the Company nor the Empire can take this place for themselves without tripping off a border war, and half the town doesn't want them back anyways."

Pleo, Nida, and Guardia jolted upright out of surprise at Rasp's response. Company rule was undoubtedly a harsh burden, and if Nerea was right, the Empire was little better... but even so, wasn't living with pirates who were constantly prowling the town _worse_ than that?

"They don't even want their help? But why not?" Pleo exclaimed. "These pirates are a bunch of meanies!"

"Maybe so, but they generally leave the locals alone," Rasp explained. "Since the Empire and the Company split, honest trade here has ground to a halt."

Nida folded her ears back and gave a dubious twitch of her whiskers. Was Rasp just making excuses here? Seahive Square and Braveshoal were both towns that weren't controlled by the Company, and neither of them had turned out anything like _this._

"Can't you make gummis like Boisocean though?" the Nidoran pressed.

"It's a bit of a different island," he explained. "It's not nearly as easy to get lots of food in and out, so for the town in general, this is the best option we have."

"But you don't seem like the kind of Pokémon who'd just be okay with this..." Pleo said.

"I'm not, which is why I try to do my part to help Pokémon like you kids out," Rasp responded. "But as things stand, there's not much Rosequartz can do until the Company and the Empire sort themselves out."

The Flygon turned from his passage across the courtyard and flitted over to a door, pushing it open to reveal a stone staircase. Rasp gestured to Team Traveller to follow him, leading the group up a hallway overlooking the courtyard and to a simple wooden door that was parted, opening into a dimly-lit room.

"Well, this is it," the Flygon said. "Nothing too fancy, but the best you'll get around these parts for 400 Poké a night."

Rasp propped the crude shutter over the window open, letting the evening light filter in and better illuminate the room. The space had four straw beds, with blankets spread out over them, evidently for cold nights. The furniture was spartan, much as the hostel in Fensedge, consisting entirely of a low table with cushions for seats and a set of drawers that had been pushed up against the side wall.

"How long will you be around here?"

"Just tonight, hopefully," Nida muttered. "The sooner we can move onto Sormus, the better."

The rest of Team Traveller tensed up as soon as the words left their teammate's mouth, realizing the potential repercussions of letting their plans slip in a place like this. Then again... this Rasp 'mon seemed nice enough and he really didn't seem like the type to get them into any trouble for a passing remark like that. Before they knew it, the four youngsters once again began to relax somewhat at this realization, reassured by the Dragon-Type's seeming failure to make much of Nida's slip-up.

"Completely understandable," the innkeeper offered. "In the interim, make yourself at home and enjoy the full moon tonight."

Guardia fidgeted uneasily at Rasp's mention of the moon, taking a small step back from the group. Her teammates, eager to finally get some rest, failed to notice their partner's reaction as they continued chattering with the Flygon innkeeper.

"Thank you, Rasp," Nida replied, giving a thankful bow.

"Well, since we're here, we might as well figure out who's getting what bed tonight," Elty grunted.

"I call the high bed," Guardia said.

Pleo, Elty, and Nida turned their eyes and followed the Cubone's claw as she pointed off… at the top of the dresser by the wall.

"Uh... Guardia?" Nida murmured. "That isn't a bed."

"We have those cushions by the table and they'll fit nicely on top," Guardia fumed. "It's soft and you can lay on it can't you? How am I supposed to gather lore about how well you can sleep on it without trying it out?"

The Cubone's insistence drew eye rolls and groans from Elty and Nida. Even Rasp found the Ground-Type's thought process to be strange, as he turned to look down to his Nidoran guest for clarification.

"She's a recent recruit of yours, isn't she?" the Flygon asked.

"That obvious, huh?" Nida sighed.

"Whelp, suit yourself," Rasp answered. "If you four are hungry, we'll be having dinner for our customers in a few minutes in the dining hall downstairs."

_Rrr_

The four youngsters looked down at their bellies as a chorus of faint growls filled the room. It had been a while since they last ate, and being able to eat something more than the spare berries and Apples they had purchased with Dimitri sounded awfully tempting right now.

"Uh... that sounds pretty good, actually," Elty said.

With that, Team Traveller set off, following after their Dragon-Type guide back out into the hallway as their yearnings for food and rest bubbled up. They could sweat the details of getting to Sormus later, after their stomachs were full and fed.

* * *

Nights in Braveshoal were always darker than above the sea's surface, the familiar comforts of the moon and stars dimmed by the volume of water in between. In their stead, the Pokémon that passed through Braveshoal made a point of gathering the glowing algae in the sea into bottles and jars, forming crude lanterns that served to fleck the reef and its stony monoliths with bluish light.

As on land, nights generally ebbed to a slower pace, as the diurnal residents began to shutter their shops and the local night owls came out to take their place and keep the town functioning in their absence. At a square in the web of air tunnels that crisscrossed the town, a Samurott and a Jellicent were closing a well-built stone bank down for the night. As the otter helped throw netting over the entrance and windows to seal up the store, the Ghost-Type floated over, eyeing his companion dubiously.

"Eh? You're _still_ working, Sevan?" the Jellicent proprietor asked. "But your shift ended half an hour ago!"

"I don't like seeing work go unfinished," the Samurott answered.

"I think that I can handle the rest," the Ghost-Type insisted. "Go and take the evening off, the night-watchmons will be here shortly anyways."

"Hmm… right," Sevan replied. "I'll see you in the morning, then."

Sevan put down the netting in his paw and crossed the square. The Samurott set off down the cramped and winding back alleys he usually did after work, the sound and smell of food cooking from cheap eateries pricking his ears and nose all the while.

"Hello, brother…"

The Formidable Pokémon froze and instinctively grabbed at the handle of one of his seamitars when he paused. Sevan realized that the voice was familiar for good reason, and if not necessarily friendly, it was not hostile. The culprit soon became clear, as a familiar looking Samurott donning a white scarf with a blue sun stepped out and gave a welcoming bow.

"Let's talk someplace quieter," Lyn said. "I had a few questions for you that I needed to get to the bottom of."

The younger Samurott motioned with his paw for Sevan to follow. After giving a glance around, the mercenary followed his brother down an alley and into a small clearing around a support tower festooned with bubbleweed, the older otter giving an agitated twitch of his whiskers.

"What is it that you need?" Sevan demanded.

"Have you seen a strange seabird around town lately?" the Commissioner prodded. One resembling an overgrown Wingull with a long neck?"

"I have," the older Samurott answered. "Why?"

"Good," Lyn grunted. "I'm here because my superiors want them brought in, and _you're_ going to help me."

The Commissioner's insistence was met with a long face and a skeptical brow raise from his elder brother. Sevan hardened his eyes into a fierce glare, and turned his head away with a derisive snort.

"Right," Sevan snorted. "I'm going to help the organization that ruined our father after he spent his life faithfully serving them. Get _real_ , Lyn."

" _He_ ruined us, Sevan. If he hadn't been a bleeding heart and just done his mission all those years ago, we wouldn't have fallen into penury," Lyn spat back. "All those nights going to bed hungry, having to constantly move from one den to the next looking for some dead-end job... none of that would have happened. And if _you_ had just owned up to that years ago, you wouldn't be here bouncing from job to job as a sellsword for your next pittance."

"Lyn, if you came all the way out here to Braveshoal just to _lecture_ me, then I'd be better off moving along," Sevan growled. "It's been a long day of work and I haven't had dinner yet."

"I didn't, actually," his brother insisted. Lyn stuck his paw into a satchel made of netting on his back, pulling out a stack of wanted posters printed on stiffened cloth. There on them were the unmistakeable forms of that group of children with the white bird from the day before.

" _This_ is why you're going to help me find that bird and his friends," he explained. His brother grabbed the posters, browsing them, before squeezing them into crumpled lump with a sour look.

"Yeah, I'm not buying it," Sevan snapped, turning to leave. "Go find someone else to do your dirty work with those kids, Lyn."

"There's nothing to _buy_ , Sevan," Lyn retorted. "That bird and his friends are _dangerous_ , and the sooner they're taken off the seas, the better."

"So you're telling me that a group of pups are strong enough to menace the Company's warships?" Sevan scoffed. "I knew that the Company bent the truth from time to time, but this is just ridiculous."

"Because they're not alone, Sevan," the Commissioner insisted.

Lyn fished out another pair of posters and pushed them into his brother's face. On them were the forms of a Nidorina and a Hydreigon, the two evidently being extremely dangerous pirates from their descriptions.

"It's the company they keep that's the problem," Lyn explained. "If we can grab the weaker ones, we can use them as bait to capture the _real_ villains."

The skeptical expression on Sevan's face didn't inspire Lyn's confidence in his argument. He would need something more convincing it seemed. Maybe if he had a stake in the matter, he'd feel different?

"Look, who's the current client that you're working for?" Lyn asked.

"Bunge's Bank," Sevan answered. "I'm sure you saw the building while waiting for me."

"If you let those kids just go off, what's keeping them from telling their buddies about what they saw at Bunge's place, huh?" the Commissioner pressed. "They surely saw all the ways to get in and out of this town while they were here."

"… They seemed fairly lost for scouts when _I_ ran into them," the mercenary snorted.

"Do you think you're the _only_ Pokémon that made that mistake when dealing with them?"

"Well... but, I- ergh..." Sevan faltered, failing to find a counterpoint to his brother's question. His gaze fell to the ground for a moment, the older Samurott contemplating the situation for a bit before finally looking back up at Lyn and giving his begrudging answer.

"… Fine. I'll help you," Sevan sighed. "For a price."

"How much?" Lyn asked. "And Poké, or-"

"Keep your Company money, Lyn!" the brother Samurott snapped. "The price that I want is what you're going to do with those kids after you find them."

"And just what would _that_ be?" Lyn demanded.

"I want you to go easy on those kids once you get them," Sevan said. "I doubt they fully understand what they're into, and you know as well as I do what it's like to suffer because of someone else's actions."

Lyn scowled and tensed his paws against the sand on the seafloor. The Water-Type paused and stared at his sibling, carefully mulling over his next words. Finally, he sighed and shook his head.

"Fine. I promise that I won't punish them for what their companions did," Lyn replied. "I'm a bigger 'mon than that."

Sevan sighed, feeling a twinge of pre-emptive regret for what he was about to say. Even if he could hold Lyn to his word, gambling with the wellbeing of his own employer felt wrong to him. Despite that, he'd already given his promise to his brother... Begrudgingly, he finally offered what information he could spare.

"They went to Sormus with a local guide," Sevan answered. "It sounded like they were planning on heading deep into imperial waters."

"Hmph, thanks for the heads-up," the Commissioner grunted. "Anything else?"

"This isn't who you have to be, Lyn," Sevan said.

Lyn's eyes narrowed, staring harshly over at his brother. Sevan met his gaze, tensing up slightly under his withering glare.

"I could say the same to you, but I honor _your_ decisions," Lyn snapped. "I expect you to do the same."

Sevan hung his head, heaving a resigned sigh. His brother hadn't been like this in bygone, more innocent days, but... was it really so foolish to hope to see a bit of his brighter former self in him? Whatever the case, if such a personality change would ever happen, it seemed now wasn't the time.

"So be it," Sevan muttered. "Good luck with your mission, Lyn."

"The same to you, I wish you the best," Lyn replied. "Who knows, maybe we'll meet again after things settle down."

The Commissioner leapt up and cut through the wall, seawater washing over his body and into a freshly punched hole. The otter climbed in the water and began swimming for the surface, a knowing smile creeping over his muzzle all the while. With the Lugia and his friends' element of secrecy spent, the Protector, and his promotion to Administrator were finally within grasp again.

"You won't escape me this time, Guardian."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _(¡)Cuidado!_ \- Spanish: "Be careful!" / "Watch out!"  
>  \- _svetilishte (свeтилищe)_ \- Bulgarian: "sanctuary" (location) (BGN/PCGN Romanization)  
>  \- _Anois_ \- Irish: "Now"  
>  \- _Chigau yo! (_ _違うよ_ _!)_ \- Japanese: "No!" (emphatic) (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _Nieważne_ \- Polish: "Whatever"


	49. All Ears

On Orleigh, Team Traveller slumbered away in a quiet guestroom in Rasp's hostel, the only audible sound being the faint snoring of the room's inhabitants. Everyone was sound asleep - save for Elty, who stirred slightly as a beam of moonlight hit his face through the shutter over the room's window. He blinked himself awake blearily, jolting upright with a start.

" _Kurczę!_ " the Growlithe grunted. "I fell asleep!"

The little dog padded over to where Nida was sleeping, stepping carefully across the hostel floor. With every tense step, he dreaded the possibility that he'd stumble and wake up the rest of his companions. Elty shook those thoughts from his head; he couldn't let such thoughts distract him from his objective.

"I'm getting my bag back one way or another, spike ball," he muttered. After tiptoeing across the room for what felt like an eternity, he finally reached Nida's sleeping form. There, loosely hanging from her shoulders was his bag, the last thing he needed before moving on and leaving Team Traveller to be Rasp's problem. He lowered a paw down to the strap of his bag, pulling it away with as much precision he could muster, and-

_Uwaaah…_

"Ack!"

A sudden cry in the distance snapped Elty out of his focus, causing him to flinch and yank the bag back far harder than he'd intended. Nida and Pleo both stirred, prompting the Growlithe to give up on the bag and dive back into his bed, pretending to snore as the others were roused from their slumber.

"Nrgh… Nida?" Pleo groaned. "What's that?"

"… Eh?" the Nidoran yawned back.

_Uwaaah…_

"… I think it's someone crying," Nida murmured. Pleo's eyes snapped fully open from their prior sleepy squint, the young Protector jolting upright and looking around uneasily as an expression of startled concern settled across his face.

"Huh?!" he exclaimed. "But then we should go and help!"

"Gah… right _now?_ " Elty grumbled, rousing himself with forced lethargy. "Listen to how distant that cry sounds!"

_Uwaaah…_

"I may be familiar with this place, but I'm not going around looking for some stranger at _this_ hour!" he snapped.

Pleo and Nida looked at each other hesitantly before grudgingly sinking back into their bedding. Their own run-in with the Marked from earlier was proof enough that Rosequartz Town was already dangerous by day... so whatever they thought about Elty's outburst on the outskirts, perhaps it was better to defer to his judgment here.

"I guess…" the little Protector murmured.

"... Let's just go back to bed," Nida sighed.

"Yeah, bonehead had the right idea," Elty grunted. "I haven't heard her all this time, so she must be out like a rock on her little drawer."

Nida and Pleo watched as Elty flopped back down in his bedding, curling up against the straw under his body. The two looked back at their own bedding and uneasily settled in as the echoing wails continued outside, prompting Pleo to look in the direction of the shutters.

"I wonder why that Pokémon is crying…" Pleo muttered.

"… _No te preocupes_ , Pleo," Nida insisted, giving an exasperated shake of her head. "I don't think it's something we can really help with."

Nida nestled deeper into her bedding, pulling her bed's blanket around her sensitive ears in a vain attempt to muffle the mysterious crying. She groaned, coming to the sinking realization that her blanket barely helped a thing.

"Urgh… I hope that Crom's getting better sleep than we are right now."

* * *

Back on Mengir's olivine-green beaches, work on repairing the Siglo Swellow had continued through the night. Pladur roused Crom awake that morning, leading his child through the ship's passages and onto the deck where they passed numerous Pokemon hard at work. The young Druddigon saw for himself several crewmates dropping off coins into a collection box as others labored on various repairs and odd jobs around the ship. One recently-finished job could be seen through a freshly patched hole in the hull, where Kiran and Ander had been waiting for them, examining the new timbers.

"One down, three to go," the Fraxure sighed.

"Well, at least there's been _some_ progress on getting the ship back in order," Ander buzzed.

"Hopefully the payout from our work at the shrine helps close the gap, 4000 Poké ought to buy that pitch the ship needs… right?," Crom asked.

"If I remember prices back home, that should be 30% more than we'd need, but it's handy to keep a margin for error," Kiran said. "Speaking of which, have you got the receipt for our supplies, Pladur?"

"Yup, lumber, nails, roofing, and the delivery fee for bringing it up to the shrine," Pladur answered, proudly displaying a paper slip laden with sloppy runes. "Right here."

"Then let's get moving," the Swellow replied. "The sooner we get started, the more progress we'll be able to make before sundown."

With their team prepared and their materials accounted for, the four Pokemon set off for the path to the shrine they'd covered the previous day. However, before they could get more than a few paces into their walk, a Servine's voice shouted out from behind them, stopping them in their tracks.

"Hey, Pladur! Wait up!"

"Huh?"

Pladur paused and turned on his heels in the greenish sand. There behind him were Natrix and Philips darting up as quickly as their bandaged forms would allow, the Servine of the duo clutching tightly to a cream envelope in his nubby claws.

"A Skarmory brought this letter by earlier," Natrix said, handing over the envelope. "He said it was for you."

"Eh? Pat sent someone else to bring the mail in?" the Fraxure wondered, drawing a shake of his Raichu counterpart's head.

"No, he's someone unrelated," Philips responded. "Though he was insistent that you read it right away."

The two turned their heads as a scolding cry came from back in the direction of the ship. The pair muttered a few hurried and apologetic farewells before heading back off to the Siglo Swellow to continue repairing the stricken vessel, leaving Pladur behind to blink and stare down at the letter in his claws.

"Er… thanks?"

"What's it say, Dad?" Crom asked.

"Well, let's see," the elder Fraxure muttered, tearing open the letter with a single claw. He squinted at the shoddy print of the message, taking a moment to make sense of the Torchic-scratch handwriting before reading it aloud to his companions:

"'I want to help your project, meet me at the fork in the path to the shrine at mid-morning,'" Pladur murmured.

"Eh? But we didn't _ask_ anyone for help," Crom insisted. "And it doesn't look like Hertsog's handwriting."

The quartet looked to one another, unanimously sharing a skeptical expression. What a strange letter to receive out of the blue, and unsolicited at that...

"... _Esto no me gusta_ ," Ander muttered. "What if it's a trap?"

"Eh? But if the Company knew what we were up to, why wouldn't they come and bust us right now?" Crom asked. "It's not like we can just sail off right now."

"Let's see who wrote this," Kiran said. "It's on the way, and more help certainly couldn't _hurt…_ "

Pladur moved a claw over his chin in contemplation before looking back at the letter. After a moment's pause, he stuffed the message back into his bag and turned to Kiran with a nod. The die was cast, and the four headed off down the beach, wondering just who and what would be waiting for them en route to the shrine this time.

* * *

The echoing cries around Rasp's hostel carried on deep into the night before finally abating, allowing Team Traveller to finally slip off into slumber.

"Nrgh…"

One which was rudely interrupted by the sun's rays poking through gaps in the shutters a few hours later. Nida stumbled to her feet, and propped open the window to let light in. The flowers in the planter had been damaged by something weighty pressing down on them overnight, perhaps a stray feral resting on it. Before the Nidoran could sniff and investigate the cause, she heard her teammates stir deeper within the chamber and turned to shuffle to them with a drowsy yawn. The Poison-Type lurched back and joined her sleepy companions at the door, setting off on a laggardly journey that took them down the hallway, downstairs, and into the lobby of the hostel.

"Blurgh..." Nida groaned. "What a night."

"So tired…" Pleo yawned. His drowsiness similarly spread to Guardia, who strangely enough had reddish eyes with dark circles underneath.

"You all had trouble sleeping too?" she asked.

"Eh? _You_ couldn't sleep last night?" Elty exclaimed. "But you were quieter than a sleeping Abra during all that crying last night."

The Cubone grew suddenly silent at the Growlithe's words and shifted uncomfortably. Nida and Pleo looked at each other as the lizard seemed to pause for thought, only for the Ground-Type to shake her head and clear her throat to reply.

"… I was hoping that things would just move on a bit quicker, that's all," the Cubone answered.

Nida, Pleo, and Elty gave puzzled stares at their Ground-Type companion. Before the matter could be pressed, the bone lizard continued on, seemingly overeager to keep a topic of conversation going.

"Anyway," Guardia said, hastily changing the topic. "Now we're up, what should we do?"

Nida turned and looked at the light filtering in through the window's shutters, where some unseen Pokémon were having an indistinct conversation of some matter dealing with 'booty'. The Nidoran shook her head and raised her barbs out of disgust. The sooner they all got to Sormus and found Dimitri, the better! Though there was one complicating factor to their journey…

"Pleo," she murmured. "How´s your wing doing?"

Pleo eyed his busted wing dubiously, feeling his faith in his ability to fly diminish by the second. It couldn't hurt to try, though... right? Carefully, he exercised his wing, rolling it around back and forth to make sure it didn't hurt only at a certain angle. To his delight, he realized that no matter how he twisted his arm, it didn't seem to hurt one bit!

"I- I think it's better!" he cried.

The young Lugia hastily pulled the bandages off of his wings with his beak, leaving ribbons of cloth in his wake as he hopped forward with his neck lowered to build up speed. He gave a few more beats of his wings, relishing in the feeling of wind beneath his wounded wing, and gave one last push off the ground...

"Ow, owowow!"

…only for a sudden cramp in his injured wing to throw him off-balance as he clutched it to his body, flopping facefirst into the floor with a defeated groan.

"Ow..."

"Not _that_ much better, it seems," Elty sighed.

"It looks like it's coming along, though," Nida murmured. "If we had a way to speed it up a bit, I think he'd be able to take us to Sormus and Blackmoon just fine."

"Eh?! We can't just fly off without replacing my bone! I've already had _enough_ close shaves since I lost it!" Guardia protested. "We don't even _know_ where Blackmoon is beyond being in 'Imperial Territory', how do we know that there won't be danger waiting for us on the way?"

Nida paused and blinked at her teammate's protests, giving an uncomfortable shake of her barbs as the Nidoran realized that they _were_ a little light on supplies and leads for how to get to the 'Blackmoon Village' Nerea told them about.

"Er… point. And we don't have Dimitri to ask right now about the place…" she admitted. "Maybe we could talk with someone about how to get there?"

"In _this_ town?" Guardia scoffed. "Just _who_ are we supposed to trust?"

"What about Rasp?" Pleo offered. "He seemed nice enough… Why don't we ask him?"

"Oh? Ask me what?"

The Nidoran looked over her shoulder and saw that Rasp had come down one of the hallways, waiting expectantly behind her. The little spike ball reared up on her hind legs and gave an uneasy twitch of her whiskers, before shaking her head, reassuring herself with all the help he'd already given the team, surely _Rasp_ of all Pokémon would be safe to trust with such a question…

"Well... I was wondering what you could tell us about Blackmoon Village," Nida began.

"Eh? Blackmoon Village?" the innkeeper replied. "That place was destroyed years ago."

"Huh?" Pleo chirped. "What happened to it?"

"There are a lot of conflicting stories about what exactly happened," the Flygon answered. "The Empire claims it was a pirate crew who did it, but a lot of folks around here say the Empire burned down the village themselves after they tried to break away."

The Cubone stared stunned at the Flygon for a moment. A group of scarf-wearers that would destroy one of their own settlements for not following their leaders? Even the Company had not engaged in such behavior! Or at least, none that Tetsuzui and the others from the colony had ever heard of…

"That's… awful," Guardia murmured.

"What makes you ask anyways?" Rasp asked.

"Eh... you see we were supposed to head there with our friend after meeting up," Nida responded. "But he didn't really tell us where it was or even what island it was on before we got separated."

"I know it's on Pioppo Island, and as for _getting_ there… you can still find it on maps easily enough, though I can't imagine why you would want to," the antlion said. "The place is supposed to be cursed."

Team Traveller's eyes widened with a start, and Nida and Elty's fur stood on end. Had they heard Rasp right? If so, what did he mean by…

"…Cursed?"

"Yeah, Pokémon that get too close tend to get driven off by the island," the Dragon-Type explained. "And it's said that those who pry too deeply into the island never come back."

The four youngsters gulped and began to flush pale at the description of the island. With such a frightening-sounding island like that, it was no wonder that even a Protector like Nerea would have trouble reaching the place! But… if _she_ already struggled so much, would they really have that much more of a chance?

"... Anyway, if you insist on going there, you could try to ask Laurens," the Flygon suggested. "He led a crew from here out to the island some years ago, and got deeper in than anyone else around these parts."

"Gwark?!" Pleo exclaimed. "You're telling us to meet with a pirate?!"

" _Ex-_ pirate," Rasp insisted. "He currently owns a charm shop at the town market. It's on the east side of town and built along the creek that goes through there. That old alligator hasn't stolen from anyone in years… that I know of."

Nida frowned and bunched up uneasily. First a cursed island, and now having to ask a former _pirate_ for directions? On the other hand, as intimidating as the matter sounded, Nerea was insistent that the part of the Knights' Ledger was in Blackmoon Village… or at least whatever was left of it. And if whatever was in there was important enough to keep the Company and the Empire in line…

"I think we can work with-" she began, only to be interrupted by a Cubone voice.

"But what about my bone?"

"Didn't we need to buy any supplies, Nida?" Pleo added.

"If you need to do a little reprovisioning, there are all sorts of traders in the market district," Rasp offered. "It's a bit of a shifty place, though everything you're looking for should be there, even a scavver where you can replace your friend's bone."

Nida looked to Rasp and bowed her head low in appreciation, breathing a quiet thanks to the stars that her team managed to run into the Flygon.

"Thanks for the tip," Nida said. "We'll be sure to stop by."

Nida hopped ahead, pausing at the door frame as her teammates shuffled along following her heels. After they had caught up with her, Team Traveller headed out the door and into the morning light, venturing deeper down the warrens of Rosequartz Town in search of their guide at the market.

* * *

"Ugh… how on earth did this happen?"

Back in Bluewhorl Town, Pyry's words floated around Mirlia's bar. The stools and tables were mostly vacant during the early morning hours, with the visible exception of a table claimed by a sour-faced Gabite, Trapinch, and Quilava, with the bar's Sableye help taking a nearby seat to join them. The four had finally won some much-earned rest from their Community Service, which was used in their customary way in the wooden-floored Juice Bar by taking swigs of drink from simple clay cups.

"Things were _finally_ looking up for climbing the ranks," the Gabite moaned. "Yet, here I am stuck on some backwater island, drowning my sorrows in cheap berry juice in between shifts at a hut kneading dough with some lippy brat."

"Oi, _you're_ not the one digging ditches and holes all day!" Pekka interjected. "And every time I just make it in my _normal_ way, my boss complains that it's too big and a safety hazard!"

"And those little terrors at the Day Care keep sticking me with their barbs," the Quilava at the table added. "I went through three Pecha Berries just to make it through yesterday!"

Pyry and Pekka traded blank, speechless stares at the Fire-Type, and the Sableye toppled back out of his chair. The Darkness Pokémon picked himself off the ground and gave a shake of his head, glad that he had been fortunate enough not to get the stoat's assignment on that fateful night.

"Yeah, I think you win, Kenny," the passing Ghost-Type sighed. "I can't say mopping up around here for that overgrown kangaroo and her kid really compares…"

"You know, I can _hear_ you, Orlov."

The four froze and looked back at the counter, where they saw a Kangaskhan and her child looking up with a scowl in between cleaning cups. The Ghost-Type blanched and fumbled with his clay cup, before hastily attempting to change the subject.

"Er… weren't you out buying more berries for the rush tonight?" the Ghost-Type asked.

"Yes, we _were_ ," Mirlia growled. "We got them and now we're back to _work_."

"Why are you all still bellyaching anyways?" Minia retorted. "I heard you bragging about getting your bread put on Gwenith's main display earlier, Gabite! And your Trapinch friend was talking about getting extra apples from Mildrew just yesterday!"

The four ex-pirates traded looks with each other, before Pyry gave a stubborn harrumph back at the Normal-Type.

"Because it's the _spirit_ of the matter that counts!" the Dragon-Type insisted.

The Kangaskhan and her child buried their faces into open paws, shaking their heads at the former pirates' stubbornness. How _had_ they managed to last so long prior to their capture with attitudes like that?

"I can see your captain didn't bring you aboard for your _smarts_ …" the little Kangaskhan sighed.

"Actually, now that she mentions it. What _has_ the old boss been up to?" Pekka asked. "I haven't heard anything since we got stuck here."

As soon as the Trapinch stopped speaking, the sound of beating wings and a commotion outside rang out. The occupants of the bar turned their attention to the open windows, where they saw that an Unfezant with a brown courier bag had landed, prompting a small crowd of villagers to gather around him.

"Eh?! Pat?!" a Rhyhorn cried.

"What _took_ you so long?" a Pinsir from the guards demanded "The entire town's been worried about the lack of word from your ship!"

"The Iron Fleet ambushed us off of Mengir," the Unfezant began. "And-"

" _WHAT?!_ "

The exclamation quickly gave way to an indecipherable stream of confused and anxious questions to the Flying-Type. Mirlia and Minia left their posts to hear the Unfezant outside, leaving behind their ex-pirate patrons to peer out the window and sink in their seats.

"Uhm… on second thought, getting stuck by those Nidoran doesn't sound so bad right now," Kenny gulped.

"Yeah, I should get back to cleaning up around here," Orlov added. "Preferably in a backroom."

The Quilava and Sableye quickly darted away from the table and slipped into the backroom of the Juice Bar to avoid the crowd outside. Pyry and Pekka decided that it was perhaps best to similarly return to their work, hastily gulping down the remainder of their drinks before sliding off their stump-seats. Pekka left his place more reluctantly, hopping to the floor with a sighing shake of his large head-maw.

"Urgh… wonder if anyone else is having a bad day like us?"

* * *

Crom and his companions steadily made their way up the path from Fensedge Village leading towards the shrine. As they hiked, they noticed the sun began to climb higher into the sky and the shadows on the ground grew steadily smaller. The four carried along past the same fields and groves of trees as the day before, casting anticipatory glances here and there, only for their expectations to go unfulfilled.

"Shouldn't we have run into that help by now?" Ander asked. "We've gone halfway up the trail already!"

"Maybe it was just a prank," Kiran muttered.

"Eh? But it seemed too earnest," Crom murmured. "Maybe we just passed up the-"

The leaves of a nearby tree rustled, and a green, sleek-looking reptilian Pokemon hung upside down from the branch overhead. She flipped forward and dropped down, landing in a crouched position as the Pokémon from the Siglo Swellow stumbled back in a start. The gecko rose up, dusting her scales off and cocking her head slightly at the four Pokemon before her who seemed frozen in shock, jaws agape.

"Oh, so _you're_ the Pokémon working on the shrine," the Grovyle said, before giving a blinking pause.

The Grass-Type's audience traded quiet, surprised glances with one another, prompting a glimmer of doubt to surface in the lizard's eyes. She cleared her throat and gave a sheepish rub of the back of her head.

"Er, you _are_ the Pokemon who came to work on the shrine, right?"

"Uh… that's right," Pladur said. "But who _are_ you?"

The Grovyle cocked her head further to the side, befuddledly holding her chin in an open claw.

"Eh? What are you talking about? I'm Salvini," she replied. "Why, someone sent me a letter saying that Hertsog asked you for help and needed a few extra claws to pitch in."

The Wood Gecko Pokémon held out a small scrap of paper, upon which was scrawled a short message to a 'mon by the name of 'Salvini'.

"Dear Salvini, I heard your friend Hertsog wanted to handle something before he left," Kiran said, reading from the scrawl. "I can't make it, but got a few friends to help you out. Please meet them at the fork in the path up to the shrine at midmorning and help them with their current mission."

"Eh?! But _we_ got a letter from a Skarmory saying that someone would help _us_ with the shrine!" Crom cried, fishing out the group's letter from Pladur's bag. "... Except, we never got a chance to meet the Pokémon that sent it."

A Skarmory? The Grass-Type paused and looked blankly at the Druddigon's letter. Now that the two letters were up side by side, it was evident the two had the same handwriting, and the same style of dictation. The gecko paused with a knowing look, as a weak smile began to creep up over her snout.

"... I might have an idea," Salvini said.

"You do?" Pladur asked. "Who is it?"

"A friend of mine, he doesn't stick around places for too long," she answered, brushing off the matter with a wave of her claw. "Anyhow, you still needed that extra set of claws to help you?"

"We'd love it, actually."

Kiran gave a bat of his wings bidding the Grovyle to follow. After a short rebalancing of the satchel on her shoulders, the gecko set off, the newly enlarged group following along for the shrine in the distance. In the midst of the new atmosphere of camaraderie, an uncomfortable nagging doubt continued to weigh down on Crom as he climbed a new trunk to glide from.

"I hope that this will be enough to get all that work done…"

* * *

After following Rasp's directions and following the creek that sliced through Rosequartz Town, Team Traveller came to a bustling warren of stony shops and stalls punctuated by the occasional building in the shape of a Pokémon head. The settlement's status as a pirate haunt was evident from the shops in the market.

There was the berry stand manned by a Comfey that openly hung Lansat Berries along with the expected Oran and Sitrus. Further along, there was another shop tended to by a Trumbeak with harpoons mounted on the wall and with wooden tubes poking out of the backroom. Even the shipping supply store was disproportionately sized for the settlement, no doubt due to the large amount of ships in port. Although the market straddling the creek was undeniably lively, a thick aura of peril and menace hung in the air, prompting Guardia to occasionally shoot a wary glance over her shoulder.

"Are you _supposed_ to feel like you're being watched around here?" Guardia murmured. The Ground-Type's apprehension was echoed by the young Protector in the group, who ruffled his feathers uncomfortably.

"Wait, you do too?" he asked. "This town reminds me of that one place in Aisle Town… except bigger and uglier."

"So then it won't be so bad now that you know what to expect," Elty snorted. "Just look around, watch your back, keep your 'nipper's discounts' to stores that won't miss the stock."

"'Nipper's discount'?" Pleo chirped.

"Nip something quickly enough from a shop and you'll get it for free," the Growlithe explained. "Simple, really."

"Hold on, what's the difference between that and stealing-?" the Cubone insisted, only to be interrupted by an irritated thump of one of Nida's hindlegs against the ground.

"Enough already, let's just go find Laurens," she sighed. "I think that I can see the charm shop that Rasp told us about."

The Nidoran gestured ahead at a wooded storefront set into a squat stone building with a crude sign depicting a crystal shard with sloppy runes underneath. A row of pendants dangled from the eave and charms made of various gem and glass fragments were carefully arrayed on the counter, a Feraligatr proprietor occasionally leaning over the edge to attempt to badger passersby to browse his wares.

The four youngsters made their way over as Laurens tried and failed to sway a Crabominable's interest in purchasing a protective charm, leaving Team Traveller to sit and wait expectantly. After a moment groaning an exasperated sigh, the Water-Type looked down, and quickly sprouted a toothy smile.

"Hoy, aren't you a bit young to be shopping around for protective amulets such as these?" the Feraligatr asked. "Not that I'm complaining, mind you."

"Protective amulet?" Pleo asked. "You mean like this lucky rock I'm wearing?"

Pleo fished under his scarf with a beak and displayed his King's Rock necklace. The reptile sized up the white bird's bauble, before giving a bemused chuckle at the comparison.

"Heh, I suppose you could think of it like that," the proprietor explained. "Well in the olden days, Pokémon would go up to the local shrine to this island's Protector, the Queen of Jewels, to wish for fortune and protection."

"Eh? _Used_ to?" Guardia asked. "What happened to it?"

"It kept getting wrecked whenever the Company or Empire came by, and the place supposedly had these big crystals that weren't easy to replace," Elty said. "Eventually the Pokémon around here got tired of trying to repair it over and over again."

"Which is where shops like mine come in. They not be as fancy as the old decorations from the shrine, but my wares are made of the same dungeon crystals mons would wish on," Laurens chortled. "Did any of them in particular catch your eye? They might fun-sized, but they'll bring you the same luck!"

"Actually, we were hoping you knew some lore about a place called 'Pioppo Island'," Guardia said. "A friend of ours told us that you knew stuff about it you could share with us."

"Well, I _do_ , but I can't just go around chattering willy-nilly," the alligator shopkeep answered. "Time is money, after all."

The Feraligatr's insistence drew a quartet of groans, prompting Nida to shake her head. Even in a pirates' den, merchants truly were one and the same with each other.

"What's the cheapest thing you have?" the Poison-Type sighed.

"The small crystal there for 200 Poké," gesturing at a twine pendant with a small, pinkish crystal at the far end of the counter.

The team rolled their eyes as Nida slid a few coins over the counter. The Feraligatr took the glinting metal pieces and pushed them into a coin-box before passing over the amulet in return.

"Pleasure doing business with you," Laurens grunted.

"We did our part," Guardia huffed. "Now, what can you tell us about when you went to Pioppo?"

"It was ten years ago, back when I captained my old ship. I'd really started getting into the swing of this 'civilization' thing after the Company kicked me out of my old sea den in Vollezee and was hitting my stride as the captain of the _Wraaknemer_ ," the Water-Type said. "We were in the business of plundering back then, and we needed an easy score after a rougher job in Imperial waters, so rooting around a ruined town for salvage seemed right up our alley."

With the exception of a visibly unfazed Elty, the Pokémon of Team Traveller shifted uncomfortably at the towering reptile's account of his past. The Company kicking ferals out of their homes certainly didn't sound like a pleasant business, though then again, Laurens' cavalier demeanor in bringing up his career as a brigand wasn't much more reassuring. Even so, Nida reasoned that they would do well to leave no stone unturned with their lead.

"So you saw Blackmoon Village there?" she asked.

"What was left of it, yeah," the shopkeeper replied. "The place was completely burned down by the Imps and didn't have all that much left in it aside from a few coins and cheap baubles."

"Doesn't sound like anything worth sticking around for," Elty grumbled. "So why didn't you just leave after that?"

"I _was_ , though a few of my 'mons were telling me they were seeing signs of life. Ashes from recent campfires, a small shack here or there in the woods, one of them even found a berry field," Laurens explained. "We cleaned out what we came across, and I sent out some scouts to try and go deeper to see what they could find."

"And what _did_ they find?" Guardia prodded.

"Beats me, they never came back," the Water-Type replied. "After that, we spent the night camping out in Blackmoon Village's ruins and that's when the wraiths came."

Nida and Elty's fur stood on end, the two pulling their ears back out of reflex at the Feraligatr's ominous sounding words. She wasn't terribly sure she wanted to know the answer, but Nida pressed on, curious as to just what were these...

"Wraiths?" the Nidoran murmured.

"Big, purple cloudy spirits who nearly scared us to death. They chased us back onto our ship threatening to drag us off to the Spirit World," the ex-pirate answered. "We took off and never looked back on that blasted rock."

"And those Pokémon that got left behind?" Pleo asked.

"Those wraiths made good on their threat, I assume," Laurens said, shaking his head. "For obvious reasons, we didn't bother going back to find out for sure."

A shiver went down the backs of the four Pokémon as unpleasant mental images of being dragged away screaming by billowing clouds flickered in their mind. No _wonder_ why no one had managed to find the part of the Knights' Ledger there! But… if Nerea was sure it was there, there surely had to be a way around them…

"But we're supposed to _go_ to that island," Nida insisted. "How are we supposed to get anything done if there's a bunch of evil spirits floating around?"

"Wait, you're _going_ there?" the Feraligatr pressed, raising a brow skeptically.

"Don't ask," Elty sighed. "It's something that they set their mind to and _I_ couldn't talk them out of it, so I don't think you'll have much luck either."

"… Perhaps if we impressed them with the teachings of the dead they would be more accepting?" the Cubone offered.

The Feraligatr gave a flummoxed stare at the bone lizard, with even her teammates seeming to be at a loss for the Ground-Type's logic.

"Not sure what sort of 'teachings' you're going on about, but if you're serious about this… I'd try finding out if those shacks are still around and who lives in them," Laurens offered. "I can't say if they'd be friendly or not, but _if_ they're still around, they'd certainly know how to get past those wraiths."

"How do we find them?" the Ground-Type pressed.

"Like so."

Laurens slid over a simple map that depicted a mountainous island with a dense forest in the middle. On a bluff near the eastern coast, a few lines depicting the paths of a town had been drawn, along with a few red crossmarks just beyond the town's fringes.

"When we were around, we saw a few empty huts with fresh bedding spread out on the floor nearby as we got closer," the shopkeeper said. "If the shacks aren't deserted, then you'll likely see something similar."

"Right. I think we can work with that," Nida answered. "Thanks for the tip."

The Nidoran hastily doodled a rough copy of Laurens' map onto a sheet of paper from deep in her bag, before she and her partners gave a hasty farewell to the Feraligatr and ventured out into the market. As the charm shop and its crystalline baubles faded into the commotion of the market, Elty gave a dubious frown and pawed at the Poison-Type.

"Was that _really_ enough information to move around in a place like that?" he asked.

"I mean, we have a map now, and before this we had nothing," Nida replied. "That's a pretty big step up."

"I personally think we could have gotten more lore out of him," Guardia grumbled. "What about you, Pleo?"

Guardia waited for a response, only to be answered by the din of the market behind her. The Cubone turned and went wide-eyed after seeing that Pleo was gone. Nida and Elty similarly looked unsettled, trying to catch a glimpse for any sign of their teammate.

"Pleo?" she asked.

"Hey!"

Nida pricked her ears and turned to see Pleo waddling triumphantly down the lane, his beak filled with what appeared to be a brown, sugary-smelling bun. The young Protector set his treat on the ground before craning his head up to his teammates.

"So, we're shopping for supplies before we go now?" he chirped. The little Lugia craned his neck down to give an exploratory peck at the malasada, tearing little hunks off and gulping them down, blissfully unaware of the dubious looks his teammates were trading one another as they tried to puzzle out _how_ their companion had stumbled across his treat.

"Um… Pleo?" Nida asked. "Where did you get that?"

"There was a shop with these sweet bread thingies down one of the alleys they called a 'mah-lah-sah-dah'. I used a 'nipper's discount' to get it and it worked fine," Pleo cheered, before turning back to continue pecking at his pastry. "The only thing that I'm a little confused about is why it's free. Since doesn't a 'discount' just make a price lower but not get rid of it completely?"

The Nidoran turned and glared at Elty. Of all the things that stupid mutt had to teach Pleo, it just _had_ to be how to shoplift.

"This is _your_ fault!" Nida hissed.

" _My_ fault?!" Elty spat, arching his back irritatedly. "He's the one that took the damn malasada!"

" _Hóigh tú!_ "

Nida whirled and saw a visibly livid Slurpuff storming up the path, with a small group of thuggish characters following after the Fairy-Type. The Poison-Type was under no delusions as to why they had come, prompting her to hastily tug at Pleo's wing with a squeak.

"Come on, let's get going!" the Nidoran cried.

Pleo hopped up with a startled squawk, hastily abandoning his pilfered pastry as he and his companions bolted through the market. The four tore ahead, not stopping for the yelps or angry shouts of disrupted shoppers as they eagerly took flight from the wrath of a merchant unwillingly parted from his wares.

* * *

"See anything?"

Deep inside the Crystal Mangroves, the forms of a Tentacruel and a Sharpedo floated about root-lined walls of the dungeon. The two looked here and there amidst a watery maze with seawater overhead flowing off into a void; but all the while, their search had been crucially absent of any leads towards their target.

"Just the same old scenery and ferals as the last floor," Katyusha said. "I don't see any sign of the bird anywhere."

"Ugh…" Cyanea groaned. "This just isn't our day."

"Well, we've at least narrowed things down to one conclusion," the shark offered "That Lugia and his friends didn't fall in anywhere close to the midpoint of this dungeon."

"We shouldn't even be _looking_ for him right now!" the Tentacruel hissed. "We _found_ him once already, and if it wasn't for the help of that lousy crab, he'd be on the ship and en route to Tidemill right now!"

The Sharpedo rolled her eyes and gave an unamused scowl. Between the dungeon and Cyanea's attitude, this search for the Protector was turning out to be more tiring than she had anticipated.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever-"

" _Any luck?_ "

The shark clamped her mouth shut as a voice sounded from somewhere nearby. Squinting into the distance, she scanned the waters around her, searching for the source of the noise, but nothing made itself readily apparent.

"Who said that?" Cyanea murmured.

The jellyfish bobbed uneasily along with her partner, as the sound of murmuring filtered along with the flowing water. The two swam along quietly towards the voices as they began to hear the hazy sound of arguing. Finally, a small group of sea dwellers sporting blue belts with a red central dot design came into view. A Dewgong and a Whiscash grumbled impatiently as a Kingdra bickered on with a Kabutops, who seemed awfully familiar to the Tentacruel and her partner.

"Ah!" Katyusha whispered. "It's that crab from earlier!"

"Then he must be after what we're looking for," Cyanea growled. "Let's see if he's found any leads we haven't."

Cyanea and Katyusha hastily dove behind a nearby stone wall, peeking out from their cover just far enough to keep an eye on the targets of their eavesdropping. From this nearer location, the sound of the argument seemed a bit clearer, the pair finally able to understand most of their words properly.

"I'm telling you," a Dewgong insisted. "If they're still in this dungeon, they're not below the midpoint anymore!"

"But could they be waiting for us in a stable zone?" Dimitri asked. "Or what if they were moving and we missed them?"

"We already _checked_ everywhere on this floor!" a Whiscash huffed. "And we did it on the last floor, and the floor before last!"

"If you'd just done your job in the _first place_ , we wouldn't _be_ in this mess, Dimitri!" Kuda snapped.

Dimitri and Kuda withdrew and shot hardened glares at each other. As the pair locked themselves into an uneasy standoff, a sighing voice filled the minds of the nearby Pokémon.

" _…_ _Looks like it's time to head back._ "

"Huh?!" Dimitri cried. "What do you mean, Gersch?"

" _I mean that all of the other teams are turning up nothing too, including the ones above the midpoint,_ " the teleporter's voice chimed.

"So in other words, the kids aren't in this dungeon anymore and we've all been wasting our time," Kuda huffed.

Dimitri's Dewgong and Whiscash partners traded concerned murmurs as the crab rubbed his scythes together nervously. The crustacean turned back to his Kingdra partner, waving his arms as he stammered out in protest.

"We- We must be overlooking something!" the Kabutops insisted. "There has to be someplace that we didn't get to-"

" _Dimitri, just give it a rest. We'll tell the Ataman about this and try to figure out what our options are._ "

Dimitri opened his mouth to protest further, but he fell silent, mulling over the teleporter's words. After a moment's pause, his gaze fell to the floor as he begrudgingly conceded his point.

"I mean…" he murmured. "If we're really sure they're not here…"

"Ugh, just hurry up and get us out of here, Gersch," Kuda growled.

Right as the Kingdra finished speaking, a blip of light illuminated the dungeon floor, revealing a waiting Cloyster. Tired and frustrated, the four Pokémon from the _Khranitel Rod_ swam over and joined appendages to form a circle. Just after closing the ring, the mollusk teleported the whole group out of the dungeon. From their hiding place, Katyusha and Cyanea slipped out, and traded each other blank looks.

"Eh? The bird's not _in_ here?" Katyusha murmured.

"That's what I heard too," Cyanea answered. "Come on, let's get going."

"Huh?"

"You heard 'em, the sea god's not here and those _kocevniki_ outnumber us," the Tentacruel insisted. "We're better off going back to the ship and tipping off the Captain."

"Right."

The Tentacruel moved a tentacle towards her scarf, and after running it along the metal badge affixed to it, she clung down on it and began to speak.

"Schuster? Come and get us out of here," she said. "We've just stumbled across something big."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _Esto no me gusta_ \- Spanish: "I don't like this"  
>  \- _Wraaknemer_ \- Dutch: "Avenger", lit. "Revenge Taker".  
>  \- _Hóigh tú!_ \- Irish: "Hey you!"  
>  \- _kocevniki (кочeвники)_ \- Russian: "nomads" (BGN/PCGN Romanization)


	50. A Pirate's Life for Me

Things had not gone as smoothly as Ellsberg had hoped since his meeting with Elilan. Thanks to having to switch the _Nektar Weide's_ sails with ones carrying decoy patterns and Ketu's sudden bout of stubborn hostility, the sloop was slow to leave port from Mengir. That delay in turn forced a grueling overnight run powered by a constant current from the escorts, the exertion and long hours grinding the crew down as the hours whiled by with the passing waves. When the sun dawned on the now white and blue-sailed ship, it was finally slipping into Otvaga's lagoon, the sight of the atoll's low-lying islets came as a relief to a yawning and increasingly restless crew. Among them was a familiar Mothim in a Second-Rank scarf, watching intently from a perch on the bow's railing as the ring of islands passed by.

"Slow us down and take us into a circuit!" Ellsberg buzzed. "We'll wait for the Captain here!"

At the Bug-Type's command, the crew hastily began pulling up the sails as the escorts whipped up a decelerating headwind. Before long, the _Nektar Weide_ was left slowly drifting along, tracing the shore of Otvaga's islets in a laggard circuit. A frown crossed Ellsberg's face as he scanned the horizon for any sign of Lyn amongst the wild, overgrown islands of the atoll and their surrounding waters.

"Come on, Lyn…" Ellsberg growled. "Where _are_ you?"

"Tch, don't get your wings in a twist, Elmer," Ketu scoffed from beside the front mast, looking up from an idle pick at his claws. "He'll show up on his own timing."

The Mothim shot a sour frown at the Weavile, unpleased with having to tolerate being called "Elmer" for the umpteenth time in front of the crew on _his own ship_ since they'd left Mengir. The moth's frustrations were quickly distracted by the sound of churning water coming from behind him, followed immediately afterwards by startled shouts from the sea. The Bug-Type reflexively whirled around to sea, just in time to see a blue form with a horned helmet riding a cresting wave heading straight for him.

_**SPLOOSH!** _

Ellsberg tumbled onto the deck as the water washed over him, sending the Bug-Type flopping over in a sopping pile against the mast. The moth glanced up and saw Lyn before him shaking some excess water off his pelt; prompting Ketu to pace over and give a dismissive shrug of his shoulders.

"See what I mean?"

"You're _late_ , Ellsberg."

"We- We had some troubles at the dock in Mengir," the stunned Mothim coughed. "Things went smoother with your contact, I hope?"

"It did," Lyn answered. "He informed me that the Guardian's making his way for Sormus Island along with a local guide."

"Huh?" Ellsberg asked. "Was there anything else-?"

The Bug-Type was cut off as the Commissioner thrust out one paw, motioning to silence him.

"That's not relevant right now, Ellsberg," Lyn scolded. "We don't have any time to waste, and I say we move on for Sormus _immediately._ "

Some uneasy murmurs floated about the ship, surprised at Lyn's adamance to leave so soon after they had just arrived at Otvaga. There were surely supplies to be gathered, and some of the crew cast longing eyes at Otvaga's sandy beaches... only for a loud, belligerent roar to snap the lot back to attention.

"You heard me! Draw up the battle preparations and get this hulk moving!" the Samurott bellowed. "I wanted to be out and at Sormus _yesterday!_ "

The crew jolted upright with a start before hastily breaking for tasks about the ship, letting the sails down and pulling the anchor up with uncharacteristic vigor in the wake of their superior's ill mood. One of the few Pokémon to not be swept up by the hurried business was Ketu, who gave a skeptical tilt of his head back at the _Nektar Weide's_ new captain.

"Battle preparations?" the Weavile asked. "I understand the urge to light a fire under Elmer's butt here, but aren't you jumping the gun a bit, Captain?"

Ellsberg buzzed indignantly, shooting a burning glare at Ketu as he muttered under his breath about the _nerve_ of that weasel to demean him so. The moth flitted up aggressively, only to be cut off with an impatient stomp and growl coming from Lyn's direction.

"We've had the Protector elude us three times already because we weren't prepared," Lyn spat. "I'm _not_ letting that happen again if I can help it."

The Samurott paused before giving an irritated twitch of his whiskers at the lack of a response. Much to the Water-Type's annoyance, Ellsberg continued flitting in place and Ketu still whiled away his time leaning against the ship's railing. The mustelid's face wrinkled with a deep scowl, muttering unimpressed gripes about the pair's lack of contributions to the _Nektar Weide's_ departure.

"As for you two, stop standing around and go get this ship _moving_ ," he barked.

"Aye!" Ellsberg said, the Mothim's salute quickly followed up by an unenthusiastic huff from his Weavile colleague.

"Yeah, yeah, let's just get this boat going."

The two watched as Lyn turned and left before parting ways, Ellsberg flitting off for the stern as his thoughts began to settle back down into his work aboard the ship. The Bug-Type flew over, and perched on the rigging of the rear mast to begin to inspect it…

"Yeah, Elmer! Make yourself useful like the rest of us!"

…only to tense up as he heard the sound of squawking laughter from behind. The Mothim whirled around angrily, just in time to see a snickering Fearow and Swanna flying off. From the corner of his eye, Ellsberg saw Ketu watching, a smug smirk creeping over his face at the entire episode.

"What can I say?" the Weavile said smugly. "It's a catchy name, _Elmer._ "

The Mothim huffed angrily and for a moment entertained thoughts about knocking the miserable peons out of the air and into the sea with a timely Psychic. Rationalizing that a fight would surely not help Lyn's temper, the Bug-Type decided to leave the matter be and flew off grumbling. The sooner the Sea Guardian hurried up and fell into his tarsi, the sooner the days of being called 'Elmer' could end.

* * *

For a few harrowing minutes, Team Traveller ducked down alleyways and between stalls, trying in vain to shake off their Slurpuff pursuer. The group's lucky break finally came when the four came across a wall in an alleyway that they hopped across, Elty requiring a few tries more than the others to finally cross it. Winded, the team staggered to a small pile of crates in the alley where the four flopped down and paused to catch their breaths.

"Did- Did we lose that Slurpuff?" Pleo gasped.

"Yeah," Nida panted. "I think so."

The four eased up to their feet, still drawing labored and tired breaths. Guardia pulled her helmet tighter to her snout, giving an irked grunt about their current state of affairs.

"Ugh… well this is just great. We've gotten chased across that entire market and we didn't even get to stop by a single shop," the Cubone fumed. "How are we supposed to get a replacement bone for me _now?_ "

" _Jedną rzecz na raz!_ " Elty scolded. "Let's start by looking around here, maybe we'll find someplace to grab some supplies."

"Actually _paying_ this time, I hope," Nida grumbled.

The Nidoran rounded the corner and came across a lane filled with shops that were half-shuttered, a few others similarly closing down as chatter of 'food' and 'lunch' floated through the air. As the four carried along, they watched as the street slowly emptied of customers, shifting for other lanes with more edible wares to peruse.

The lone exception, and the only place that seemed to carry anything passing as food was a long shop made of stone with a battered slate-tiled roof. The sliver-like structure opened out to the lane through a narrow dingy storefront riddled with slabs of ruddy matter on the counter and hanging from hooks on roof's rafters. There at the counter, a displeased-looking Purugly carried on with a heated, hissing exchange with the Doublade proprietor.

"Hey! You can't expect me to pay 200 Poké for this!" the Purugly cried. " _As ucht déithe_ , it's not even properly dried yet!"

"What you see is what you get," the Doublade behind the counter shot back. "So are you going to take it or leave it?"

"... I'm going to a different shop," the cat spat.

The Purugly wrinkled her nose and turned, stomping away in a huff as Team Traveller watched.  
They glanced over at the shop she had stormed away from, sizing up the contents of the storefront. There, mixed in with the pieces of meat were shells, colorful birds' feathers, and much to Guardia's delight, a few strong, hefty-looking bones.

"Ah! That shop carries bones!" Guardia exclaimed, drawing some hesitant looks from her Nidoran and Lugia teammates as they sized up the uncouth proprietor.

"... I guess we could check it out a bit," Nida murmured.

Guardia darted ahead towards the scavver's shop, followed reluctantly by the rest of her team. The Doublade behind the counter scowled down at the young ones dismissively as they approached.

"Hm?" the Ghost-Type asked. "What do you kids want?"

"That leg-bone over there on the left would make a perfect club," Guardia said, pointing at a tapered bone near the edge of the counter. "What do you want for it?"

"That'll be 300 Poké," the Sword Pokémon replied.

Nida began to fish around in her pack for the money, only to be paused as she was assaulted by the rancid odor of decaying meat. Elty and Guardia seemed to smell it too, judging by how their noses wrinkled in disgust.

"Oi, aren't you scavvers supposed to try and _hide_ your spoiled stuff?" Elty barked. "You'll scare off your customers with stuff like this!"

"Eh, I'm not worried about it," the Doublade shrugged. "This shop's gotten by just fine doing things my way all these years, and I don't see a need to change things up."

"Huh?" Pleo chirped. "What do you mea-?"

"Don't sweat it Pleo," Nida sighed. "Let's just pay and get out of here before I gag."

She dropped the coins on the counter and left, motioning for the rest of her team to follow as she prayed for some pleasant smell to overtake the stench that clung to her nostrils. The four ducked into an alley running along the windowless length of the shop, the vile smells of the scavver's putrid storefront fading away as fresh air came in, along with some lingering uncertainties.

"Was there something wrong with that shop we went to?" the little Protector asked. "It seemed… different."

"How on earth do you town 'mons get suckered into giving away _money_ for that?" Guardia grumbled. "My colony wouldn't touch that stuff even if you _gave_ it to them!"

"Beats me," Elty grunted. "Why, if I didn't know better, I'd have thought they dug their stock out from a garbage heap behind a _real_ scavver's shop."

"Still, isn't it a little weird that a _cajero_ would care so little about what he's selling?" Nida murmured. "Especially since that Purugly _did_ say there were other shops in town like this…"

"You know, this isn't exactly what I had in mind when you said we'd get a job for the Torrent Tsars."

The four paused and looked around for the source of the voice. After seeing nothing but stony walls around them, Guardia chanced to notice a barred basement window up ahead, where the sound of grumbling could be heard. One by one, the members of Team Traveller crept over, where they saw a vaguely familiar-looking group consisting of a Zangoose, a Flareon, and a Banette seated around a crude table, playing a game of cards with flowery designs on them.

"You should be happy 'mons are hiring us at all after all the crews you've gotten us kicked from,"the Flareon huffed.

"Well hey look at the bright side," the Banette offered. "At least our job is as simple as pushing around Pokémon like that yappy Sentret down there."

"Fair enough," the Zangoose admitted, giving a bemused sneer. "That little loudmouth wasn't talking so high and mighty after I gagged his mouth shut!"

Nida's eyes widened at the mention of a 'yappy Sentret.' One logical part of her brain told her it could be anyone, but the phrase brought to mind one Sentret in particular: one with a penchant for showing up time and time again in unexpected places. Her conscience simply wouldn't let her write this off - if it really was Scout, she'd never be able to live with having left him behind… probably. The Sentret _could_ be annoying at times.

Her mind was made up when she noticed a nearby back-room, conspicuously unguarded and wide open with opportunity to rescue the pirates' captive.

"Let's go in," Nida whispered. "I think that Scout's in there."

"Whoa! You can't just sneak into there! There's guards inside!" Elty protested. "And you don't even know if that's not some random Sentret!"

"But it could also _be_ Scout!" Pleo squawked. "Either way, we have to help whoever's down there!"

Guardia and Elty looked at each other uneasily, only for the matter to be decided for them by Nida marching on ahead. The other Pokémon of Team Traveller followed in, and discovered that strangely enough for what they heard of scavver's shops, the backroom was large, open, and dusty from disuse.

Perhaps the reason why the Doublade went out of his way to have such terrible goods was to keep Pokémon from wanting to hang around the shop in the first place. After all, judging from the room and its emptiness, it seemed as if its role as a scavver's shop was a complete afterthought! At the far left of the room, the team spotted a stairwell where the pirates' voices filtered up from.

One by one, the group followed Nida's lead and crept down the stairs. There at the bottom they saw the three brigands from earlier distracted with cards in a side room, along with an unguarded hallway lined with doorless rooms. Nida motioned for them to follow, prompting the youngsters to inch along the hall.

They passed one room, and then another, discovering spaces that were empty barring boxes and some scattered rope. All the while, the stale, musky scent of various Pokémon lingered in the air... were all these places used to keep captives?

The group came to the fourth room, where after poking their heads inside, Team Traveller came face-to-face with a bound and gagged Sentret, who true to Nida and Pleo's suspicions was none other than…

"Scout!"

"Mrrph!" the Sentret answered.

"Hang on," Nida whispered. "Let's get that gag off of you."

The Poison-Type moved her paw over the knotted cloth and tugged it down. As Scout started to spit up fabric fibers, Guardia gave a puzzled shake of her head at the Sentret.

"What are you _doing_ here?" she questioned.

"And for that matter, what did you _do_ here?" Elty demanded. "If whoever grabbed you went through all the trouble of chaining you up instead of using rope, they must want you for something big."

"Yeah, so after we met in Otvaga, I wound up getting back onto the circuit to deliver Hariti's next letter," Scout explained. "And that involved hitching a ride with a Lapras out here in Rosequartz Town."

"Oh? But we didn't see any Pokémon that looked related to Hariti at this shop…" Pleo murmured.

"I _know_ that. I got snatched by those swirl-scarfed hoodlums as soon as I hit the docks," the Sentret snapped. "They thought I was a courier for some rival crew of theirs, and nothing I said convinced those block-heads otherwise."

"Uhm… are you sure it was _what_ you said and not _how_ you said it?" Elty sighed.

"It doesn't matter!" Nida insisted. "Let's just get you out of here and get going."

The Nidoran hurriedly shook a quill loose from her back and grabbed it from the floor, carefully working it into the crude padlock on the chains keeping Scout shackled to the floor. After a few tense moments of Nida blindly feeling around the lock, she finally felt the barb brush up against the pin and started to push against it.

"Ah!" she cried. "Got it-!"

"Hey! What do you brats think you're doing?!"

She was interrupted by a voice calling from the doorway, a shiver running up her spine as she spotted its source: the Zangoose pirate she oversaw from the basement window, backed by his Flareon and Banette companions.

"Great save by the way, spike ball," Scout grumbled.

The four youngsters looked around as the pirates closed in on them, finding that the room had only been built with a single doorway, which the Zangoose and his buddies were currently blocking. After being backed into a crate, Elty looked up, and saw that they carried up to a basement window that had a visibly rotted bamboo bar. It was a squeeze and there was no guarantee the bar would give, but with every other exit to them blocked off, there was only one thing to do.

"Run!"

Elty bolted for the crates, hastily bounding up them and squeezing through the basement window. After briefly struggling with the rotted bar, the dog broke it with a _crack_ and forced his body through the newly formed aperture. His teammates followed after, though before they could reach the top, they dove off with a yelp as a plume of fire swallowed up the crates, quickly reducing them to a collapsing pile of cinders and charred timbers.

"End of the road, punks," Scian growled.

"Yeah, maybe we'll keep you down here to keep your courier friend company!" Cerny added.

"Take this!"

The pirates' jeering was cut off by a sharp cry and the sight of a Cubone jumping at them with her club ready for an downward smash. Reflexively, Scian stepped forward and parried the Ground-Type´s blow with one of his claws, knocking her back and sending her tumbling back along the floor.

"Agh!"

"Hah, take that you stupid liz- Oof!"

The Zangoose yelped after feeling a sharp kick to his gut, stumbling back from its Nidoran culprit after she swiftly followed it up with a second blow. As the Normal-Type steadied his footing, Nida's ears perked up at the sound of a ghostly screech, whirling her head just in time to see Cerny running at her with his claws trailed by a shadowy aura.

"Here, lemme give you something to remember me by, Nidoran!"

Nida's barbs fanned out in a panic at the sight of the Ghost-Type diving at her. The Poison-Type attempted to turn and bolt, only for her legs to go wobbly and unresponsive from petrified shock.

"A-Aah!"

"Stay sti-!"

A loud _whoosh_ followed by a hard _smack_ and a pained shriek rang out. Nida looked up just in time to see Cerny sailing off headlong into a wall as Pleo skidded to a stop, trailing fiery blue light. The bird chirped surprisedly at the light and its sudden dissipation, only to be cut off by an aggressive yowl.

"Game over, you lousy gull!"

The Lugia whirled his head and went wide-eyed as he saw Scian lunge for him with his claws ready for a slash. The bird hastily hopped back, but too late to avoid a painful scrape from the Zangoose's sharp claws. The Cat Ferret Pokémon raised his other claw for a strike, only to see his foe turn and hastily bolt away.

"Hey, get ba- Agh!"

The Normal-Type ducked just in time for a plume of fire to pass by, prompting the creature to hastily roll on the ground to put out some stray embers that had singed his pelt. The cat shook his head, and glared furiously at the source of the fire, where a sheepish-looking Flareon stared back at him.

"Er… you kinda need to stay out of the way, Scian," the Fire-Type said.

" _I_ need to stay out of the way?!" the Zangoose fumed. "Maybe _you_ should learn how to aim, you-!"

"Oi you stupid clods, the room is on _fire_ right now!"

At Scout's exclamation, both Team Traveller and their foes looked up to see that orange flames had spread over the boxes and clutter in the room. The pirates looked up and went wide-eyed as they saw that tendrils of flame had spread to the rafters and begun to char them black.

"Gah!" Scian yelped. "Quick! Grab the rodent and let's-"

Nida grabbed a Blast Seed from her bag and wasted no time lobbing it right into the roaring flames. A deafening explosion rocked the room, chased by a wave of heat from the combined power of the flames and the seed and the crash of rafters and dust falling into the room. As the pirates struggled to regain their bearings amid the cloud of disturbed dust and smoke, Nida saw her opportunity for an escape and motioned to her teammates to follow her out.

"Now!"

The three ran out the doorway, tearing through the now smoke-filled hallway and up the stairs coughing and gagging. The trio wheezed and panted for air at the steps, limping along for the door, just as the Doublade from the counter floated in from a door separating the backroom from the front.

"Hey!" the Ghost-Type shouted. "What are you-?!"

Guardia didn't wait for the Doublade to finish, instead slamming the door behind her and following the rest of the team forward. After putting a good distance between themselves and Scout's captors, they found an alleyway shaded by canvas awnings that looked to be a safe resting place. They gathered there, each Pokemon run ragged and gasping for breath as the smell of dust, smoke, and exertion swirled in the air around them.

"I- I think we lost them," Nida stammered.

"Wait…" Pleo said. "Did Scout get out? And where's Elty?"

Each member of the team looked around, as if expecting the two to simply have rejoined them while no one was looking. Indeed, the Sentret and Growlithe were nowhere to be found. Guardia hummed, one paw on her chin; she couldn't remember seeing where Scout had gotten to, but she _did_ recall seeing Elty scamper out of the basement window in the chaos earlier.

"He must be off on his right now," the Cubone murmured. "He managed to get out before that _Booster_ torched those boxes we were climbing on."

"So, then all we have to do is meet up with him again, right?" Pleo answered.

The young Lugia waited expectantly for an answer from the pair, only for Guardia and Nida to remain silent and shift their glances away uncomfortably. Pleo began to pull his wings up against his body, the young Protector growing increasingly uneasy at his partners' lack of reassurance.

"… Right?"

"... Let's head back to the hostel. We can get the rest of our stuff and try to help Scout again before leaving the island tomorrow if things have settled down enough," Nida said, shaking her head. "If he didn't leave us after all this time over this bag, Elty will surely be back later tonight."

The Poison-Type sighed and led her teammates along to retrace their route back to the hostel. All the while a nagging sense of unease tugged at the three as one question kept coming back to mind over and over again:

Elty was adamant that he wanted to return back to his crew, but he wouldn't just leave them like this so suddenly…

Would he?

* * *

After a long day of searching for Team Traveller in the Crystal Mangroves, the Pokémon of the _Khranitel Rod_ had finally returned to the clan's claimed grounds on Braveshoal's outskirts. The creatures were visibly tired and worn-down from the long search, with audibly dispirited grumbles from a day coming back empty-finned drifting along the currents in the water.

"Urgh… what a day," Dimitri groaned. "I feel like I'm about to faint."

"You're in no position to be complaining," an accompanying Kingdra scoffed. "It's your fault we had to spend the day searching to begin with!"

"Wha- _My fault?!_ How is this _my_ fault?!" the Kabutops spluttered. Kuda huffed and gave a glaring scowl at his counterpart, loosening his tongue to give a verbal lashing.

"If you had just listened to _Ataman_ Viktor and _stayed away_ from that blasted island's waters-"

" _Enough!_ "

Dimitri and Kuda turned, seeing the form of a Dragalge glowering at them. After a tense silence, the Poison-Type moved on, swimming up to take his place above the seabed in the midst of a growing throng of Pokémon from the _Khranitel Rod._

"Everyone listen up," he grunted. "I've got a lot to say and not a whole lot of time to say it."

The gathered sea Pokémon abruptly quieted at their _Ataman's_ barked order, leaving the assembly punctuated only by the quiet churning of the sea and the sound of Viktor clearing his throat to continue speaking.

"Today, we found out that the Protector and his companions aren't in the Crystal Mangroves or any of the tunnels around it," the Dragalge began. "There's a few possibilities that could have happened, but all of them point to those kids having gone onto Orleigh."

The Ataman's words drew gasps and a torrent of loud concern from the gathered Pokémon. The god they had encountered was stranded all alone in a _pirate haven_? Just how much worse could this situation get?

"Naturally, this means that we're going to have to pay a visit to the place," the seahorse continued. "I will be talking through mission planning with some scouting teams, but I expect the rest of you to prepare for your parts in the matter."

A chorus of startled murmurs and wide-eyed stares followed the Dragalge's statement. Was _Ataman_ Viktor seriously insinuating that they should try and _attack_ Orleigh? Surely he of all Pokémon had to know that wouldn't end well.

"I _know_ that this is a more dangerous mission than normal, and I don't ask this lightly of you as your _Ataman_ ," Viktor said. "But the future of the waters we swim in could hinge upon what happens out in Orleigh in the next day, and I expect _all_ of us to stick together and fight to make sure that our future wins out."

The gathered Pokémon bobbed and traded hesitant looks with each other. When he put it _that_ way, it was harder to disagree... but even so, it was hard to work up confidence when even by Viktor's admission the mission was a long shot.

"That is all," he concluded. "Get whatever you need together tonight, we swim in the morning."

A long pause hung in the water among the gathered creatures before one after the other, Pokémon from the crowd began to scatter and rummage through bags of netting or hiding places in the reef for supplies for their coming trial. Kuda too turned and began to swim off, only to pause when he felt movement in the water behind him and noticed Dimitri following him.

"Look, Kuda," the Kabutops began. "About earlier-"

"Enough," the Kingdra huffed. "I still don't like this, but I know when to table an argument."

The seahorse turned away and prepared to swim off, only to be stopped by Dimitri raising his voice once again.

"I'll have your back out there, Kuda," the Kabutops offered.

The Kingdra turned his head and after a brief pause, gave a nod of his head before continuing on. Content with his comrade's quiet rapprochement, the Kabutops parted ways to grab supplies of his own and prepare for what would surely be the most important mission of his life.

* * *

Back out at sea the search for Team Traveller continued, with Pokémon from the _Vasilek_ prowling the sea and the nearby Subway tunnels in search for the Protector and his compatriots. On the deck, the Clawitzer captain had taken a break from searching, the sound of rummaging coming through an open cabin door before she exited carrying along a cup and a glass bottle sloshing with clear fluid.

"Ugh… I'm getting too old for this," she grunted. The shrimp poured the contents of the bottle out into the cup and took a swig. As the Howitzer Pokémon began to indulge herself in some much-desired refreshments, her first mate flitted by with a skeptical shake of his head.

"Uhm… Captain?" the Beedrill buzzed. "Isn't it a bit early to be drinking?"

"I've been looking through kelp forests and reefs for the last four hours, Jun," the crustacean hissed. "A little vodka won't be the end of the world."

"No, but it might be the end of the crew's…" her first mate murmured under his breath. Much to Jun's chagrin, Nagant proved to have a stronger sense of hearing than he assumed, as his comments were quickly answered by an agitated wave of her claws.

"A little flexibility would do you good, Jun," Nagant said as she sucked in a swig of the clear fluid. "Rules are made to be bent every now and then…"

"Captain! Captain!"

The pair turned and saw that Cyanea and Katyusha had swum back up against the side of the ship. They were back rather soon from the Crystal Mangroves, but whether that was a good or a bad omen remained to be seen.

"Does that also extend to those two?" Jun asked, drawing a grumbling roll of his captain's eyes.

"I'm not dignifying that with a response," she huffed, before training her attention on the duo in the water below.

"Back so soon?" Nagant asked. "What did you find out there?"

"Erm… about that…" Katyusha began. "Well, the Protector is kinda not in the dungeon."

"Katyusha! Give her the context!" Cyanea hissed before trying to reframe the Sharpedo's words to her superior.

"We found that out after we ran into that Kabutops from earlier again!"

The Clawitzer dropped her cup, splashing the remains of her drink on the deck. The shrimp carefully balanced herself on her tail, and peered down at the pair with a stern and impatient gaze.

"And what exactly did you hear?" Nagant prodded.

"Well, he was there with some other Pokémon from his _rod_ , and they were calling off the search for the Lugia," the Tentacruel explained. "They apparently figured out that he'd managed to get out of the dungeon."

"Ah!" Jun buzzed. "Then they must have made it to Rosequartz by now!"

"Yeah. When we chased them into the Crystal Mangroves, their guide had most of their stuff," the Sharpedo added. "A bunch of kids like them would run into trouble fast out in the wilderness without someone to hide behind, or at least some more supplies."

Nagant moved her little claw to her mouth deep in thought. Whether or not the Protector and his compatriots knew about Orleigh's nature, what she had heard of them hardly seemed to indicate that they were accustomed to roughing it in the wilds. In that case, all routes seemed to lead to Rosequartz Town…

And to the assumption that they would be encountered by many other Pokémon while there.

"… Then we should assume that we'll need to extract them," Nagant grunted. "And that the local pirates have figured out his true nature and started making moves to keep the Protector and his companions for themselves."

"An extraction?" Cyanea asked. "But there's other Pokémon actively hunting for that Protector! We'd have a day at most to get a feel for the town!"

"It _would_ be a difficult operation for a small team, Captain," Jun murmured.

"I'm aware of that," the Clawitzer rebutted. "Which is why we're going to have to engage in some gunboat diplomacy."

Cyanea's eyes widened and her Sharpedo partner's jaw dropped. Even Jun was taken aback with a startled buzz as Katyusha stammered and tried to articulate a response.

"Captain Nugget, that's insane!" Katyusha exclaimed. "We're a single frigate and that's _Orleigh!_ "

The captain reflexively glared at the sound of her name being butchered yet again. After a tense pause, the crustacean harrumphed and decided to let the matter slide... for now.

"I didn't say we were going to be doing it _alone!_ " Nagant hissed. "We'll have to rely on some outside assistance."

"From whom?" her first mate pressed. "We'd never be able to get reinforcements from the Admiralty in a day, let alone the means to hire mercenaries for that sort of raid."

The Clawitzer turned to a map pinned on the wall in the cabin where her drink had come from, prompting her to hurry and pull it down to spread it on the deck before her audience. Her eyes darted over the illustrated paper, before settling on a patch of sea with the forms of jellyfish and sunken ships on it, the cartographer's representation of Spirit Trench. The Water-Type paused, before a devious look started to glimmer over her eyes.

"Don't be so sure about that, Jun."

* * *

Back on Orleigh, the form of an orange dog paced down the tight alleys and lanes of Rosequartz Town. Far from his teammates' worries, the Growlithe hurried along, tracing his way down the warren of alleyways for the half-finished Aggron head that marked the Iron Fleet's hideout. With the scaffolding poking out in the distance in between lanes, the Fire-Type began to wag his tail expectantly, newfound vigor coming into each and every step.

"Almost there," he said to himself. "Almost-"

"Well, well, well… What do we have here?"

Elty's fur bristled on end as he recognized the chittering voice from Kenobi. The dog turned to run, only for Valatos to dart out in front of him from above, the Yanmega's Marowak and Manectric teammates quickly closing in from behind with low snarls.

"Ack!" the Growlithe yelped. "What are you doing here?!"

"We could ask the same of you, mutt," Nori growled. "After everything that you and your dweeb friends have put us through, you've got some nerve to show your face around us!"

The Fire-Type began to backpedal and noticed that the three weren't wearing the Company scarves he was expecting. Instead, they were golden, with a silver, spiky teardrop shape on them… the scarves of the Iron Fleet!

"Why are you wearing those scarves?" Elty stammered. "You're supposed to be stuck in some dead-end job with the Company!"

"We had to make a sudden career change thanks to you," Alvise snarled. "And we never _did_ get the chance to properly thank you for it."

Elty gulped at the mention of a "proper thanks" and pulled his ears and tail tight against his body. The dog desperately looked for a route to slip away, but every escape was blocked by the Yanmega and his companions pressing in ever tighter on him.

"I see you've realized what's going to happen, too," Valatos sneered. "We're going to have _veel plezier_ with you, Growlithe. Lots and _lots_ of-"

"Eltenios?! Is that you?!"

The four looked behind the Yanmega to see a surprised-looking Ledian and a flummoxed Hoppip in golden scarves. After a brief moment of stunned silence, the beetle shook his head before giving an annoyed glare at the Growlithe ringed by the new recruits.

"Ah! Kichiro!" Elty cried, the dog's yelp drawing an annoyed huff from the Ledian.

"It's _Keiichiro_ ," the Bug-Type snapped. "And where have you _been?!_ "

The Yanmega flitted quietly, casting confused glances back and forth between the Fire-Type, and his new teammate who seemed… familiar with him?!

"Eh?!" Valatos spluttered. "Wait a minute, you _know_ this fleabag?!"

"That's because we're from the _same crew_ , geniuses!" Elty huffed

Valatos and his companions looked at their cornered prey, and then back at their Ledian teammate. They could overpower the Bug-Type and his Hoppip comrade to get their revenge on the mutt… But if they got thrown out from a bottom-feeding crew like the _Iron Fleet_ , just where would they go afterwards? The three furrowed their brows and glared back at Elty before backing off, deciding to relent for now.

"This isn't _over_ , brat," Nori growled.

The trio sulkingly backed away, letting their captive walk free and towards an irked Ledian. The Bug-Type's companion, delighted to see a new face, was quick to offer cheery commentary.

"Wow!" the Hoppip exclaimed. "There's new recruits for our crew everywhere!"

"Shut up Wilhelm, nobody asked you," the Ledian buzzed annoyedly.

"… You had trouble filling spots again, didn't you?" Elty sighed.

"Oi, _you_ didn't help by standing up the crew back at Andaku!" the Bug-Type fumed. "What on earth were you _doing_ there?"

"… It's a long story," the dog grunted. "I'll explain when we get back to the hideout."

The Ledian gave a skeptical glance before shrugging the matter off with both sets of shoulders and led his returned teammate ahead, Valatos and his friends following right after. The Bug-Type carried on down a side lane, leading Elty through the door into Hess' half-built base. The Aggron captain was there at the front, chattering with Rodion about a recent visit to the Council. Their chatter didn't continue for long, as the room went quiet and all eyes fell upon the Growlithe as soon as he stepped through the doorway.

"Eh?! You're back!" a Cherrim exclaimed, only to trail off blankly. "… Wait, who is this again?"

"It's one of the ship-burners we lost on Tromba," a Litten whispered.

"Eh?" Hess rumbled. "How'd you manage to get all the way back here on your own?"

"Well…"

The Growlithe quickly launched into his tale about what he had experienced since being stranded in Tromba. Of the first night being assigned to 'Community Service' and his time as Team Traveller's punching bag-turned-teammate that drew surprised murmuring after the culprit of the storm turned out to be none other than a fabled sea god.

From there, the Fire-Type continued on with Lyn's arrival and how fate and perhaps divine interference roped him into a narrow escape to Boisocéan. He then moved on to telling them of their time at the treehut-laden isle before being forced to take flight to Kenobi, the turn of events serving to draw an irked buzz from Valatos as memories of the first time he crossed paths with that mutt and his friends were stirred up.

"Oh, so _that's_ how you all already knew each other," Kichiro said.

"Well, frosty introduction aside, your story sounds exactly like why I signed up!" Wilhelm burbled, drawing a skeptical frown and muttering under the Ledian's breath.

" _Someone_ never learned to be careful with what he wished for."

Elty's mention of his time in Kenobi drew some sour glares from Valatos and his friends. It was a special indignity to have to listen to that tubby mutt talk about how he and his runty friends had upended _their_ gig on that island. Though since he was talking about it in the first place, it begged a question...

"Hrmph," the Yanmega hissed. "So where's your friends now then?"

"Eh, I had to split tracks with them earlier today," Elty said, waving a paw.

The room suddenly went deathly silent, as the gathered pirates stared at the Growlithe storyteller. A few surprised looks went around, others apprehensive. If Eltenios hadn't misspoken, then that meant...

"Wait, so you're telling me that that 'Lugia' thing from Tromba is _here?_ " Hess asked. "How come you split up only now?"

"His spike ball friend is holding my bag hostage," the Growlithe grumbled. "It's why I didn't ditch them earlier."

"Oh, you mean that thing that you've had since you joined our crew?" the Aggron prodded.

"Yeah," Elty sighed. "I still need to figure out how to get that _back_ …"

"Oh, don't worry about that," the Steel-Type replied, giving a reassuring wave of his claws. "I'm sure we can work something out."

"Wait, really?" the dog asked.

"Of course!" the captain insisted. "This is the Iron Fleet, after all we look out for our own!"

"Uh…" a Noibat murmured. "But what about all the 'mons that we left behi-"

**_THWAM_ **

The Flying-Type's chatter was swiftly replaced with a heavy blow and a yelp as Hess slammed the bat out of the air with a downward punch. The hapless creature plummeted to the ground with a loud thump, and sprawled out on the floor dazed and groaning. The Aggron cleared his throat and gave a wag of his tail, trying his hardest to sweep the Noibat's undue frankness back under the rug.

"So… what do you say?" Hess offered. "Needed a helping hand there?"

"I'll take it," Elty answered. "It'll let me hit the ground running joining up with the crew again."

"Enough about the bag already," a Pawniard snapped. "Keep going on with the story."

The Growlithe opened his mouth to continue, only to notice that the shadows from the window had grown long and the sky outside had turned a dim orange color. The Fire-Type paused for a moment, wondering if it was proper to leave Team Traveller to take care of themselves. Bag aside, this _was_ a rough town…

Though then again, they'd handled themselves just fine back on Kenobi. And he knew from experience that the spike ball and bonehead could give some mean hits...

"Eh…" Elty whispered to himself. "One night won't hurt _that_ much."

"We're _waiting_..."

"Aherm… right," the Growlithe said. "So as I was saying…"

The Growlithe continued with his story, the rapt attention from his old peers serving to make him more and more at ease inside the half-built base. The dog carried on with his tale, covering mishap and misadventure as he told of the team's stint in Otvaga and their meeting with Nerea. As the sun began to set and the skies darkened, his concerns about Team Traveller's well-being similarly ebbed away.

Life had been a whirlwind since that fateful day in Tromba; but in that moment, everything seemed to melt away as the Fire-Type once again began to feel at home.

* * *

Back on Mengir, the day quickly whiled away under the glare of the withering sun. Crom and Pladur passed the hours fitting planks together and driving Iron Thorns in to fasten them in place. Kiran and Salvini spent their time flying and carrying up rafters and wooden shingles for the shrine's structures, where they slowly began to assemble them into something vaguely resembling roofing. Ander too was kept busy, spending his time hacking and sawing wood with his blades, if careful to avoid straying too close to the shrine or its shadow.

In spite of all this, the same gnawing sense that something was amiss with the shrine's site was never far away. While laying the foundation, Pladur chanced to notice the Apricorn fields in the distance, manned by Pokémon toiling away in between the rows of bushes. Even Salvini didn't seem to have much of a defense for the fields, brusquely dismissing it as how Administrator Zorn ran things and beyond her ability to question.

"Wait!"

"Huh?!" Pladur cried. "What's wrong?!"

But more pertinently to the five's efforts, they had discovered one of the beams holding up the shrine's unfinished roof was noticeably thicker at the top than at the bottom...

"We put in the support beam upside down!" Kiran exclaimed.

"We already nailed it in," Ander sighed. "If we take it out, we're going to have to also take out everything that's been built on top of it."

The group looked at the beam, and blanched as the enormity of Ander's words began to sink in. They had already fallen behind just getting to where they were with the shrine. If they had to redo the _entire_ roof, they'd have better odds of finding a Red Gyarados than finishing in time to collect their reward from Hertsog!

"Ugh… figures that the last thing that I wanted to do for this town would also be something I couldn't finish," Salvini mumbled.

"Huh?" Crom asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that I'm getting reassigned after tomorrow night," the Grovyle explained. "There's no way we'd be able to *finish* this just between the five of us by then!"

"… I'm sure that we can work something out, Salvini-" Kiran began, only to be interrupted by an abrupt question.

"But why are you getting _reassigned?_ "

An uneasy silence followed, as Crom quickly became aware that all eyes in the group had shifted to him after his outburst. The young Druddigon batted his wings uncomfortably, before deciding to try asking again less emphatically.

"Did something happen?" he questioned.

"… Nothing that you need to worry about," the Grass-Type muttered.

"Eh? But why not?" the Druddigon pressed. The nettle lizard turned with an expectant gaze to the Wood Gecko, only for her to rebuff him with a defensive cross of her arms.

"Why do you care so much about some stranger's problems?" she huffed. "It's _rude_ to nose around in others' lives unasked, you know."

"Because you seem like a nice Pokémon and I want to know what's wrong…" Crom trailed off.

Why was Salvini being this evasive…? What could she have gotten involved with that would make her so unwilling to talk...? The thought crossed the young dragon's mind that the two had both received messages from a common stranger earlier that morning. So then...

"Did it have something to do with the Pokémon that wrote our letters?" the Druddigon asked. "He was a Skarmory, right?"

The Grovyle stomped her foot and reflexively fanned out her arm blades, making Crom jump back with a yelp. Wh-What was wrong? Why'd she get mad all of a sudden?

"I said it's nothing you need to worry about, Druddigon!" she fumed. "I've already gotten enough headaches thinking about birds to last a lifetime, so either lay off, or _leave_ like that Skarmory and that overgrown Wingull!"

Crom and his companions went slack-jawed at the gecko's explanation. There was only one Pokémon that that 'overgrown Wingull' could be, prompting a torrent of exclamations to break the stunned silence.

"Wh-What?!" Kiran squawked.

" _You_ saw Pleo and helped him get away?!" Crom exclaimed.

"Where did he go?!" Pladur cried. "He had to have told you something, right?"

The Grovyle froze, her yellow eyes widened and startled as she realized that she'd spoken too much. If these strangers felt like it, they had all they needed to dredge up the Company tribunal that had almost ended her, without the benefit of a superior to vouch for her innocence.

Then again, they too seemed to have something to hide. But after everything that had already happened, it was hard to think of anything to say that wouldn't potentially make things worse…

With one exception.

"I- I've already said too much as is," she muttered.

"Look," Ander began. "If you would be able to tell us-"

" _No._ I've already messed up my life _enough_ by doing things without thinking them through," Salvini hissed. "I don't need to do it again with _you!_ "

Salvini and the others stared down each other, each waiting for the other to yield. Much to Crom's dismay, the gecko's scowl remained as firm and entrenched as ever... Was there really no way to convince her to tell where Pleo went?

"Is- Is there really nothing you can tell us?" the Druddigon pleaded.

"I'm sorry. I've already paid a lot for what I did," she answered. "I can't risk letting that sacrifice be for nothing."

A tense silence hung in the air as Salvini and the Pokémon from the Siglo Swellow stared at each other, only for a sudden flare of light to sweep over their eyes. The group turned off towards the horizon, where they saw that the sun had begun to set, turning the sky a dull orange. It wouldn't be long before it slipped over the horizon and the visibility started dropping, a dangerous situation given how aggressive the local ferals had shown themselves to be just yesterday.

"It's getting dark," Ander murmured. "We'd probably do better to call it a day here and come back tomorrow."

"That's right. Those ferals will be back before long," Pladur gulped. "I don't think we'd be able to get much done having to constantly fight off ambushes."

"I mean... I don't know how much I'll get done," Salvini said. "But I won't give up on this shrine while I'm still here."

The five uneasily started to pack up the supplies and tools around the worksite, eager to beat the sunset. All the while, Crom still felt a nagging dissatisfaction with how things had gone, prompting the young Dragon-Type to sidle over to Salvini to try and appeal for her help one last time.

"Salvini, can you-" Crom stuttered. "Please... at least think about telling us where Pleo went later?"

"... I will," she hesitantly answered.

The group set off shambling down the path for Fensedge, weighed down by the exertions of a long day of work, along with a sense of looming dread. Every time Crom and his companions looked back in the direction of the shrine's hilltop, they saw the incomplete bones of their work. If they _weren't_ able to finish tomorrow, they wouldn't be paid by Hertsog, and the Siglo Swellow would be stuck in port for at least another a few days, perhaps longer. But… with everything that was left to be done, how on earth _could_ they overcome this obstacle?

* * *

Back on Orleigh, evening gave way to night, but even after the full moon reached its zenith in the sky, Elty still had not returned back to Rasp's hostel. The Growlithe's absence started to weigh on the remaining members of Team Traveller, prompting them to ask Rasp for help keeping an eye out for the dog around the market district, just in case he had not been as fortunate as they presumed.

The three ate dinner at the hostel's dining hall and retired to their room, the unease over Elty's absence compounded by the discovery that the team's coin purse was running low yet again. And so it was that the three opted to retire for the night under the glow of the full moon.

_Uwaaah…_

Or, at least, they had been _trying_ to for several hours. Every time the group finally fell asleep, they were startled awake by the sound of mournful crying from outside. Pleo stirred drowsily in his straw bedding, looking over at his Nidoran teammate at the other side of the window.

"Nrgh… Again?" Pleo yawned. "I thought that the crying _stopped_ earlier!"

"It _did_ ," Nida groaned. "But I don't know why it's back, or how Guardia can sleep through this. I haven't heard a peep from her tonight!"

The young Protector shifted tiredly against his bedding, trying in vain to sleep in spite of the crying. It had been a second night with the same voice crying off in the distance, the voice they hadn't gone to help last night…

Was it crying because it was alone? That would surely be a tough thing to bear alone in this town... Though... Elty was probably all alone himself. Was he also going through something like this?

"... Do you think that maybe someone else here has been going through a hard time too?" the little Lugia murmured.

"I don't know what that crying Pokémon is going through," the Nidoran sighed back. "But _we're_ the ones having a hard time thanks to it right now."

"Actually… I was talking about Elty."

Pleo looked around, his glances doing nothing to dispel the sense that the room felt noticeably emptier than the night before. Elty's bedding was still empty and unclaimed, and Guardia's spot from the dresser still sounded as silent as ever. The young Lugia pulled his head against his neck uncomfortably, giving an uneasy glance over to his Nidoran partner.

"Are we doing the right thing just trying to sleep, Nida?" Pleo insisted. "What if Elty's hurt? Or worse?"

"He's not that helpless, Pleo," Nida countered. "And as long as I've got his bag, he won't be going too far…"

"Are you sure about that, Nida?"

Nida thought and twitched her whiskers uneasily. On one level, Orleigh's alleyways weren't _that_ safe given their run-in with the Marked pirates yesterday. On the other hand, if they went out to search for Elty, they'd be doing so knowing even _less_ about their surroundings than he did... and with how they had entered town, would he even _want_ them to find him?

"Yes. Let's just try and get some rest," she sighed. "We need you rested up if you're going to be able to fly us to Sormus tomorrow."

Nida settled back into her straw bedding, watching as Pleo preened a few feathers before he too settled down for rest. The Nidoran closed her eyes, only for the crying outside to stifle her attempts to drift off into slumber. After some turning this way and that way, the Poison-Type cracked her eyes open and looked up at the full moon in the sky.

Even in this safe harbor on this pirate-infested den, it seemed that proper sleep was ever elusive. Hopefully Pleo's wing would be better tomorrow, so that Orleigh and its sordid environment would soon be able to be left to slip into the realm of unwelcome memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _Jedną rzecz na raz!_ \- Polish: "One thing at a time!"  
>  \- _As ucht déithe_ \- Irish: "For the gods' sake".  
>  \- _cajero_ \- Spanish (Southern Cone): "shopkeeper, cashier"  
>  \- _Booster (ブースター)_ \- Japanese: "Flareon" (Official Romanization)  
>  \- _veel plezier_ \- Dutch: "lots of fun"


	51. Friend or Foe?

Crom and his companions plodded up the path leading to the shrine, their glum and trepid mood from yesterday's rough progress hung in the air like a cloud as they beheld the half-repaired shrine before them. At least the supplies they'd left had gone undisturbed overnight, the lumber and Iron Thorns unmoved from the places they left from the prior evening.

"Er… where do we start?" Pladur asked.

"I suppose we could redo that support pillar," Ander buzzed. "But I'm not sure how we'll manage to get the roofing done in time… or the painting for that matter."

"… We're not going to finish, are we?" Crom murmured.

Kiran paused and went silent, struggling to try and think of something to say back, only to fail to come up with any candid reassurance. The Swellow ruffled his feathers uncomfortably and shook his head, deciding that perhaps the best that could be done was to simply speak his mind.

"Let's try at least, alright?" the Flying-Type offered. "I can't say how this will turn out, but let's do our best, and keep up hope that we'll make things work out."

"I guess so…"

"Hey!"

The group turned to the source of the voice, where they saw Salvini rushing up the path towards them. She covered the ground between them with impressive speed, only stopping to catch her breath once she'd caught up with the others.

"Sorry I'm late," the Grovyle said. "I got held up by some last-minute packing on the way up."

"It's alright," Ander sighed. "You haven't missed much yet."

"Oh?" an inquiring voice asked from the shrine's entrance. "But it seems that you've made a decent amount of progress."

The group turned to the entrance of the shrine, where a certain Mienshao waved over at them from behind the unfinished pavilion, ambling over as he passively sized up their progress on the shrine thus far.

"Hertsog!"

"Sorry I couldn't make it yesterday," the Mienshao apologized. "But since it's the last day, I decided to set things aside to try and make it count."

"It's alright," Pladur answered. "If it wasn't for Salvini here, I don't think we'd have gotten as far as we could have."

"Salvini?" the weasel wondered.

Hertsog turned and blinked, startling somewhat at the Wood Gecko's presence behind his hired help.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. "I thought you said you were too busy."

"Er… well…" she began. "A friend let me know that you were busy specifically with trying to fix this place up, and-"

Salvini stopped mid-sentence as a familiar Leafeon and Ariados emerged from around the bend of the path, scanning the scene for the whiskered face of their former superior.

"Hertsog?" the Leafeon called out. "Are you there?"

"Yeah, we got your letter," the Ariados added. "Why didn't you tell us that this was what you were up to the first time? We'd have helped-"

Payak abruptly froze in place as the rest of the gathering came into view, along with the form of a familiar gecko standing among them. The sight similarly did not elude Phyllis, who like her spider partner, uncomfortably shifted her glance away from the group.

"Oh… you managed to get everyone together again," Phyllis murmured.

"Who are the new Pokémon anyways?" Payak questioned. The Ariados shifted his gaze and noticed Ander working at his woodpile, eliciting an uneasy shake of the Bug-Type's abdomen.

"And what's that Scyther doing here?"

"They're some help that I hired. But you'll help, won't you?" Hertsog asked. "With all the work that I see that needs to be done, I'm not sure we could finish without a couple extra paws."

The pair paused and looked at each other uneasily, unsure what to make about the unexpected Pokémon present. After a moment to visibly mull the matter, the pair turned back to the Mienshao, ready to announce their decisions…

"… Yeah, I guess I'm in," the spider chittered.

"I wasn't really sure what I could do to help," Phyllis mumbled, "But if you already have _another_ Marked here…"

"Then let's get to work," Kiran chirped. "It sounds like we don't have any time to lose here."

The Swellow and his partners set off at once for the worksite, uncovering the supplies to begin their day's work. The newcomer Leafeon and Ariados similarly joined in, though for one reason or another seemed to keep their distance from Salvini… Ah, there'd be time to ask about it later, Kiran reasoned.

For now, there was a shrine to be rebuilt.

* * *

"He's still not back?"

Pleo's words hung in the air as Team Traveller shambled out of their room and into the hallway leading downstairs. The three Pokémon carried on tiredly, yawning and squinting against the morning sunlight coming through the windows as they made their way for the hostel's lobby. It was a brand new day, and in spite of their hopes, their missing teammate still hadn't returned.

"Maybe something really did happen to him out there..." Guardia murmured.

"But what are we supposed to do?" Pleo asked. "We can't wait here forever for him!"

The little Lugia hopped off a short flight of steps and soared down ahead into the lobby. The white bird pulled his wings in and started to sleepily preen his feathers when he looked up and noticed Guardia and Nida staring at him slack-jawed.

"Pleo, you just flew!" Guardia exclaimed.

"Did it hurt at all?" Nida added.

Pleo's eyes went wide as the realization dawned on him: he really _did_ just take off, and barely felt a thing! The Lugia gave a surprised, disbelieving beat of his wing, moving it back and forth a few times.

"I mean, it's still a little sore, but I didn't notice it," Pleo murmured. "Does… this mean it's better now?"

"If it's not, it's really close. And that means that we can get off this island and move on to Sormus-" Nida began, only to be cut off by the sound of a sharp hiss from behind.

"Oi, careful about flying around inside! These furnishings aren't easy to replace!"

The three flinched at the sound of the chittering scold and turned as heavy footsteps stomped up. There, looking over them was none other than the hostel's visibly unamused Flygon proprietor.

"Oh, er… sorry about that," Pleo yawned. "We'll be more careful next time."

"I guess it's alright," the Flygon sighed, giving a shake of his head. "But isn't it a bit late in the morning for you to be yawning like that?"

"We were kept up by a crying Pokémon last night," Nida explained. "By the time we finally fell asleep it was the early morning."

"And Elty still hasn't come back…" Pleo muttered. "You would still be able to help us find him, right?"

"I would," Rasp responded. "But I have to drop off a replacement mat for my father first."

"Oh... well, fair enough, I guess," the Lugia muttered, heaving a heavy sigh. Even though Rasp had been so helpful so far, it was a shame that he wasn't able to look out for their lost teammate.

"Sorry if it's not all that helpful," the antlion murmured. "But I've already lost a bit of time unlocking this place and doing the morning rounds. Around these parts, you have to look out for your own first."

"I guess that's understandable," Nida sighed.

"If he's still not back after I'm done, I'll take you around to look for him," Rasp reassured. "But until then, hang in tight, okay?"

Rasp nodded to the young Pokemon and left, his father's mat under one arm. Nida and her friends watched him shuffle into the crowd outside, standing around for a moment unsure of where to go from there.

"There you all are!"

Pleo, Nida, and Guardia jolted upright and turned around at the sound of the familiar yipping voice. There behind them was none other than their missing Growlithe teammate, prancing along full of morning vigor… seemingly none the worse for wear and without a hint of unease over being absent overnight.

"Elty?!"

"So…?" the Growlithe began. "What did I miss?"

"Eh?! Where have you _been?!_ " Guardia demanded. "We just told Rasp that you were still missing!"

"I had to lay low after some Torrent Tsars spotted me leaving that 'scavver shop'," Elty answered. "By the time I got back, it was the middle of the night and you locked the room up."

"Wait, but then why didn't Rasp see you earlier?" Nida asked. "He would have told us if he knew you were around."

The Growlithe blinked, seemingly lost at his teammate's question. After a shake of his head, Elty folded his ears back, and gave a sheepish smile.

"Er… I wound up sleeping in a broom closet," the little dog insisted. "You know, someplace quiet to crash?"

"Eh? But Rasp just came by saying that he unlocked the hostel this morning," Pleo murmured. "How did you get in before then?"

Elty visibly paused, deep in uneasy thought. After having an answer come to mind, he gave a dismissive wave of his paw and disarming wag of his tail.

"Uh… Well, I didn't _start_ in the closet," he explained. "I dozed off in a box in front of the door when I couldn't find a way in. Rasp must've moved it indoors while I was sleeping."

Nida and Guardia traded dubious glances with one another, and even Pleo seemed to find the Fire-Type's tale a bit hard to swallow. He'd found a box to doze off in right in front of the inn and Rasp brought it in without noticing his extra weight or snoring? There was surely something that he wasn't telling them...

"Anyhow, while I was out, I think that I found a lead for Blackmoon Village that you might find handy," the Growlithe offered.

"Oh?" Pleo chirped. "What was it?"

"One of the shopkeepers near the docks said that she knew a thing or two about it," he offered. "She said that she'd be open to telling about the place if we came during her break."

"Oh?" Guardia asked, eyeing Elty dubiously. "Care to give a little more detail there?"

"Eh… It's hard to put in words, but I'll lead the way," the dog insisted. "I'm the one who knows the way around this town, after all."

Nida, Pleo, and Guardia stared hesitantly at Elty. His story obviously sounded fishy... On the other hand, this _was_ the port he called home, and he'd come back for them when he could have just run off. All the more to think that they were making making much ado out of nothing here.

"Alright, lead the way," Nida sighed.

The Growlithe obliged with unusual enthusiasm, bounding out the door and beckoning for the others to follow. The others tagged along into the morning sun, eager to meet this shopkeeper to find a lead to Pioppo Island. The now-reunited group carried on following the heels of their canine guide, none the wiser that he once again led them along with a knowing smirk.

* * *

At the hillside shrine overlooking Fensedge Village, the repairs went by smoother than Crom could have imagined coming up the path. The process of Pladur and Hertsog replacing the upside-down support beam flew by quickly, leaving Kiran and Payak to work on the roofing and free the pair to help Salvini right and reassemble the toppled monoliths. Phyllis, unable to fully be swayed from her aversion to the site was kept busy providing support splitting shingles for the roof. At the same time, her Scyther counterpart took a reprieve to slip a pair of canvas sheathes over his blades. The Bug-Type stopped to dab some charcoal dust on them before sketching some shapes onto paper which the others surmised to be cutting patterns.

After a few hours of work, the shrine's buildings began to slowly take form, serving to lift Crom's spirits as he helped to ferry batches of shingles and Iron Thorns to and fro. His latest delivery took him over to the side of a small pavilion taking shape near the path where his team captain swooped down in order to carry them back up.

"Heh, I think it's actually starting to look like a shrine now!" the young Druddigon exclaimed.

"Well, let's not get _too_ ahead of ourselves, Crom," the Swellow chided. "These roofs still needs to be finished."

"Er… right."

"I think I can handle the rest here," Kiran chirped. "Maybe see if the others need an extra set of claws to help."

Crom nodded and wandered off to check on his coworkers. Up near the roof of the larger pavilion which needed the beam transplant, he found Phyllis and Payak working together. The former sticking tiles onto a strand of Payak's web on the ground so that he could pull them up to the roof. Currently, the Ariados looked a little disgruntled as he inspected a curved tile which didn't seem to fit onto that section of the roof at all.

"Eh? Phyllis?" the Bug-Type murmured. "You keep sending me tiles that don't fit for this roof."

" _Izvinyavaĭ_ , it's just really hard to judge what you need from down here," the Leafeon said.

"... Look, I know you feel… different about this place than most Pokémon," the Ariados began. "But your help would really come in handy up here. I can't exactly cut these tiles up if they don't fit, you know."

Payak looked down and saw Salvini approaching under his rooftop perch. The Grovyle paused and looked up uneasily, placing a claw tentatively on one of the pillars and weighing whether or not to head up.

"Hey, Payak… did you need-?"

"... Nevermind, I'll figure something out on my own," the Ariados chittered.

Salvini glanced up at her former teammate, a pleading look in her eyes. It found no purchase with Payak however, who pretended to busy himself adjusting some roof tiles. The Grovyle sighed and let the matter rest, wandering off to make herself useful elsewhere, prompting Crom to turn back puzzledly to the rooftop spider.

"Eh?" Crom asked. "How come you didn't let Salvini help you?"

"Er… I don't think that she'd work well with us, young one," Phyllis answered, shaking her head.

"Huh? But why not?" the Druddigon murmured. "You need another Pokémon to help, don't you?"

"We had a falling out over her deciding to put her feelings before work, and it wound up coming back to bite us all," Payak harrumphed. "I just can't work with 'mons like that."

"But- But she always tries to help out other Pokémon, though," Crom insisted.

The two Pokemon eyed one another warily, glancing back at the young Druddigon with a hint of skepticism etched across their faces. Neither one said anything though, instead allowing Crom to continue his explanation.

"I mean, she does seem like the type who might get into more than she bargained for in the process..." the Dragon-Type began. "But from what I've seen of her, she just seems like she's trying to brighten others' days."

The three looked at each other uneasily for a moment, before the Druddigon shuffled along. Crom looked over his shoulder and saw that Payak and Phyllis both seemed to be deep in thought, as if visibly wavering on a hard decision.

"Well, I can't say he was really wrong there," Phyllis murmured. "She always was one to try and help out, even if it meant crossing a line."

"If she'd only known where to draw the line," Payak sighed. "Then we'd all be doing our rounds right now and we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"... But, then would she really still be Salvini?"

The Ariados paused and mulled the matter over, before turning and calling out just loud enough for Crom to hear in the distance:

"... Salvini?" he asked. "Were you still up for helping out with those tiles?"

In the meantime, Crom continued along, heading over to the shrine's now-righted stone menhir to pick up a new bucket of paint when he heard footsteps pattering up behind him.

"Hey! Kiran let you go already?" Pladur asked.

"Oh, I was actually looking for some more work to do," the young Druddigon said. "Is there anything else we need to assemble?"

"Nothing here," his father replied. "Why, this shrine's been put together enough that we ought to start painting it!"

"Oh? What's this place supposed to look like?" Crom wondered.

Pladur opened his mouth to respond, but failed to find an answer as he stared blankly at the shrine and realized he didn't actually have any clue beyond Hertsog's sketches as to what the shrine looked like. While the Fighting-Type certainly had a decent command of perspective, there was not a clue as to what colors filled in the parts of the shrine scribbled out by the charcoal streaks.

"Er… now that you mention it…" Pladur murmured.

As he scanned the area for some guidance on the matter, he caught sight of Hertsog passing nearby. He held up a claw to stop him and ask for some advice.

"Hertsog!" the Fraxure cried. "Do you know how this place is supposed to be painted?"

"Well… the roofs were deep royal blue, and I remember the railings were grayish white," the weasel answered. "And there was a mural of our Protector on the rear walls."

"Oh?" Crom asked. "What did it look like?"

Hertsog frowned and held his paw to his chin. The mustelid thought, and thought, before giving an uneasy twitch of his whiskers. No matter how hard he racked his brain, he simply couldn't think of an answer to the Druddigon's question. Gah! If only he had better documented the shrine as it once was!

"Erm…"

"Check in my bag, Hertsog!" Salvini's voice called.

"Oh?"

The weasel followed Salvini's claw along to a small bag that had been set beside one of the menhirs. There, he slipped his fur-sleeved paws in and opened it to see a stack of papers blackened with charcoal. The Mienshao pulled them out and began to peruse them, quickly realizing that they were all scenes depicting the great stag that was Protector of their island.

"Ah! That's right! They looked like these rubbings!" Hertsog exclaimed. "… Except, it's missing the colors for it."

"Er…" Pladur murmured. "I don't know how we could solve that-"

"Like so."

The Scyther held out his blades before the Fighting-Type, holding a few scraps of paper between them with his flats. Hertsog gave a curious twitch of his whiskers before taking them and looking through them. There, on them were the forms of a great blue-and-black stag with many-hued horns... Ah! This was it! These were the colors the Protector had been painted in so many years ago!

"These ought to give you an idea of what to work with," Ander offered.

"Huh?" Kiran asked. "But where did you get these, Ander?"

"... I remembered seeing some drawings from long ago," the mantis answered. "It's no big deal."

The Swellow paused, looking down at the sketches still incredulous at Ander's change of heart. The Flying-Type slowly stuffed away the drawings, before clearing his throat, fishing for something to say back.

"... Thank you," the bird answered.

The Bug-Type gave a dismissive wave of his blade and shuffled off to go and help Phyllis with her task of splitting shingles. From there, Hertsog and Pladur headed off with the drawings to go and prepare paint for the emergent shrine as Crom and Kiran occasionally gave glances at the Marked Scyther wondering what had swayed him so...

And wondering how it would be best to give them their thanks later.

* * *

Back in Rosequartz Town, Elty's guidance led the team deep into the settlement's warrens. The four passed alleys and shifty-looking lanes before reaching a place where the whiff of seawater reached their noses. They were evidently close to the harbor, near enough that the masts of the ships in harbor peeked over the nearby rooftops. The Fire-Type led his teammates along into a courtyard behind a cluster of sleepy shops, Guardia casting a wary glance at her surroundings as she paced deeper in.

"So... how did you meet this Pokémon again?" she asked.

"Yeah, didn't you say you had to lay low the whole time?" Nida pressed.

"I heard about her from the 'mons that hid me," Elty answered. "They told me she'd be here and that this was the best time to try and talk with her."

"Huh?" Pleo wondered. "But _who_ told you?"

"A not-so little bird told him," a low, rumbling voice answered.

Nida and Pleo froze and felt their blood run cold at the voice. Just then, a flurry of activity broke out as one after the other, Pokémon in golden scarves emerged from alleys and behind boxes, casting predatory sneers. Guardia too blanched as she saw that intermingled among the faces were those of a familiar Yanmega, Marowak, and Manectric. With a tremor along the ground, the owner of the low voice soon made himself known as the hulking form of none other than Hess. The captain of the Iron Fleet stepped forward with a growl, staring down his newly encircled victims.

"It's been a long time, brats," the Aggron sneered.

At once, Nida, Guardia, and Pleo realized _what_ Elty had been hiding from them. He was waiting to lead them into this ambush! Filled with rage and disgust, Nida whirled to the Fire-Type, baring her teeth and seething.

"Elty, you _betrayed_ us?!" the Nidoran shouted. "Why would you do this?!"

Some puzzled stares went about the gathered pirates, mixed with stifled snickering. Among them was a bemused-looking Ledian, who gave a teasing look at his Growlithe counterpart.

"Wait, _Elty?_ " Kichiro snickered. "That's what they've been calling you?"

The Fire-Type folded his ears back and snorted out a few cinders with an annoyed huff. That spike ball just _had_ to leave something behind after they parted ways, didn't she? The dog shook his head, turning his attention back to the glaring Nidoran.

"Look, this is _my_ place and I _told_ you I was leaving once I got my bag back," the dog growled. "So fork it over peacefully, and then you're free to-"

"Spend a nice long stay with us as hostages," Hess added.

At once, Elty's eyes widened and his fur stood up out of surprise. That- That wasn't why he led Team Traveller here at all! What was Hess _doing?_

"H-Huh?" the Fire-Type protested. "But I thought we were just getting my bag back."

"I'm getting _something_ back for all the grief their stupid hick town has caused me," the Aggron growled. "Some ransom money sounds like a good consolation!"

"Ransom money?" Pleo gulped.

The Steel-Type gave a heavy stomp against the ground, prompting Team Traveller's hearts to race as a low snarl from the pirate captain filled the air.

"As for you three, I'd suggest you know when you're beat," Hess growled. "Even that little bone-headed monster of yours can't help you in a fight with my entire crew!"

A few of Hess' cronies chuckled nervously, no doubt remembering their recent abortive raid on Bluewhorl. Although their captain was menacing, no one could quite forget the sight of the Aggron being blown clear across the island by none other than the seabird he was currently trying to intimidate. Hess glanced at the uneasy-looking crew, his menacing visage quickly slipping into a nervous one as he too remembered Pleo's power. He quickly shook the expression away; his crew would never let him live it down if he backed down now. With some effort, he pulled his face back into a mean snarl and rallied his crew.

"H-Hey, what's with that attitude!" he chided. "It won't be _that_ hard to teach these brats a lesson!"

Hess gritted his teeth and stomped the ground again, thrusting his face towards Pleo's. The young Lugia flinched and shrank away, but even after asserting his dominance, Hess had trouble shaking the nervous undertone from his voice.

"G-Go ahead, try me!"

Pleo brought his wings together with a startled squawk, prompting the Aggron to flinch and reflexively stumbled back at the gust. After realizing that his feet were still firmly rooted to the ground and the attack left little more than a dull breeze, the Steel-Type blinked before turning back to Team Traveller with a predatory smirk creeping over his maw.

"I was right? I mean- I was right!" he crowed. "Hah! You really don't know how to control your own power!"

Some derisive laughs went around the gathered gold-scarves. Maybe they couldn't handle this 'Protector' back on Tromba, but they could certainly handle him _now._ Pleo, Nida, and Guardia inched back uncomfortably as the pirates began to close in with battle stances, not least including their Aggron taunter ahead giving a few explorative taps against the ground to sense out underground stones.

"Well, unfortunately for you," the Steel-Type sneered. "We _do!_ "

Hess crouched and readied himself for a stomping leap, prompting Nida, Pleo, and Guardia to flinch and brace themselves for the Aggron's incoming blow. Elty watched as the Steel-Type leapt up and reflexively tackled the other members of Team Traveller back, sending them stumbling back as a mass of stones ripped out of the earth and sailed overhead. The Rock Slide carried on, sailing across the gathering trailing a plume of dust and dirt. The oncoming mass of earth prompted Pokémon to hastily scurry out of the way in a panic, before it collided directly into a hapless Voltorb.

"Augh!"

Nida thrashed against the feeling of a heavier body pinning hers down, reflexively kicking at the furry presence and flinging it off of her. As Elty tumbled back with a yelp, the Poison-Type saw that amidst the dusty confusion, there was an open path for the street outside, prompting her to reflexively cry out to draw her teammates' attention.

"Run!"

Team Traveller bolted for the exit under the cover of the nascent dust cloud as attack after attack flew in their direction. With each assault, the dust cloud grew larger and thicker until it enveloped the entire courtyard in a confusing mass of shouts, coughing, and pained yowls. Sensing that his underlings were now hitting each other more than their targets, Hess stomped the ground, hastily bellowing out for order.

"Gah! Cease fire! Cease fire!" the Aggron shouted.

The Steel-Type coughed as the dust swirled and settled out of the air, revealing a cohort of battered and confused pirates... with the three blue-scarfed brats nowhere to be seen.

"Wh-What?!" Hess exclaimed. "How did-?!"

As some confused looks filtered around, Elty felt something grab him by the nape of his neck and lift him off the ground. The Fire-Type reflexively flailed, before coming face-to-face with a seething Ledian.

"What did you do, _Elty?!_ " Kichiro hissed.

The Growlithe pawed at the spot where Nida kicked him, scowling at the indignity of being lifted off the ground and having his name knowingly botched. Sensing that he needed to clear the air quickly, Elty quickly shot back at the Ledian's insinuations.

"I jumped the gun, alright?" the Growlithe huffed back defensively. "Why are you giving _me_ the third degree? That rabbit just _kicked_ m-"

"Oi!" Rodion exclaimed. "They're making a break for it!"

"Huh?!" Hess looked up, catching sight of Pleo beating his wings for takeoff. With Nida and Guardia hanging on tight, he finally managed to lift off the ground… but his flight was short-lived, as a sudden crosswind blew him off-course, sending him spiraling down again.

"After them!" he bellowed.

The Aggron stormed off, his underlings swarming after him as Nida, Pleo, and Guardia desperately ran past the courtyard's entrance. The Steel-Type charged after them, and after seeing an approaching cross-street, he reflexively went wide-eyed as he saw the three attempt to sneak off.

"Hold it right there!"

The Iron Armor Pokémon leapt up and landed on the ground with a forward slide, sending forth a hail of stones that zipped along. The stony barrage narrowly missed the youngsters overhead, carrying on into the street with a series of loud crashes followed by startled outcries.

"ARGH! My leg!"

"My shop! My poor shop!"

" _C-Cad sa diabhal?!_ Wh-What was _that?!_ "

"Hurry!" Hess shouted. "Don't let that Protector get away!"

At once, a pregnant silence settled over the crowd, incredulous blinks going around both shopkeeper and pirate alike. The gathered Pokémon turned their heads to follow the fleeing Lugia and his companions, then to the Iron Fleet, and then to each other. Going wide-eyed at his realization that he'd spoken too much, Hess stammered, desperately trying to concoct an explanation to put the cat back in the bag.

"E-Erm," the Aggron stammered. "What I meant to say was-"

"Wait that overgrown Wingull is a Protector?!"

"So those sea yarns the Iron Fleet were telling are _real?!_ "

"Let's go get him!"

Much to Hess' dismay the nearby brigands and even a few shopkeepers took off running, some after his targets, others off to other parts of town to gather reinforcements. The Aggron grimaced, throwing a claw over his face with a groaning whine.

"Argh! Why does this always _happen_ to me?!"

Hess gave an annoyed shake of his head before charging off, his underlings following suit in their pursuit of the Protector and his companions. At the back, a lonely Growlithe hesitated on a now-empty street.

This... wasn't how he thought things would go. He was finally back where he belonged, but for whatever reason seeing Team Traveller chased around like this didn't sit well with him.

"Oi, mutt! _Schiet op!_ Get _moving!_ "

Elty looked up and saw Valatos gesturing impatiently for him to follow. The dog shook his head and dashed along afterwards. A good run always helped him settle his mind, and who knew? Maybe he could use it to make things go as planned after all.

* * *

Two knots away from the unfolding chaos in Rosequartz, a school of marine Pokémon in blue bands with red dots cut through the water. The clan of sea nomads climbed upwards, breaching the surface and bobbing along the waves as Orleigh's green hills became visible in the distance.

"We're getting close," a Relicanth reported. "I can see the masts from the ships in port!"

"Then get ready to take your positions," the leader Dragalge instructed. "Sea team will create the diversion at the harbor, and the land team needs to make the most of our time to check the spots we talked about."

"That's your cue, Dimitri," Kuda grunted. "You're ready for it this time?"

"I'm ready- Huh?"

As the Kabutops whirled his head to respond to his Kingdra teammate, he blanched at the sight of what laid in the distance beyond. There, off in the rapidly approaching distance was a frigate with indigo sails barreling straight towards them followed by what looked to be a veritable of pink and blue shapes on the horizon. A volley of jets of water and shadowy gusts of wind sailed off from ahead as the hazy, incoherent sound of shouting rang out, which made Viktor's eyes widen as he realized the pink and blue forms were a sea of Frillish and Jellicent.

" _Vniz!_ "

The nomads hastily broke ranks as the ship barreled on ahead, Dimitri and Kuda diving down just in time to dodge the frigate's hull passing overhead. The Kabutops watched as the ship's accompanying swimmers zipped by, and looked up just in time to see aSharpedo and Tentacruel zip by. The ship and its cohorts passed, leaving a wake of churning, turbulent water. The Kabutops stared blankly for a moment, before popping up to the surface along with his teammate spluttering out of startled shock.

"Those- Those were the same Imperials from earlier!" Dimitri cried.

"How did _they_ beat us to the punch?!" Kuda exclaimed.

Dimitri froze as the frigate sailed on for Rosequartz, his eyes widening as a sinking realization dawned on him. The Imps who ambushed him just pas Spirit Trench must have gone back and told their superior! If they didn't do something quick, they'd get Pleo before the _rod_ could, and take him to a far more impossible place to rescue him from than Orleigh!

"We need to hurry," the Kabutops muttered. "If the Imperials are in on this too, we don't have much time to work with."

"You don't have to _tell_ me!" Kuda snapped. "Get a move on-!"

"Hey! What are you doing?!" a roaring voice demanded.

The pair spotted Viktor glaring at them intensely, turned away from the frigate and motioning for them to follow.

"Huh?!" Dimitri exclaimed.

"I said get down!" Viktor shouted "Our plans didn't account for a bunch of Pokémon from Spirit Trench stirring the pot!"

"But _Ataman_ ," Kuda protested. "This is our only-!"

The seahorse was cut off by a shadowy, cutting gust of wind slicing across his side, prompting the seahorse to thrash in the water with a startled yelp. Dimitri turned in the direction of the attack, seeing that a number of the shapes were breaking off from the horde, revealing themselves to be Jellicent preparing a fresh salvo of spectral attacks.

"Now!" Viktor snapped.

The three hastily dove under as a hail of shadowy beams and gusts passed overhead, slicing through the water as a number of the spectral jellyfish broke off in pursuit of them. As Dimitri weaved around jets of water and ghostly attacks, he was bothered all the while by how thoroughly the _rod's_ plans had unravelled and how the situation had gone out of his claws.

"I just hope the kids will make it through alright…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
>  
> 
> \- _Izvinyavaĭ (Извинявай)_ \- Bulgarian: "Sorry" (informal) (BGN/PCGN 2013 Romanization)  
>  \- _Cad sa diabhal_ \- Irish: "What the hell", "What on earth". lit. "What the devil"  
>  \- _Schiet op!_ \- Dutch: "Hurry up!"  
>  \- _Vniz! (Вниз!)_ \- Russian: "Get down!" (BGN/PCGN Romanization)


	52. Side Effects

"Well, I didn't think we'd make it at first… but what do you think, Hertsog?"

The Mienshao took a step back and followed Pladur's claw along in the air, scanning over the newly-finished shrine. A small smirk crossed his face, growing into a wider and wider grin as he took the scene in. The more he looked about the pavilions and the righted standing stones, the more details he recalled from the stories of the past.

"It looks just like the stories that my grandparents used to tell me," Hertsog said to the group.

"To be fair, we can't take _all_ the credit," Kiran admitted. "If it weren't for your friends' extra help, we'd have never managed to close the gap before you sailed off."

Salvini, Phyllis, and Payak traded smiles and shifted bashfully at the stranger's compliment. It wasn't _that_ big of a deal, was it?

"It was just a matter of helping out a friend, that's all," Payak insisted.

Before Kiran had the chance to reaffirm his compliment, a rustling in the bushes drew everyone's attention, halting the conversation at once. The group fell silent and eased into battle-ready stances, all eyes locked on the shaking shrubs.

"Brace yourselves," Ander whispered.

As they feared, out from the shrubbery came the same seething trio of Beautifly and Dustox that had ambushed the team just the other day. The Dustox in the group scowled and opened her mouth to speak, but a half-formed threat died in her throat as she caught sight of the refinished shrine. She and her swarmmates exchanged suspicious glances amongst themselves, prompting the quartet's Beautifly leader to flit forward to question the workers.

"… What sort of game are you all trying to play here?" the Bug-Type demanded.

"Yeah," the Dustox added. "Why would you fix up our god's shrine after everything that's happened?"

"Because we don't all think what happened was good like you seem to believe," Hertsog answered. "And I wanted to do something to give back for those Pokémon before I left this island."

A lull fell over the angry Bug-Types, and each of them took the time to flit up to the shrine and eye its details closely. They murmured amongst themselves for a moment before a Beautifly with tattered wings broke away from the pack to address the other Pokemon.

"Well, it's certainly more than we expected," the butterfly grunted. "... You can count on others hearing about this soon enough."

The Beautifly leader evidently had nothing to add to his companion's assessment, instead giving a terse nod and leading his group back into the depths of the greenery. The Dustox lingered for just a moment, glancing back at the shrine before being called back by an annoyed buzz from her leader. The stragglers too disappeared into the trees, and then the shrine was quiet once more.

"… What did they mean by that?" Crom murmured.

"I think it was a thanks," his Swellow mentor answered. "Even if they're not fully ready to let all of the past go just yet, they seemed happy to see this place in proper shape again."

_Clink clink clink_

The four Pokémon from the Siglo Swellow turned and saw their Mienshao client approach them, playfully tossing a small bag up and down: the unmistakable chime of jostling coins coming from within. For a second, the group stared and blinked uneasily at the Fighting-Type, unsure what he was up to.

"Huh?" Pladur asked.

"Well, it _would_ be wrong of me not to pay you," Hertsog chuckled. "I'm a bit short on time, so I figured now is as good as any."

Pladur and his teammates each offered a modest shrug and an appreciative bow of their head at the weasel, before recoiling slightly one after the other as direct sunlight hit their eyes. A moment of dazzled silence later, their vision adjusted, and the group noted the sun's burnt orange color, and the way it moved toward the horizon... Eh?! It was almost sundown already! Most shops on the island would be closing around now, and the Siglo Swellow was still missing critical supplies for its repair!

"Ack!" Pladur cried. "And we have to get that pitch still!"

"Come on, if we hurry, we can still make it to the shops!" Ander buzzed.

Kiran, Pladur, and Ander hustled towards the market district, hoping that they'd make it there before closing time. Crom himself lingered a moment, before turning back to Salvini and her friends, bowing his head low in gratitude.

"Thanks again for this job," the Druddigon said. "You have no idea how badly we needed this to fix up our ship."

" _Nyama zashto_ , young one," Hertsog said. "Really, we should be thanking _you_ for all the good your repairs have done on our end."

"Huh?" Thanking _him?_ But wasn't it a bit too soon to tell if the shrine's repairs would do any good? The Druddigon gave a puzzled tilt of his head at the Fighting-Type, before murmuring back an answer.

"If you say so..."

The Dragon-Type glanced behind him, noticing that the forms of his companions were rapidly fading into the distance; his cue to hurry along and catch up with them.

"Uh, anyway… I should probably get going too," the Cave Pokémon said, before giving a cheery wave to the four Pokémon and turning for the path. "Goodbye, everyone!"

Hertsog and the others watched as Crom stumbled after his teammates in a hurry. Once he had left, they simply stood around, an idle silence coming over the group as they pondered their next move. Payak was the first to speak up, taking the opportunity to break the ice with Salvini.

"Hey, Salvini?" Payak asked.

"Hrm?"

"Thanks for the help today," the Ariados said.

"Yeah," Phyllis added. "It was just like old times…"

"Well, it wasn't completely like old times," Salvini chuckled. "I never knew you were that good with roofing, Payak."

Hertsog beamed at the sight of his former subordinates smoothing things over at long last, and looked ahead to the path down the hill. The Mienshao happened to catch glimpses of Crom and his teammates making their way down the path. The weasel smiled down on the four strangers, hoping on a slim chance that one of them might look back to him and receive it.

"And thanks to you all, too," the Fighting-Type murmured. "May your travels take you safely to where you need to be."

* * *

Unbeknownst to Crom and his companions, Team Traveller had had a fitful day some hours ago when the sun still stood high in the sky. Back on Orleigh, the three stormed through a narrow alleyway, leaving a cloud of dust in their wake as they scrambled out of the path of various beam attacks directed their way from behind. The group rounded one corner after the other and pushed their legs to go as fast as they could carry themselves, the attacks finally seemed to dwindle in frequency, and fall further off their mark as they zipped by. Although they certainly couldn't afford to stop moving, this slight reprieve at least inspired a bit of hope despite their bleak circumstances.

"I think we're losing them!" Nida panted. "Quick, over-!"

The Nidoran's words were cut off with a yelp as a jet of water zipped overhead. The three youngsters looked back, where much to their horror, they saw a Floatzel in a golden scarf charging ahead, leading a large pack of peers from the Iron Fleet.

"There they are!" Rodion shouted.

The three Pokémon turned and bolted as beams, projectiles, and the occasional seed sailed past, a sharp gust of wind brushing Pleo with a yelp. Nida attempted to shift her bag forward to fish out an orb, only to fumble over and over again to retrieve anything from it as their pursuers closed in.

"Gah! They just keep coming!" Nida squeaked.

"We need to shake them for a bit!" Guardia cried. "Look for cover! Someplace like-"

A short way into the distance, Guardia spotted a storefront which currently sat vacant, save for some small, worthless-looking trinkets on display at the front of it. With its decently tall wooden walls, it would have to suffice for a hiding spot.

"Like right there!" the Cubone exclaimed, pointing at the stall. "That way!"

Although he was a little slow on his feet, Pleo had a head-start and so wound up being the first to reach the group's designated hiding spot. With a little difficulty, he pulled himself over the wooden wall of the stall, and leaned back over it to offer a helping wing to the others. Without a word, the three hunkered down with bated breath as the sounds of the jeering pirates came closer and closer.

As they grew nearer, the sound of the pirates' footsteps added to the chaotic uproar, but their hiding spot was left miraculously undisturbed. After what felt like an eternity, the footsteps and the shouting once again faded into the distance, and each of the young Pokémon let out a relieved sigh.

"We can't rest here too long," Nida urged. "We've got to get out of here, and fast. On the count of three, we'll make a break for it. Ready?"

"Ready," her companions agreed.

"Alright. One, two... THREE!"

Nida led the charge this time, shoving open the back door of the stall and breaking into a sprint away from where they'd heard the pirates storm off to. Pleo and Guardia followed close behind her, into a disorganised mess of alleyways between some nearby buildings. The trio looked up, following the direction of the island's inland mountains as a compass through narrow and winding alleyways, not daring a moment to slacken their pace.

"Gah!"

Pleo squawked in pain as a searing sensation struck his breast, making him beat his wings out as he lost his balance and stumbled forward. He hit the ground and felt Nida and Guardia strike his wings before similarly tumbling to the ground. The bird writhed against the embers singing his plumes, as a jeering voice reached his ears.

"Hah! Nice shot, Kai!"

As Pleo struggled up to his feet, the young Lugia looked up to see the Zangoose from the day before. The white cat began to extend his claws for battle, a smug sneer forming on his face.

"Hey, you twerps didn't think that I just forgot about yesterday, did you?" Scian sneered. "And here I thought that everyone was just getting worked up over some random stranger!"

The Normal-Type crouched low as a wicked grin spread over his face, one claw reeled back ready to strike with a lunging slash.

"Nowhere to run now, _dailtíní_ -"

Nida hastily threw her paws into the satchel over her shoulder and after feeling them connect with a glassy surface, she instinctively latched onto it and flung it. For a fleeting moment, she watched as the glassy, silk-filled sphere sailed on, striking her Zangoose attacker on his shoulder.

_Crack_

The Orb shattered, disgorging a flurry of silvery strands that enveloped Scian and his teammates with startled cries. The silken explosion simmered down, revealing the three pirates to be covered in a layer of sticky, cumbersome threads.

"Agh! Why do they have a Slow Orb here?!" the Banette screeched, struggling at a layer of silk gumming up his arms.

"Gah! It got in my fur!" the Flareon whined.

The three quickly turned and ran as their attackers struggled with their silken bindings, flying down the alleyway and upending a few errant barrels along the way. Nida beckoned for the team to turn right up ahead at a narrow crossroads, leading them around a blind corner-

"A-Aah!"

And directly into a waiting group of black-scarved Pokémon consisting of a Mareanie, a Furfrou, and a Marked Quilladin.

"Well, well, well… What do we have here?" the Mareanie sneered.

"Hey!" the Furfrou chided. "Get 'em, and _then_ taunt them-"

"A-Ah- AAAAAAAAH!"

The two Pokémon whirled and turned just in time to see their Marked Quilladin partner run off in a blind panic. The pair's jaws dropped as they ran after, attempting to talk some sense into the Grass-Type.

"Oi! Chuck!" the Mareanie shouted. "Get _back_ here!"

"Yeah!" the Furfrou barked. "You're our point 'mon!"

In the pirates' confusion, Team Traveller found an opening to slip away and took it without hesitation. The small crowds of passersby and the line of shops around the street proved an enticing option to bog down their pursuers, and so Nida led the way once again, ducking her head low as she and her companions charged across the street. She was interrupted, however, by a stabbing pain as a spray of greenish needles sank into her flank, forcing the Poison-Type to sluggishly pull herself up with a pained groan.

"I got her! They're over here by the crossroads!" a Cacturne shouted, before being joined by its Meowstic counterpart .

"Get them!"

The pair shot out a hail of leafy needles and a glowing ray, the latter striking Guardia with a yelp. Pleo and Nida hastily retaliated with a glowing orb and a poisonous spike, catching their ambushers and forcing them back. The three hastily turned and bolted, just in time as more orange-scarved Pokémon poured in shouting pursuit. Pleo quickly dragged his friends along, hastily throwing them one by one onto his back and flapping his wings as he desperately tried to get airborne.

"Stop right there!"

Pleo looked up and went wide-eyed just in time to see a shadowy, violet orb careening for his face. The blob struck him, launching him backwards and sending him and his passengers tumbling on the ground. The bird sprawled out stunned and dazed for a moment, looking to up to see that he had been ringed by a large group of pirates. The brigands came in every conceivable shape and form, sporting a mix of blue, orange, and black scarves. There were old faces such as Scian and his buddies who had caught up - giving sneering laughs at the group - along with others that were completely new to the team. As the bird and his companions looked around for an escape, their attention was captured by the ghostly voice speaking up once again.

"You should quit while you're ahead, Protector."

"Hu-Huh?!" Pleo squawked.

Pleo, Nida, and Guardia looked up just in time to see the crowd of pirates part as the ghostly voice rang out. There, floating up to them was the form of a Cofagrigus with his four arms extended, a toothy smile spreading under the Ghost-Type's headdress.

"You're weakened and surrounded," the Cofagrigus glowered. "If I felt like it, I alone could make short work of you right here and now."

A sudden chill came over Pleo and his companions, the three Pokémon shrinking away from the intimidating Ghost-type with shivers down their spines. It was true they'd dealt with seemingly hopeless odds before... but every time, their odds seemed to plummet lower and lower. This was one _bad_ situation they'd gotten into, and their chances of escape now seemed slim-to-none.

"But I, Captain Sibich of the Shadow Brigade, am a reasonable Pokémon. Everyone here understands just what an asset you'd be to our little haven after you've learned how to use your power," the Ghost-Type offered. "So come along now, and don't make a fuss."

The Cofagrigus bobbed slowly through the air towards the three Pokémon, one spectral hand extended towards each and the fourth crossed over his lower body as if preparing to bow. The context of their situation aside, his demeanor was further betrayed by the unblinking glare of his bright, crimson eyes, along with the way each of his arms swayed and twisted erratically, as if he would reach out and snatch one of them at any moment.

Pleo blanched and started to feel wobbly, unsure what to do. He heard a voice wishing that something could be done about "that Sibich" and "those pirates", and another, and another. The Protector couldn't see them... but if he didn't know better, he'd have thought these were watching townsfolk. Then perhaps it was best to stand up, and not go easily along with whatever this ghoul had in mind for him...

"... No."

"What?" Sibich stopped his approach, and his expression faltered somewhat, his sawtoothed grin upturned into something more resembling an incredulous smirk.

"Are you _blind?_ " the Ghost-Type demanded. "You're not in any position to be refusing me- Huh?"

The Cofagrigus' expression slipped into one of pure shock as a searingly bright ball of light suddenly came into being where his target had stood moments before. The markings on Pleo's back shone a brilliant silver, and the young Protector glowered up at the pirate captain, all his previous fright now boiled away by the radiant light and energy coursing through him.

The voices were now a loud chorus, of unspoken wants, curses, and resentments at the occupying brigands. Each further outcry melting away more of the young Lugia's fear, and further emboldening him to do something, anything in defiance to protect his friends.

"Nida!"

"Shield your eyes!"

As Pleo drew in a sharp breath and began to beat his wings, Nida's eyes widened at the sound of the familiar chittering voice and the sight of two figures peering over the edge of a nearby roof. The unmistakable kite-shaped wings and minty green color of the Pokémon along with an accompanying small, white-winged partner told Nida that they were none other than Rasp and... Bech?! What were they doing here?! With Pleo right here, the two were just in time to get caught in his attack!

"Pleo," she began. "Wai-"

"NO!"

The Lugia brought his wings together, whipping up a roaring gale that pinned Nida and Guardia back into a wall. As the two Pokémon struggled to keep their eyes open, the crash of crumbling buildings, the dull thuds of bodies striking hard surfaces, and the screams of Pokémon filled the air. As the winds died down, the sounds of shouts and panicked retreats reached the pair's ears as they took in their surroundings, pallid and breathing shallowly.

The two saw Pleo looking around blankly as if he had seen a ghost. The square and the surrounding blocks had been completely obliterated, the shops reduced to little more than heaps of stone and broken wood. The duo saw one of Sibich's arms slowly pull itself under a pile of rubble; Scian and his buddies lying in an unconscious heap a short distance away. All around the square, the unmoving, weakly breathing forms of Pokémon were strewn about like discarded dolls, as the smell of dust and the faint stench of filth lingered in the air.

And, in the midst of it all, weakly rising up over a layer of stone and tile was the battered form of Rasp, limping along in a daze.

"Nrgh... Dad…? Are you alright?"

The Flygon was in horrid shape, covered in scrapes, and with his right wing bent back oozing yellowish fluid along a long streak. The Dragon-Type bent down and scooped up the weakly moving form of his Ribombee father in his claws, before chancing to spot Pleo standing ahead of him. The antlion's eyes widened, and he began to backpedal unnervedly.

"N-No, back! S-Stay back!"

The stricken Flygon continued a few paces before he turned and bolted. Rasp charged down the shattered lane as fast as his legs would allow, cradling the injured Ribombee in his arms and leaving Pleo behind with the destruction he had wrought.

The raucous square had quieted dramatically, the only company for the young Lugia as he stared ahead being a chorus of faint breathing and groans of pain from scattered Pokémon he could barely distinguish from the rubble. His beak tightened into a grimace, and his heart sank as Rasp's reaction kept persisting in his mind. He… He was _scared_ of him…

The young Lugia stared ahead in shock until he felt a tug against his wing feathers. There, behind him were Nida and Guardia, the pair both tired-looking from their ordeal and with worry etched deeply into their faces.

"Pleo, it's alright," Nida murmured. "We're alright now."

"Yeah, you did what you had to," Guardia offered.

Nida and Guardia froze as the ghastly sound of shrieking Pokemon reached them, accompanied by a chorus of thundering explosions. Turning towards the harbor, they saw its source: a massive ship with indigo sails had pulled in and was being pursued by a sea of furious-looking blue and pink jellyfish Pokemon. They bombarded the harbor with frightening efficiency, casting spectral blobs of deep violet energy into the town's mass of buildings and leaving destruction in their wake. Worse still, the jelliyfish seemed to be working their way inland, on track to level the entire town!

"We need to get out of here," Nida gulped.

The Nidoran and Cubone started to head off, only to see that Pleo was unmoved, still staring blankly off into space. The two went over and tugged at the Lugia's wings, anxiously trying to snap him back to his present reality.

" _Isogu, kamome_!" Guardia yelled. "We need to get out of here!"

The Lugia looked up as the ghostly jellyfish started to approach and took off running. His passengers hastily clambered aboard as the bird began to beat his wings to try to take flight, only for his beats to come absent-mindedly and burdened as he continued to be haunted by the events in the square.

Rasp and Bech were two Pokémon that had helped him the most on this horrid island. But in his eagerness to protect his teammates, he'd hurt them and driven them away… with the powers that were supposed to protect others.

A jet of briny water sailed ahead, slicking some stones sticking out of the path, which made the young Protector slip and pitch forward with a squawk, sending his teammates tumbling along the ground.

The white bird hastily tried to right himself, only to feel a painful sting on his tail and shriek in pain. Pleo struggled against the slimy presence clutching his tail, only to feel the grip loosen after a series of shouts from Nida and Guardia, followed by splatting blows and a pained hiss bidding the three to continue fleeing.

Wasn't what had happened there exactly what Ander and Margi were afraid of? Could they really have been right about what it meant to be a Protector…?

He blindly charged forward down an alleyway littered with rubble, the running footsteps of his two partners reaching his earholes from behind. Their breaths came short and ragged, as the sound of ghostly wails and shouts rang out at their backs.

"Spike ball, they're still coming!" Guardia cried.

"I _know_ that!" Nida squeaked. "Just keep running!"

The Nidoran lead her teammates down a cross-exit and charged past a pile of disturbed barrels before glimpsing a pair of pink and blue shapes floating into the lane ahead. Nida dug her feet in, sending the Poison-Type into a skidding stop with her teammates. The three looked up, where much to their horror, the pursuing Jellicent had cut them off, with the female preparing a foamy burst from her bell.

"Time to pay for disturbing our waters!" the blue Jellicent hissed.

"Eat Brin-!" the pink Jellicent shouted.

Before the female Jellicent could attack, a blue orb sliced through the air and struck the jellyfish in its bell, sending it flying into a wall with an unceremonious splat. The other Jellicent whirled around, only to be similarly picked off. After a stunned moment on the ground, the pair hastily phased through a wall, eager to escape as Team Traveller turned and looked in the direction of the Water Pulses.

"Huh?!"

The three saw a Clawitzer perched on a battered eave, staring them down with a piercing glare. Nagant pulled her claw back, still dripping water from her most recent salvo. The crustacean shook her head and trained her gaze, before starting to speak in a low voice.

"Forty years. Forty years I've been waiting for this moment. Through the end of Conntow, through the Company's sedition and treason, through watching everything I grew up in burn to the ground," the shrimp murmured. "All of that ends now through you, Lugia, the catalyst who will undo all of this. But first I shall tell you the tragic tale of my family's fate after the Great Collapse. It all started ages ago… No, you know what, _screw it!_ "

The Clawitzer gave an impatient hiss and brought her big claw down, training it on the white bird in front of her. Pleo and his friends yelped, realizing that the sea bug bore a scarf pattern like the Sharpedo and Tentacruel who ambushed them at Spirit Trench and was preparing to attack them.

"I've waited long enough dealing with those ferals and those _kocevniki_ offshore," she hissed. "There will be plenty of time to tell you _after_ I've captured you!"

Scowling, Nagant readied her shot as Team Traveller turned and attempted to flee, steadying her aim further with her smaller claw. The small orb of water building within Nagant's open pincer was all the encouragement Team Traveller needed to get somewhere- anywhere but here.

"Out of my way, you overgrown bug!"

Nagant whirled towards the sound, just in time to be caught up by a spray of flying rocks. The shrimp went sailing and tumbled back in the dirt, righting herself with an angry hiss and coming face to face with an Aggron at the head of a large gang of golden-scarved Pokémon.

"That's _my_ prize," Hess growled. "And there's no way I'm letting some hag who couldn't stand and _fight_ me last time take him away!"

"Grr! We'll see how tough you talk when you don't have the advantage of numbers!" Nagant snapped. "Sailors!"

At the Water-Type's prompting, a large cohort of Pokémon in indigo scarves emerged from the other end of the lane. The air filled with growls between the two sides, and both parties hastily braced themselves for battle when a chittering cry went forth.

"Attack!" the Clawitzer shouted.

The shrimp shot forth a pressurized pulse of water as her Aggron foe sent forth a barrage of rocks, leading their respective underlings into opposing charges. Nida, Pleo, and Guardia ran ahead as their surroundings devolved into an indigo and golden-scarfed melee, ducking as a hail of needle-like spikes zipped overhead, drawing a startled squawk from the young Protector.

"A-Ack!"

"Come on, this way!" Nida cried.

Nida bounded ahead, leading her teammates for an uphill alleyway, only to hear the sound of rending earth. The Nidoran yelped and hopped back as the form of an Aggron digging into the ground with all fours slid past the group, kicking up a spray of dirt and pebbles. The Steel-Type panted, and hastily threw himself onto his feet, trading glares with his Clawitzer opponent a short ways away flicking away some water off her large claw.

"You just don't know when to quit, do you?" the shrimp seethed.

"Heh… you hit harder than I gave you credit for, bug. You're just forgetting one thing," the Steel-Type growled. "Land is _my_ domai- Huh?"

Hess paused as he noticed movement from the corner of his eye. The Aggron turned his head, prompting the Clawitzer to follow suit where they saw the Lugia and his companions slowly inching away towards an alley in an attempt to slip away from their battle.

"Uh-oh," Pleo gulped.

"Hah!" the captain Aggron sneered. "Just where I needed you- Agh!"

The pirate captain was cut off by a forceful, chitinous blow across his face, sending the Steel-Type stumbling back. Hess desperately tried to run to maintain his footing, only to charge headlong into a window, bringing the wall and a good portion of a slate roof down on his head. Back out in the lane, Nagant shook her big claw as she watched Hess uselessly twitch his rump and tail to try and squirm free, turning her attention back to Pleo and his increasingly pallid-looking friends.

"Time to call it quits, kid- Ah!"

Nagant hopped up with a start as she felt a burning pain on her shoulder, prompting her to look side to side for the attack's culprit.

"Hey, _brzydula_ ," a yipping voice jeered. "You're not getting out of this fight so easily!"

The Water-Type whirled around to see a Growlithe sticking his tongue out at her. The shrimp readied her claw to attack, only to hear wingbeats and see that Team Traveller was taking advantage of her distraction to escape.

"Gah!" the Clawitzer hissed. "Get back here you little brats-!"

The Clawitzer's shout was interrupted by the return of the burning pain, this time at the back of her head. The elder shrimp seethed, as Elty's voice quickly reached her ears once more.

"Come on," the Fire-Type demanded. "Hit me with your best shot, Imp!"

Team Traveller ran ahead, the sound of a shout and a splash reaching their ears, and then another. Against all odds, Elty's jeers continued on, evidence of his so far successful dodges of Nagant's Water Pulses.

"Hah! You're gonna have to try a little harder than tha-AAAGH!"

A loud, yelping shriek filled the air, followed by the sound of a body sailing along and hitting the ground with a wet thud. Pleo and his companions froze in their tracks, the long-necked bird looking back to discover that much to his horror, Elty was lying drenched in the square, limp and unmoving.

"Elty!"

The three turned wide-eyed, staring at Nagant as she perched on her tail, huffing out of exasperation with the Fire-Type, his swift defeat doing nothing to mollify her sour mood.

"Ngah… Grr…"

The shrimp turned to try and find Team Traveller, worn down by her distraction from the Growlithe and the chaos of battle, only to cry out as a wave of rocks flung her into a side street. Their owner, an Aggron with a windowframe stuck around his neck stomped back out, giving an irate roar to announce his presence.

"I'm not _done_ yet, you old crone!"

Pleo and his companions watched as Hess stormed on after the Clawitzer, though unbeknownst to the Steel-Type, his underlings were retreating further and further away, leaving the square filled with groaning and fainted Pokémon. Much to their astonishment, they saw a Drifblim float out of the sky and scoop up a fainted Floatzel, the same fate befalling a Hoppip, and then a Pawniard. The three grimaced, realizing that the Imperials must have decided to carry off the pirates to take them prisoner. Thankfully the indigo scarved Pokémon hadn't noticed them, but in Guardia's mind it was not something to be taken for granted, prompting her to try and hurry Pleo along to safety.

"Pleo, come on," she grunted. "We need to go before those two focus on us again!"

Team Traveller looked back, seeing a Pidgeotto swooping out of the sky towards Elty. Much to Pleo's alarm, the bird latched onto the Growlithe with his talons, making a few awkward attempts to carry his weighty capture off. Nida shook her head, beginning to turn away, only for Pleo to bolt for the scene running as fast as his legs allowed.

"Pleo?!" Nida squeaked. "What are you-?!"

The Lugia ran along, flapping his wings to build up momentum. As a surge of determination came across the Protector, he vaulted up and a fiery blue light began to cloak his plumes as he charged towards the bird ahead of him.

"Hah," the Pidgeotto sneered. "Your bounty will be a nice bonus for me, mutt-"

"Let him go!"

Pleo slammed into the osprey, sending him plummeting back to earth. The bird and his captive tumbled along the ground, the Imperial giving a startled squawk as he began to rise to his feet. Before the Normal-Type could react, a spike caught his neck and a heavy blow broke over his head, sending him flopping to the ground out cold.

"What are you _thinking?!_ " Nida exclaimed.

"I'm not leaving him like that!" Pleo squawked.

"Nrgh…"

Team Traveller looked down at Elty, just in time to see the stricken Growlithe groan and twitch his legs feebly. For a moment, neither Nida nor Guardia were sure what to feel about the Fire-Type's plight. As soon as it came, the feelings of uncertainty subsided, and Guardia hardened her eyes into a scowl back at the young Protector.

"Why _shouldn't_ we?!" the Cubone demanded. Nida for her part looked similarly unmoved, giving an impatient huff before launching into a tirade.

"Pleo, he betrayed us to his old buddies!"

"But they'll send him to the Wastes if we don't help him!" the young Protector insisted. "Elty is still our friend... right?"

Pleo gave a pleasing look at his teammates, only to be met with firm glares. Neither of the two seemed willing to budge, until the sound of a crash in the background prompted Nida to growl and fold her ears back.

"Do whatever you want," Nida huffed. "I'm not stopping you."

"Let's just hurry up and get _out_ of here!" Guardia cried.

The team scrambled forward, Pleo scooping up Elty and hastily nestling him up on his back as the others hopped on in turn. With a running start, Pleo was able to take flight at last, Nida and Guardia clinging to his plumage for dear life. Guardia whimpered in fear as they gained height, Rosequartz Town slowly growing farther and farther away. The two other members of Team Traveller who remained conscious merely thanked their lucky stars that they were finally able to leave this nightmare behind them...

* * *

About half an hour after their hurried departure from the shrine, Pladur, Crom, Kiran, and Ander waved farewell to a delighted Whimsicott shopkeeper as he closed up his store for the night, the proud owner of a newly-refilled lockbox and the Siglo Swellow's batch of bounty notices for their stop. For their part, too, the Siglo Swellow's sailors were just as happy with their end of the bargain as they lugged barrels of hull-sealing pitch down the seaside hills and towards the green-sanded beach where the damaged vessel had been pulled ashore.

"Do you think that we bought too much pitch for the ship?" Crom wondered

"Nah, if we have any left over, we'll just keep it below deck," Pladur reassured. "You can never go wrong with some extra supplies."

"Let's take things one step at a time," Kiran chided. "We still need to get this pitch _back_ to the ship first- Huh?"

Kiran paused as the sound of movement from behind reached his earholes, motioning for his teammates to stop. The four Pokemon glanced over and realized that they had attracted company. Behind them were a raggedy Turtonator and Charjabug, looking exhausted but in a strangely pleasant mood.

"Er… can we help you?" Ander asked.

"Oh, we weren't here to ask for anything," the Charjabug said. "We just wanted to say thanks."

"You wanted to _thank_ us...?" Crom questioned.

"Yeah, for the work you've been doing on that place up the hill," the Turtonator added. "It means a lot to us 'mons in the fields to have something other than that broken-down ruin looming down on us all the time."

Puzzled glances floated around the four sailors, gradually giving way to smiles that began to creep over their faces. So their work _hadn't_ gone unnoticed after all...

"Oh. Well, you're quite welcome!" Kiran chirped, puffing out his chest proudly. "Having the watchful presence of a local shrine's always handy for a good 50% boost to morale!"

The pair looked around and shuffled their feet awkwardly, unsure of what to do next. After deciding that they had nothing else to say, the pair turned and began to pace off before bidding farewell.

"Well, that's all," the Turtonator grunted. "I'm sure you've got plenty to do, so we won't keep you any longer. Safe travels out there."

He and his Charjabug companion took their leave, wandering back off into the distance as Crom paused in thought, watching after the two strangers.

"Maybe that shrine will do some good around these parts after all," the Druddigon murmured.

"Hrm..."

Although they'd done good work on the shrine, every fiber of Ander's being had at first revolted against its restoration. Working to restore an altar to those demons just felt... wrong. On the other scythe, it had made a good deal of Pokémon quite happy. Misguided souls, surely, but didn't they too need a reprieve from the world's troubles sometime?

"I suppose if it really lifts Pokémon's spirits around here that much…" Ander mulled.

"I told you, it was the fourth dock that we needed to be at."

"Oh come on, you were confused too! That sloppy 'five' totally looked like a 'four'!"

The group's attention was drawn by the sounds of chatter nearby. In their direction came Salvini, Payak and Phyllis, chatting with one another in obviously high spirits. In addition, at the front of their formation walked the familiar, long-sleeved figure of...

"Hertsog!"

"Eh?" the Fighting-Type murmured. "What are you all doing here?"

"Yeah, we thought that you all got out of dodge already," Payak added.

"Getting those supplies took a bit longer than we thought we would," Kiran explained, giving a tired ruffle of his feathers. "But what are you all doing here?"

"Our reassignments," Salvini said. "I'm getting posted to Canalhouse City with Hertsog."

Phyllis and Payak jumped up with a start at the gecko's words. The lizard trailed off, wondering just what had she said that was so surprising, before her Leafeon partner answered the matter with a question:

"Huh? Salvini, why didn't you tell me that you were also working there?" Phyllis protested. "You grew up there! I'd have spent a lot less time worrying about how I'd ever find anything if I'd known."

"Huh?!" Payak exclaimed. "But Canalhouse City is _my_ posting!"

Confused, the three Pokemon glanced at one another, finding on each other's faces only a befuddled expression matching their own. After a moment, something clicked to Salvini, and she looked over to Hertsog incredulously as a smile began to spread over his muzzle.

"... I _might_ have pulled a few strings on the way out of my position as Captain of the Guard," the Mienshao chuckled. "After all, you all _do_ seem to perform best together, so…"

The Mienshao's explanation drew cheery exclamations, as the four Company Pokémon continued on in warm and congenial tones with one another. Crom and his companions traded satisfied glances, happy to see that in spite of all their troubles, that even Salvini and her friends would be left in higher spirits from their shared work.

"So wait, were you the one who sent those letters too, Hertsog?" Phyllis asked. "I mean, I didn't think it was you at first from the writing, but..."

Hertsog twitched his whiskers and tilted his head puzzledly at the Leafeon's question. The Fighting-Type blinked a bit, before giving a thorough shake of his head.

"No, I haven't the faintest clue," the weasel said, shaking his head. "All I had to work with were the footprints and scratches in front of my abode. From their appearance, it looked like the Pokémon had sharp talons, probably some manner of courier or mail carrier."

_Ding ding_

"Anyhow, that's our cue to take our leave," Hertsog murmured. "Thanks again, all of you. You've helped me to leave this town in better shape."

One by one - with a nod and a mumbled farewell - each Pokemon filed away. Hertsog led the way, followed closely by Payak, and then Phyllis. However, as Salvini turned to leave, Crom stopped her, checking his surroundings to ensure the others were out of earshot before addressing her.

"Salvini. About that… 'Bird'," Crom began. "You wouldn't happen to-?"

"I'm not telling you where he went if that's what you're asking," she interrupted.

Crom grimaced; although he'd somewhat expected an answer like that, it didn't make Salvini's words any easier to hear. He nodded slowly, leaving his gaze firmly affixed on the ground before her voice called his attention again.

"... He left town with a wounded wing," the Grovyle explained. "Whether or not you truly do have his and his friends' best interests at heart, if you've got a decent map, you should already know where he's gone based off that."

A further chime from the ship's bell rang out, and some calls went up from the dock. It was evidently already time to start boarding, and with not a moment to lose.

"Anyhow, I should get going myself," the Wood Gecko said. "May our paths cross again."

The Grass-Type carried on, leaving behind the Pokémon of the Siglo Swellow to scratch their heads over her words. Crom's jaw clenched tightly in annoyance, the young dragon shaking his head as he tried to decipher Salvini's somewhat cryptic hint.

"What did she mean by all of that?" Crom murmured.

"Yeah, we just know that Pleo flew off," Pladur mulled. "But how's that supposed to help us know what island he flew off to?"

"Eh? But didn't she say he was hurt when he left?" Ander asked. "How could he have made it all the way to another island?"

The group mulled in puzzlement over Salvini's words. If Pleo left with a hurt wing, just where could he have _gone?_ Why, he wouldn't have been able to get off the island at all without a ship or another Pokémon to help! A silence followed, only to be broken by a startled chirp as sudden realization dawned on Kiran.

"Ah! I think I know where he went!" Kiran exclaimed. "Come on!"

In a flash of bluster and flapping wings, the Swellow soared ahead, leaving his teammates to hurry after him and wonder just what Kiran had so emphatically figured out.

* * *

With their hefty load of pitch delivered, the crew of the Siglo Swellow was free to finally complete the ship's repairs. As the call of "all hands on deck" was sounded, some crewmembers were relieved the repairs was finally over with, while others dreaded the workload ahead of them. Nonetheless, sooner or later even the most reluctant Pokemon had gotten to work, and by nightfall the Siglo Swellow was sea-worthy once again.

After a quick double-checking of the ship's hull, the crew gathered to shove the ship out onto the water, just in time for Pat to return from Tromba. While they pushed the mighty vessel into the sea, the Unfezant offered the workers a recap on the recent goings-on of their home island, to the delight of some and the ire of others who wondered aloud what had taken him so long. Once the ship was finally out and bobbing in the waves, Beatrix called everyone back aboard, brandishing a map which she spread on the deck of the ship for all to see.

"Eh? Captain Beatrix?" Philips asked. "Why'd you get us all together for charting a course?"

"Yeah," Natrix murmured. "You usually come up with these just fine on your own."

"It's because I felt that this was important enough for all of us to hear," the Illumise captain answered, before turning to Kiran and his peers with a buzz. "Kiran? Why don't you and your team walk us through your rationale?"

"Well… when we were doing our job in town, we met a Grovyle from the guards named Salvini who helped us out," the Swellow began. "While we were working she let it slip that she helped Pleo and the kids get away after they got caught here."

Some startled cries broke out at the mention of the Grovyle. Why hadn't Kiran told them of her earlier? And why wasn't she here with them?

" _En serio?!_ " a Golduck exclaimed. "Then we should talk with her right away!"

"It's not so simple," Ander buzzed. "She's currently on a ship for Vollezee, and she wouldn't tell us anything more even if she were still here."

"That said, she said that Pleo left with a hurt wing and that if we took a look at a map, things would become clear," Kiran murmured. "And I think I know what she meant."

The Swellow stuck out a wing and gestured at a small island to the far east labeled 'Mengir' on it. The Flying-Type then moved his wingtip along with drawings of currents and winds to the northwest, up to a picture of an atoll with bubbles in the water.

"Otvaga's the closest island to here that isn't run by the Company," the Flying-Type explained. "So for a place to run away to, it's perfect."

"On top of that, the main place he would turn to if he couldn't fly all the way to the next island would be the Subway," Pladur added. "And Otvaga is the nearest hub they would have reached through it."

Amongst the crew an unusually optimistic murmur broke out, flecked here and there with whisperings of "hey, that makes sense!" and "are we finally gonna catch up with them?" abounded as a small wave of excitement washed over the ship.

"So if we got to Otvaga, we'd be able to find them," the Hitmontop First Mate mulled. "Or at worst figure out where they went next."

"Right. In that case, I think that we're ready," Beatrix grunted. "Tell the swimmers to keep a team of divers posted. We'll follow the Subway route up there."

Beatrix turned back to her crew, her eyes glimmering with fierce determination. The Bug-Type flitted up and gave an impatient beat of her wings before barking out to the gathered Pokémon.

"You heard me!" the Illumise buzzed. "Let's get this ship moving already!"

At their captain's order, a chorus of ayes floated around the gathered Pokémon who set off preparing the sails and raising the anchor. The ship lurched forward and began to turn for a northwesterly course. As the waves passed by and the Siglo Swellow began to pick up speed, the crew began settling into a routine, including a young Druddigon who had clambered up the rigging. There, as Crom watched the waves pass by at sea, his thoughts turned to his teammates and finally being able to reunite with them again.

"Nida, Pleo, Elty... hang in for us a little longer," the young Druddigon pleaded. "We're almost there."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _Nyama zashto (Няма защо)_ \- Bulgarian: "You're Welcome" (BGN/PCGN 2013 Romanization)  
>  \- _dailtíní_ \- Irish: "brats"  
>  \- _Isogu (_ _急ぐ_ _)_ \- Japanese: "Hurry up" (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _brzydula_ \- Polish: "ugly woman", "hag"


	53. Downward Spiral

A few hours after Pleo's fateful escape, things had uneasily settled down in Orleigh and its surrounding waters. Nagant had withdrawn with her frigate - minus a small number of sailors who were unaccounted for - and the last few Jellicent were driven back into the sea from whence they came. The town was left battered by the storm of jellyfish and enemy fire, a few stray plumes of smoke curling up visible from the far side of the island. There, the groaning members of the _Khranitel Rod_ surfaced, battered and covered in welts from their hostile encounter with Spirit Trench's residents.

"Argh… no one mentioned there'd be a swarm of _meduzy!_ " a Whiscash whined.

"I think that my welts have welts…" a Dewgong groaned, rubbing a flipper at his side.

A nearby Lumineon looked around at her compatriots, and after sensing that there were too few faces, turned nervously to the leader Dragalge.

" _Ataman_ , is everyone here?" the fish asked.

The seahorse looked back as a Golisopod leading a Luvdisc and a Shellder swam up, the Poison-Type counting with his fins before giving a satisfied shake of his head.

"They are now," Viktor grunted.

"Urgh… how did this _happen?_ " Dimitri sighed. "We didn't even make it to _shore_ , let alone find the kids."

"That frigate that pulled into port must have baited those ferals into following after them to attack the town," a Relicanth murmured.

"Grr… we should have stuck it out and gone in," Kuda growled.

"For what? To get overrun by jellyfish and captured by pirates? Get _real,_ Kuda," Viktor snapped. "Besides, the _deti_ might not even _be_ on the island right now."

"Huh?!" the Whiscash exclaimed, the catfish's protestations joined in by a similarly incredulous outcry from the Dewgong.

" _Ataman_ , what do you mean?!"

"Don't you think the timing of that frigate was just a little too coincidental?" the Poison-Type asked. "We already know that the Empire is aware of this Protector. Why would one of their frigates shows up on the island where we knew he was if not to try and spirit him away?"

A pause hung over the gathered Pokémon, as reluctant voices began to murmur. They _were_ swimming themselves ragged as is, and it was hard to argue the Dragalge's point… but where was Viktor going with this?

"If we want to find those _deti_ , our best bet is to track down that frigate," Viktor explained. "We split up into groups of four and search the currents around Orleigh the ship might have taken."

The gathered sea nomads floated and bobbed in stunned silence for a moment, as a grudging realization came about that they didn't have many other options for getting Team Traveller back. One after the other, Pokémon began to affirm their _Ataman's_ orders, some enthusiastically, others with audible hesitance.

"Nikolai, Sergei," the seahorse instructed. "You two take some teams and stay here to watch the island in case something happens."

"Understood Ataman," the Whiscash grunted back, the Golisopod in their midst respectively also giving a nod. Some scattered well-wishes and impatient calls for actions floated around in an ever-growing din, only to be silenced by the Dragalge leader batting a fin against the water's surface.

"Alright, let's get moving then," Viktor said. "We don't have much time."

The gathered sea Pokémon quickly went their separate ways, hastily splitting into teams of four per their _Ataman's_ command. Viktor led the bulk of his underlings off into the deep blue, hoping that they would be able to find Team Traveller before their ever-increasing foes did.

* * *

"A-Are we there yet...?"

Nida flicked her ears, unable to shake the sense that she'd been in this situation before. She was once again on Pleo's back, high above the sea and headed off for an island she knew only from the map she glimpsed at in snatches inside her bag. Like last time, Guardia was cowering at the rear, poking at her with her bone. That said, there were also things that were noticeably different. Elty was sprawled out unconscious on Pleo's back, held in place by the Nidoran. On top of it all, there would surely still be many more hours of travel left to go before they saw land again.

"Guardia, does it _look_ like we're anywhere near land right now?" Nida snapped.

"But-But I can't take this anymore!" the Ground-Type whimpered. "Cubone aren't supposed to _be_ a step away from falling and getting dashed to pieces like this!"

"Ugh... I _told_ you not to look down," the Nidoran sighed.

"H-How am I supposed to do that when Pleo's constantly lurching and falling?!" the bone lizard demanded.

"But that's how flying _works_..." Pleo murmured.

The seabird lurched again after catching some turbulence, drawing a frightened squeal from the Cubone as she clung to Pleo's back wide-eyed and white-knuckled. As Pleo straightened out, the Ground-Type caught a glimpse of waves breaking against an object in the distance, her eyes lighting up as she realized it was a stony outcropping.

"Look!" Guardia cried. "There's land there! Let's stop there for a bit!"

"We're in _the middle of the ocean_ ," Nida protested. "It's safer to keep going until-"

Pleo abruptly jolted again, drawing a shriek from his Cubone passenger as she screwed her eyes shut and dug her claws in for dear life.

"A-Aaah!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" the Lugia squawked. "It's just that my wings are getting tired faster than I thought they would!"

"Nrgh…"

Nida felt the presence under her forepaws budge, prompting her to look down and see that Elty was starting to stir. The Nidoran looked off at the rocks below, and back down to the re-awakening Growlithe, before sighing exasperatedly.

"Ugh... fine. Take us down, Pleo," Nida muttered. "We could use a chance to patch ourselves up anyways."

Pleo nodded uneasily and began a slow, spiraling descent down to the rocks, coming to a running stop on the surface. Guardia toppled off, gagging as she climbed back up to her feet. Her Lugia and Nidoran teammates noticed that the bone lizard looked an unhealthy greenish color, and vomited over the side, prompting the two to recoil from disgust.

How had they ever gotten to this point? They were supposed to be looking for the Knights' Ledger, but here they'd gotten sidetracked with one misfortune after another. The pair heard shifting and moaning, and looked back in time to see Elty begin to stir and open his eyes.

"Agh…" the Growlithe groaned. "I feel like I just got hit by a-"

The little dog paused and jumped in a start as he noticed his surroundings were completely different from what he had expected. Instead of waking in the Iron Fleet's familiar hideout or even one of Rosequartz's streets, he found himself laying on a bunch of rocks with water all around him. As the sound of the sea's waves filled the air, the Fire-Type looked around in a panic, hoping to see _some_ sight of Rosequartz Town. But alas, no matter where he looked, Elty saw nothing but the vast ocean and his former teammates.

"H-Huh?! Where am I?!" Elty yelped. "Spike ball?! Why are you still-?!"

The Growlithe caught himself. The spike ball, the _mewa_ , they were all supposed to have fled! So then... they dragged him along?! _Why?!_

"What did you _do?!_ " he cried. "Why am I in the middle of the sea right now?!"

"This wasn't _my_ idea," Nida hissed. "Ask Pleo if you want an explanation so badly."

The Growlithe scowled and whirled his head to face the young Lugia to his left. The young Legendary hopped back, startled at the Fire-Type's venomous demeanor and fumbled with his words before starting to explain to Elty his recollection of their escape.

"You got hurt back in that big fight with that mean crab," the young Lugia explained. "So we helped you get away-"

"You call dragging me out into the middle of the sea _help?!_ " the Fire-Type fumed. "What is _wrong_ with you?!"

A woozy moan filled the air as Guardia lurched back from the rocks' edge, rubbing away some spittle from the edge of her mouth. The bone lizard shook her head and gave an exhausted look at her Fire-Type teammate.

"Ungh… can you save your earful for another time, _Gardie?_ I'm not feeling so good-" the Cubone groaned, only to be cut off by a fiery growl.

"I save your hides from those Imps, and you stupid clods repay me by _kidnapping me?!_ "

Nida and Guardia's expressions quickly hardened into angry glares. After leading them straight into a pirate ambush, this mutt had the _gall_ to insinuate _they_ were the bad 'mons for saving him from certain doom?

"Saving? _That's_ what you're calling trying to get us captured by your thug buddies?" Nida scoffed.

" _Gardie_ , you're _really_ not in any position to complain here," Guardia snapped, shooting a piercing glare at the visibly irate dog.

"Those Imp Pokémon were going to capture you!" Pleo cried. "And if they had gotten you, who know what would've-"

"Then you should have let me take my chances!" Elty shouted. "I don't _need_ you to help me!"

The young Lugia froze, stunned and shaken by the Fire-Type's rant as his eyes started to mist up. Nida similarly failed to anticipate Elty's outburst, stirring up a much angrier response from her end as she fanned her barbs out and narrowed her red eyes into a deep glare.

"You ungrateful _canalla!_ " Nida seethed. "We ought to have just left you and _flown off_ earlier!"

"Yeah, well whose fault is it that didn't happen, huh?!"

A loud _smack_ rang out followed by a yelp, making Pleo and Guardia flinch. The two looked, just in time to see a visibly seething Nida pull a leg back to her side. Elty was a little ways away, pawing at his jaw as he got up growling ugly-sounding words under his breath.

"Fine, have it your way!" Elty spat. "See if I help you the next time that shrimp takes a shot at you! Or help you when that Samurott comes to cut you down to size!"

Pleo's eyes began to water as each word from Elty and Nida's feud cut deeper and deeper at him. They- They really hated each other that much? After everything that they'd gone through together?

"S-Stop… please…" Pleo begged.

A loud _thump_ rang out against the stone, piercing the air as an exasperated, raspy cry rang out:

"All of you, just quiet down!"

One by one, Pleo, Nida, and Elty turned to see a visibly frustrated Cubone staring at them, pulling the knob of her club up from the stone she slammed it down against. The Ground-Type gave a stern glare, before shaking her head and sighing.

"Look, back home, when the bones of a colony found themselves unable to work together, they'd split up into two colonies and each went their separate way," she sighed. "If _Gardie_ here really wants to be a thieving thug so badly, then we're all better off just letting it happen."

"Hrmph, someone's finally talking sense-" the Growlithe huffed, only to be interrupted by a silencing swat from the Cubone before she continued.

"As I was _saying_... Right now, we're in the middle of the ocean and are in no position to _do_ that," Guardia said. "So let's get to Sormus first, and _then_ we'll part ways."

Pleo looked back and forth at Nida and Elty, as the two scowled, before giving grudging nods of agreement. The young Lugia batted his wings out of alarm, could they really have thought that Guardia's suggestion was the right thing to do?

"Nida?" Pleo asked. "We're not really gonna-?"

Nida harrumphed and shook her head, motioning with her paw for silence. The Nidoran sprouted a frown for a moment, before clearing her throat to speak.

"Let's just get to Sormus already," the Poison-Type said. "All I want to do is get back home, and if Elty doesn't want to come, I'm not forcing him."

"Hrmph," Elty grunted. "Fine by me."

One by one, Nida, Elty, and Guardia clambered aboard Pleo, their mount standing silent and adrift. Everything felt like it was falling apart… He couldn't bring forth his powers when they were needed or keep them from hurting other Pokémon like Bech and Rasp, and even his friends were coming apart at the seams... Why was everything going wrong? Was he that bad of a Protector?

"Pleo? Aren't you going to fly?"

The Lugia heard Nida's words brush past his earholes, prompting him to ruffle his feathers uncomfortably. The young Legendary set off, reluctantly beating his wings as he leapt up, and continued his course for Sormus with joyless and heavy wingbeats.

* * *

Out on the high seas northwest of Mengir, the Siglo Swellow carried on in its journey for Otvaga. The crew was kept particularly busy, both by keeping the ship moving at a healthy pace, and from preparing the ship's colors for Otvaga's waters to draw less attention.

Back in Mengir, the crew had purchased spare sails to replace those stolen by the Iron Fleet, a suitable canvas for the ship's normal colors to accommodate ports that would surely be unwelcoming to Company sails. The swap had built up quite an appetite among the sailors, which kept Crom and Pladur's claws full with cooking. After going through a flurry of orders during the meal rush, the two finally were able to emerge onto the deck to share some of the fruits of their labor together, perching on a small stack of crates shaded by the ship's rear mast.

"How far _are_ we from this 'Otvaga' place anyways?" Crom asked.

"Not far, I think," his father reassured. "I'm pretty sure that after this next buoy, there's only two more left before we reach the place."

"Eh?" the Druddigon wondered. "But when would that be?"

"Oi! Captain!" a squawking voice cried. "The next buoy's up ahead!"

Crom blinked incredulously, as a smile began to spread over Pladur's face. The axe-headed dragon gave a bemused shake of his head, chuckling at their coincidental timing.

"Sounds like right now-" the Fraxure began, only to be cut off by a further cry from the Doduo lookout.

"And there's a bunch of 'mons on it!"

The pair looked up with a start at the bird's squawk, just in time to see their crewmates gathering around the railing. The dragon father and son set aside their gummis and made their way over to peer out at the sea. There off in the distance, a large group of Pokémon clustered themselves at the base of a whitish-gray buoy.

The thought flickered over Crom's mind that perhaps they might be ferals, or even pirates. A closer examination however, revealed that the creatures seemed too tired and disorganized to be preparing an ambush. On top of that, their scarves were not matching; hardly an intimidating appearance for would-be brigands.

"Take us over there and ready the anchor!" Beatrix ordered.

With a shifting of the Hitmontop First Mate's weight against the tiller, the Siglo Swellow steered towards the buoy, a _splash_ soon following as the anchor was dropped to slow the ship. The sloop coasted along, and came to a stop beside the buoy, a haggard group consisting of a pink Gastrodon, a Stufful, and a Ferroseed coming into view. The motley cohort looked up at the twin-masted ship, trading apprehensive, unsettled looks with one another.

"Er… hello?" the pink Gastrodon gulped.

"Hoy!" the Hitmontop called. "Aren't you taking on a bit many passengers for a swimmer?"

"Uh... well we were just passing through you see…" the Stufful began.

"Oh, to where?" Beatrix asked. "If it's anywhere near Otvaga we could give you a ride."

The three Pokémon inched back, bracing themselves as if expecting an impending attack. The three strangers traded furtive glances with each other, before uneasily turning their attention back to the ship's deck.

"I'm not sure if it´s that a good idea…" the Gastrodon stammered.

"Yeah," the Ferroseed added. "We really should ge-"

"Oh for crying out loud, stop being so nervous already!" a squeaking voice snapped. "These bumpkins couldn't push you around even if they wanted to!"

The crew collectively blinked and did a double take at the voice, turning their attention to the Gastrodon where a small, furry creature with a ringed tail and annoyed scowl emerged from behind. Hold on a minute! The voice, the scarf, the ever-present dripping sarcasm...

"Scout?!"

"Eh?!" the Ferroseed cried. "You know each other?"

"We know each other, yes," Kiran sighed, tucking his head under a wing. Scout frowned upon seeing the crew's reaction, giving an impatient stamp of his feet and swish of his tail before scoffing and continuing on.

"Oh so _now_ you decided to play the cavalry," the Sentret fumed. "You could have done it _before_ we had to swim out of Orleigh!"

"Wait, _Orleigh?_ " Natrix demanded. "What were you doing _there_ of all places?"

"I went to drop off one of Hariti's letters there," Scout explained. "In retrospect, I should have just hired a courier."

"Because you were tired after such a long journey?" Crom asked.

"No, you clod!" the brown-furred rodent snapped. "Because I spent half a week tied up in a basement by pirates!"

The gathered crew of the Siglo Swellow blinked and an awkward silence filled the air, before the Stufful from the other group cleared his throat to add his own commentary.

"Er… yeah," the little bear said. "That's kinda why we're all here."

"Come on aboard," Beatrix offered. "We can talk this over while we patch you all up."

The three strangers paused and mulled the matter over, before turning back and each shaking their heads at the offer.

"Thanks but no thanks," the Ferroseed answered. "We've already tested our luck _enough_ as-is."

"Yeah, based off these buoys, it looks like we drifted off course," the Gastrodon grunted. "And the sooner we get to Otvaga, the better."

"I think I'll stick here. I need a new ship anyways," Scout said. "Besides… I think that the others might wanna hear more about what went down."

The Gastrodon gave a short thanks before gathering up the other two Pokémon, the mollusk slowly swimming off ahead of the bow. The crew threw a rope over the side, allowing Scout to clamber up to the deck, where a quickly-growing crowd gathered around plying the Sentret with questions.

"So what _happened_ out there?" Philips asked.

"Yeah," Natrix added. "I doubt that those pirates just let you _walk_ out of Rosequartz, so how'd you do it?"

"Like I said, I went to Orleigh to deliver a letter. But I got mistaken by some pirate courier and got thrown in a basement," Scout answered. "About a day afterwards, Kiran's twerps came by and tried to break me out."

A startled Swellow's squawk filled the air. Scout turned his attention to Kiran to see that the bird had puffed out his feathers from surprise, appearing as if he'd seen a ghost.

"They _what?!_ " the Flying-Type exclaimed.

"Eh? What's with that reaction?" the Sentret demanded. "They've been island-hopping for almost two weeks by now."

"But then where _are_ they?!" Crom cried. "They helped you get away, didn't they?"

"I said that they _tried_ to break me out. They got chased off by the guards!" the Sentret huffed. "I got away the day after, after the guards went off chasing some 'god' and the town got trashed by a swarm of ferals. The kids were too busy flying off the other way for me to try and escape with them."

A series of puzzled grunts and exclamations filled the air, the gathered Pokémon being collectively taken aback by the Sentret's testimony. Pladur shook his head and darted up to Scout, half-disbelieving the rodent's words.

"Wait, you saw them again after you escaped?" the Fraxure asked.

"Yeah, I saw them flying away from town as I escaped," Scout responded.

"Eh? But, do you know _where_ they flew off to?" Ander pressed, only to be met with a shrug from the ferret.

"Beats me, I just saw them flying out of town. I don't even know if they made it off the island," he replied. "For all I know, they hid in the wilderness on the other side."

"But what are we supposed to do if he's around a place like _that?_ " Crom murmured, only to be answered with a firm, buzzing voice.

"We go there and evaluate our options," Beatrix said.

A chorus of startled outcries followed the Illumise's words. Beatrix wanted them to go to _Orleigh?_

"Eh?!" Philips squeaked. "Captain Beatrix?!"

"You can't seriously be suggesting that we sail up to _una cueva de ladrones!_ " Pat demanded.

"I'm suggesting that we don't have any leads as to where the kids went right now," Beatrix insisted. "And the sooner we _get_ more information, the sooner we can figure out how to act on it."

"But we wouldn't last in a fight against that many pirates!" Natrix protested. "For crying out loud, the only thing we have to work with other than our own fighting skills is a _Lyle Gun!_ "

"Like I said, we're going there to get more information," the captain insisted. "We'll stay a healthy distance from the island and try to pick up what we can from there."

Some uneasy "erm"s and "ah"s floated around the gathered sailors, along with a scattered protest here or there about a sudden stomachache. The Illumise shook her head and motioned for silence, before continuing to speak.

"If anyone _else_ has an idea of where they'd be, now's the time to raise it,," the firefly demanded. "Otherwise we'll be making a choice right here and now whether to turn tail or keep going after our Protector."

An uneasy pause settled over the gathered Pokémon. None of them _wanted_ to get anywhere near Orleigh, but even so, there really wasn't any lead that was better than the one that Scout gave them.

"… Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Let's move on," the Hitmontop First Mate ordered. "Though I want you lookouts to remain vigilant for any potential blind spots!"

There was a brief pause before 'ayes' began to circulate among the crew, as one by one the Pokémon returned to their stations. A few were enthusiastic, while others betrayed obvious hesitance and nervousness. Orleigh was undoubtedly treacherous waters to deal with, and the less said about their odds in a direct fight with pirates there, the better. Even so, fortune favored the bold, and with their Protector likely holed up in that den of thieves, they'd surely never get him back by timidly avoiding the place.

And so it was that the Siglo Swellow changed its course and set off, sailing for murky waters with an ever-thickening cloud of tension filling the air.

* * *

Back in Rosequartz, the Iron Fleet's base had come off relatively lightly from the calamity that befell the town. Yes, there were a few fresh holes punched into the wall, and the rear scaffolding had collapsed, but the half-finished structure was largely intact…

"Argh… my… everything."

Though the same could not be said for its occupants. In a corner, a wounded Noibat and Staravia staggered over to a table where Kichiro sat grumbling under his breath - their other comrades being in similarly haggard shape. Even the crew's Aggron captain wasn't exempt, as Hess lumbered in panting, staring ahead in a catatonic silence as water dripped off fresh chinks in his armor.

"How on earth did _this_ happen?"

"Could be worse," the Staravia said. "We could've gotten captured like Rodion and those other guys did."

Hess went silent at the fliers' chatter and trudged over to his stool by the indoor rock garden. The Aggron plopped down onto the seat and buried his face in his claws.

The encounter with the Clawitzer had been a total debacle. Her underlings had carried off a number of pirates from town, for what everyone presumed to be bounty money or simply to make an example of some of their ranks. The losses included a good chunk of his crew, the most painful of which was Rodion. He himself had only been saved by virtue of his sheer weight, though with his First Mate gone, he'd be hard-pressed to keep the crew in line without Rodion's knack for heading off brewing troubles.

The Steel-Type hung his head and groaned, trying to think of _some_ way that his crew could bounce back from this calamity. He didn't get a chance to think for long, as he heard a loud buzz and felt a weight on the back of his head. The Aggron pirate blinked and looked up just in time to see a Yanmega perched on his metal head, the Bug-Type flitting off and hovering in front of him, full of vigor and cheer.

"Hey, look on the bright side," Valatos reassured. "We made it to raid another day. All the time you need to get some fresh blood, plot your revenge, and-"

" **I DON'T WANT TO** ** _HEAR_** **IT RIGHT NOW!** " the Aggron bellowed.

The dragonfly hastily flitted away and retreated to a different table occupied by his companions, where they traded uneasy glances with one another. Hess sighed and buried his face in his arms on the table, prompting the fliers to give unamused stares at him and murmur in the background.

"This wouldn't have happened if _Rodion_ planned the ambush," the Noibat muttered.

"As would have any number of past screw-ups," Kichiro hissed.

"Yeah, well, it's kinda late for that now," the Staravia growled.

Hess drooped and looked away to try and ignore his lackeys' stares, only to stop and realize that looking weak in a time of crisis surely wouldn't make anything better. The Aggron shook his head, gritted his teeth and steeled his eyes into a serious scowl, readying himself to face his underlings once more. The Steel-Type turned back, full of forced enthusiasm and vigor... only for a loud bang to ring out from the doorway.

"Hess!"

The Aggron jumped at the sound of a harsh, familiar voice from the door. Hess turned around reluctantly, where he saw the Conkeldurr messenger from earlier at the door, sporting fresh welts and a glaring scowl over his face.

"Hrmph, seems like you're quite popular these days," the Conkeldurr said. "The Council sent for you again."

Hess blanched at the mention of the Council and buried his head in his claws. There was no way that they could be pleased with the state of the town right now, but surely they'd understand and not turn him into ship cladding... right?

... oh who was he kidding?

"Ugh… drown me."

* * *

Pleo's journey continued on as the sun made its course across the sky. Every now and then he'd spot a group of Pokémon passing below him, or a ship off in the distance; but even so, the journey felt far quieter than he had expected. His friends hadn't talked to each other since they left the rocks, or said much of anything for that matter… Maybe it would be best to try and break the ice to get them talking with each other again?

"The sky's really pretty today, don't you think?" Pleo chirped. "What do you think those clouds on the horizon look like?"

"Like clouds?" Nida grunted.

"Hrmph," Elty huffed. "How should I know?"

"I-I'm not opening my eyes right now," Guardia whimpered.

The Lugia blinked and fumbled with his words a little. That topic hadn't gone as planned… Perhaps he should try striking up a conversation with Elty? Nida _did_ say he was 'lippy', so he'd want to talk more, wouldn't he…?

"Uh… Elty! You've been to Sormus before, right?" the young Protector asked. "Did they have 'mah-lah-sah-dah' there too?"

"Does it _look_ like I'd have gone there to find malasada?" the dog snapped.

Pleo looked back in time to see Nida glaring at Elty, the Fire-Type reciprocating in kind as Guardia continued to latch onto his back cowering. The young Lugia faltered and turned back ahead drooping, his spirits lowered by even his attempts to stir up small talk failing on the team.

"I guess not…" the bird admitted. "It's just… I thought there would be something to talk about…"

A sudden gust of wind rocked the Lugia, prompting his passengers to latch onto him for safety, and Guardia to open her eyes in a panic.

"A-AAH!"

For a brief moment, the Ground-Type looked down, and began to feel faint, prompting her to jerk her head back up to try and stave off vertigo. Off in the distance, she saw the clouds part, revealing a cluster of dunes punctuated by stony hills on the horizon, and a white-sailed ship carrying along in the water a little ways in front of it..

"Ah! There's land!" the Cubone exclaimed. "Just past that white ship there!"

"Hrmph," the Growlithe snorted. "About time."

"Come on Pleo," Nida sighed. "Let's just get there and get this over with."

The young Legendary carried on with a sigh, flapping his wings and driving forward towards the land. Pleo charted a course to keep his distance from the ship, only for an easterly crosswind to blow him closer towards it. As the seabird struggled to right his course, he was able to better notice the ship's details. It was a large, two-masted craft, with white sails sporting blue sun designs. Most curiously, there were a large number of Pokémon on the deck, who suddenly seemed to burst into activity.

"Huh?" Pleo murmured. "What are all those Pokémon doing down-"

_Fwish!_

A large, pressurized jet of water sailed overhead, prompting Pleo to drop in the air, and the four members of Team Traveller to cry out in a startled panic.

"AAAAAAAAAH!"

"Wh-What was that?!" Guardia squealed.

"The ship just _attacked_ us, bonehead!" Elty yipped.

"But why would it do tha-?!" Pleo squawked.

The four looked down at the deck of the ship, where amidst the sea of activity, one figure in particular stood out. To their horror, next to the railing was none other than the form of a Samurott with blade in paw, his neck bedecked in a lavender scarf.

" _Lyn!_ "

* * *

**THWAM!**

Lyn pounded a paw against the Nektar Weide's railing, growling irritatedly at his missed shot, panting from exertion from having just spat up a Hydro Cannon into the air. As the Samurott seethed with a free paw tightly wrapped around a seamitar, Ketu looked on from a small distance, turning his head up with a sigh from picking at his claws.

"I _told_ you that that that bird was slippery-" the Weavile began, only to be cut off with a bellowing roar.

" _Enough!_ All of you, I want your fire on that bird _now!_ "

The deck hands gave a hasty salute and one after the other began disgorging attacks up into the sky. Lyn watched as the young Protector turned tail and weaved around the flurry of beams and projectiles. A cry went up from the Crobat captain of the fliers as they attempted to give chase, only to be thwarted by a strong crosswind from the east blowing them back towards the ship. None the more amused, the Samurott twitched his whiskers and sheathed his blade with a growl, dropping to all fours in order to give pursuit.

"Ugh. Do I have to do _everything_ myself?" Lyn fumed.

The otter clambered up onto the railing, readying himself to vault over into the water. As he planted his hind legs, a startled buzz and the sound of flustered wingbeats approached from behind as Ellsberg rushed over waving for attention.

"Lyn?!" the Mothim exclaimed. "What are you _doing?!_ "

"I'll pursue them from the water!" the Water-Type barked. "You just keep the ship moving as fast as you can and keep _firing!_ "

Ellsberg tried to reach out to Lyn in protest, only for the Samurott captain to leap off the railing and dive into the sea before he could get even close. The otter straightened out in the water into a torpedo-like shape, tearing through the water and returning to the surface. There, directly ahead of him, was his prize's flailing form. All that was left was to pitch him out of the sky, and scoop him up. A task he was all-too-ready for.

"This ends _here_ ," Lyn growled.

The Samurott's mouth began to grow frigid as cold air built up within the back of his throat. The otter spat up the contents, coming out as an icy beam that sailed high up into the sky, directly at the white bird's body.

* * *

"Look out!"

Just after the sound of Nida's petrified squeak, Pleo felt a freezing burst zip by his wingtips. The young Lugia jerked up in a panic, drawing cries from his passengers as they clung to their startled mount during his erratic flight.

"H-how did Lyn find us?!" Pleo squawked. "I thought the Company didn't we know we were in these waters!"

"I don't know Pleo, but just keep flying!" Nida pleaded. "We'll worry about that once we've landed!"

On cue, a gout of fire sailed past, prompting the Lugia to move to the left. As soon as Pleo backed away, a crackling bolt of electricity shot by his wings on the right, prompting him to lurch back. As Guardia clung to Pleo for dear life, the world underneath flew by in incoherent glimpses. In the midst of her frightened vertigo, the Cubone could clearly see the world below changing from the deep blue of the sea's water to the friendlier appearance of golden sand, a sign that they'd crossed over land.

" _Yatta! Yat-!_ " the Ground-Type cried, only to be cut off by a startled whine from Elty.

"Agh! Incoming!"

Nida and Guardia whirled in the direction of their Growlithe teammate as a torrential jet of water surged up from underneath. The Fire-Type spat up a column of embers at the water in a panic, followed by a barb flicked from his Nidoran companion. The attacks sailed on into the Hydro Cannon, only for the torrent to sweep them away and slam into Pleo from below.

For a fleeting moment, the three felt Pleo rise in the air - the water rolling off his plumes like droplets off of wax paper - only for him to go limp and dive into an uncontrolled spiral.

"AAAAAAAAH!"

The Lugia fell further and further, the sandy ground beneath growing visibly closer by the second. All the while, his passengers desperately tugged at his feathers and body with their paws and mouths, pleading with their mount to come back to his senses.

"Pull up! Pull up!" Guardia squealed. The Ground-Type tugged desperately at the falling Protector, the bird weakly stirring to her claw pinches.

"Ngah…"

The young Protector cracked his eyes open, where he fuzzily saw shapes on the ground fast approaching. The bird weakly fought against the air with his wings, trying to level his body out only to feel a heavy blow and sand scraping against his stomach. Pleo pitched forward, before tumbling head over heels, the world going black as his teammates' screams faded into the darkness.

* * *

"Pleo?"

"Come on, get up."

Pleo felt the sun beating down on him along with a repeated prodding along his side… was that Guardia? He began to move his wings weakly, feeling sand in his feathers, and a throbbing pain from his belly. The Lugia raised his head, his vision running muddy as he cracked his eyes open to the harsh glare of a desert in the late afternoon.

"Nrgh…"

"Oi, he's moving!" a yipping, canine voice cried.

"Don't just stand there!" a squeaking voice exclaimed. "Help him up!"

The young Protector felt his body get lifted up, and tottered as his eyes adjusted to the bright light. He began to see that he was at the foot of a large, sandy mound. Behind him, a trail of disturbed sand and feathers marking where he had crashed and tumbled along. Pleo looked seeing similar dunes around him, a few stony hills in the distance, and his three teammates looking battered and waiting anxiously ahead of him.

"Are you alright, Pleo?" Nida asked. The bird blinked a few times, before staggering up woozily to face his teammate.

"I… I think so," he answered weakly. Guardia went over to her teammate and examined his body, brushing her claws over the Lugia's plumes. An explorative pat and a subsequent wince from Pleo quickly revealed a deepening bruise under his belly's feathers, prompting her to cast a glance at a satchel that had been set aside on a rock.

"Hang on," the Cubone reassured. "I'll see if we have something to heal him with."

"Ugh… well _this_ was a great way to arrive in Sormus," Elty groaned.

Nida lowered her ears and shook out her spines, shooting an annoyed glare at the Growlithe. They'd just crashed into the middle of some gods-forsaken sand pit and his first instinct was to _complain_ about them?

"Really, Elty?" the Nidoran hissed. "Can't you wait until _after_ we're out of the woods before whining about being around us?"

The dog's mood quickly soured at the allegation, prompting him to growl and bare his teeth at his rabbit accuser. Was she seriously assuming the worst of him _now_ when they'd just tumbled into the middle of a desert?

"Well excuse _me_ if 'crashing into a sand dune' isn't _my_ idea of a good time!" the Fire-Type snapped. "I didn't _ask_ for you to make me cross paths with that Samurott again!"

The pair's bickering went on a ways, before Guardia threw down the remains of the Oran Berry she was pressing against Pleo's stomach and stamped the sandy ground irkedly.

"Both of you, shut up!" Guardia growled. "I'm in the middle of something here!"

The Cubone's interruption did little to settle the mood, as the three broke out into a heated argument. Pleo drooped and looked away, when he chanced to spot a moving shape slip in the air past the crest of the sand dune. The young Lugia warily trudged up and squinted, where off in the distance was the white-sailed ship they'd encountered at sea with what seemed to be large groups leaving it from sea and air...

And much to his horror, coming through the surf and onto Sormus' desert beaches was none other than its Samurott captain, blade drawn and ready for battle.

"A-Aah! Lyn's already coming for us!" he cried.

Nida, Elty, and Guardia went silent and scampered up the dune to see for themselves. One after the other, the three went wide-eyed and flushed pale. There wouldn't be much time before Lyn made his way inland, but just what could they _do_ in a situation like this?!

"We need to get out of here," Nida said.

" _How?_ " Guardia demanded. "We don't know this island at all, and there's no visible cover we can hide under!"

"Actually…" Elty murmured. "Don't be so sure about that."

The Growlithe raised a paw, gesturing off inland into the distance. There, looming high into the sky was a tall column of fog, a surefire marker of a Mystery Dungeon. Even so, the Fire-Type's discovery failed to bring any ease to Nida or Guardia's eyes, the pair shooting suspicious glares at their teammate.

"Why on earth should we trust you _now?_ " the Nidoran huffed.

"Yeah, where does _this_ Mystery Dungeon lead to?" the Cubone growled.

"But we need _somewhere_ to hide!" Pleo exclaimed. "There's nothing _here_ for us!"

"Look, _I'm_ going there if you're coming or not," Elty huffed. "If you want to chance it with Lyn and his cronies, be my guest!"

The Growlithe took off, running as fast for the fog in the distance as his pudgy frame would allow. Pleo beat his wings out with a start, and began to run after the dog, calling out after him.

"Elty! Wait!" Pleo squawked. "Hold on for us!"

Nida and Guardia blinked incredulously at the entire episode, watching their teammates' forms grow increasingly distant before they grudgingly turned to face one another.

"This was _not_ the sort of lore I wanted to gather from here," Guardia groaned. "But it doesn't look like we've got much of a choice."

"… _Bueno,_ " Nida grumbled. "Let's just get _out_ of here."

The two ran after the white bird slipping off in the distance, hobbling a bit from their rough landing. This… wasn't how things were supposed to go. With how much more chaotic their arrival was, could they even assume Dimitri would've made it to Sormus to show them to their next destination? Either way, it was a priority that would have to wait, as they wouldn't be going _anywhere_ fast if Lyn caught up to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _meduzy (мeду́зы)_ \- Russian: "jellyfish" (BGN/PCGN Romanization)  
>  \- _una cueva de ladrones_ \- Spanish: "a den of thieves", lit. "a cave of thieves"  
>  \- _Yatta! (_ _やった_ _!)_ \- Japanese: "I/We did it!" (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _Bueno_ \- Spanish: "Good", used in this context as "Fine"


	54. Hope on the Horizon

The sun beat down over Sormus' desert as a Grumpig in a white scarf with a blue sun pattern hopped along on the sea of sand dunes. He went along the ridge of a dune, scanning his surroundings near the fog of the local Mystery Dungeon in the distance. As the pig carried on, he put more and more distance between himself and the forms of a Hitmonchan and Nuzleaf at the base of the dune, carrying on alone in his search. The Psychic-Type panted, finding himself wishing for a nice cool mud puddle or even just a plain old pool of tidewater to plop into and stave off the sweltering heat.

"Grah… how's _anyone_ supposed to search in this weather?" the Grumpig whined.

The pig's ears twitched at the sound of rustling sand nearby. The Manipulate Pokémon looked around uneasily, only to be startled by a cloud of sand being thrown up. The Grumpig jumped back with a start as the upper half of a Krokorok donning a scarf of the porker's same color and design poked out of the ground.

"Eh? What are you talking about, Hooke?" the Krokorok asked. "This weather's fine!"

"Well of course _you_ find this okay, Ken!" the Psychic-Type huffed. "You're like a fish in the water right now!"

Ken pulled himself out of the sand and dusted himself off. The Dark-Type sneered at his Grumpig companion and snorted in response.

"I'm not sure if I see your poi- Huh?"

The Krokorok trailed off as he noticed a small depression in the next dune over. The Desert Croc squinted, and noticed that the small crater continued into a trail, dotted with little silver objects that swirled here and there with the wind

"There's something up ahead over there," the Krokorok murmured.

The pair made their way over to the disturbed sand, the mysterious objects revealed to be dropped feathers as they neared. Could it be...? Hooke hopped over to the edge of the trail, where some hasty footprints had crowded around. Bending over to investigate, he sniffed out the familiar musk of a Nidoran, joined by the distinct sooty scent of Growlithe fur.

"That's them alright," the Grumpig murmured. "But just where would those brats run off to in a place like this?"

Humming in thought, Hooke followed the footprints along with his eyes, scanning the horizon for any little crevices the brats could've hidden themselves in. He spotted a rocky outcropping in the distance that seemed like a likely spot, or perhaps they went to that valley between some of the larger dunes... or, he realized, _perhaps_ they went within the foggy veil of the Mystery Dungeon which loomed in the distance. Wait a minute... if _he_ had to shake off some pursuers in a hurry, what better way was there to do so than to go there? If they went for the Dungeon, they'd be cutting through a place where the ground would shift away any tracks that would be left behind. The pig opened his mouth to speak, only for his watching Krokorok companion to complete his thought.

"I think that we've got our answer with that Dungeon," Ken said, before turning off and calling at a pair of figures in the distance. "Oi, Jan! Locke! Get over here! We've found a lead!"

In the distance, the fuzzy forms of a Hitmonchan and a Nuzleaf glanced over as the Ground-Type summoned them and they hurried to regroup, walking over as briskly as the loose desert sands would allow. The pair crested the ridge of the sand dune and clambered down, impatiently pressing the two for details.

"Eh?" the Fighting-Type asked. "What did you find?"

"Yeah, let's hurry it up!" the Grass-Type fumed. "I think my leaf's starting to wilt!"

"We found the twerps' tracks!" the Grumpig exclaimed. "If we follow them, it'll take us straight to-!"

"Hey!"

A call rang out from above, interrupting Hooke's briefing. The four Pokemon turned their eyes skyward, where a familiar Fearow looked down at them as he circled around to land. Settling awkwardly in the unsteady sand, he beat his wings impatiently, kicking up a light cloud of dust from the ground.

"Eh?! Maurier?!" Ken cried. "What are you doing here?"

"Captain Lyn wants all of us at the beach!" the Fearow squawked. "He says he found out where those kids went to."

His message delivered, the bird flapped his wings for takeoff before the others could begin to respond, and hurried away back towards the coast. As Maurier disappeared into the heat-hazed horizon, Jan traded glances with his Nuzleaf partner, before shooting an unamused scowl at the Grumpig.

"You called us all the way out here for something the Captain already figured out?" the Hitmonchan fumed, only to be answered with a disgusted snort from Hooke.

"Oh shut up. Let's just get back to the beach."

The Grumpig set off, hopping across the dunes as the other three Company Pokémon followed along. The group carefully went forth, retracing their footsteps through a circuitous set of dunes and over to a ruddy-sanded beach where a number of Pokémon in Lyn's adopted Blue Sun pattern had gathered. The four crept along, hoping to slip into the back of the crowd, only for a loud Samurott's growl to reach their ears.

"Hmrph, about time you four got back."

The four laggards shifted uncomfortably, giving sheepish smiles at their counterparts that quickly dissipated under a harsh glare from Lyn. The Samurott twitched his whiskers and cleared his throat to speak, still in a surly mood from the whole episode.

"Now that everyone's _here_ , I'll start my debriefing," Lyn said. "Listen up, because I'm _not_ going to repeat myself."

Lyn's glare lingered on the four a moment longer before he broke away, taking a deep breath and straightening his posture as he prepared to more formally address his crew.

"While we were searching for the Sea Guardian's crash site earlier, I found his and his friends' tracks heading for the Mystery Dungeon," the Samurott explained. "Needless to say, it's a safe assumption that they've moved in there to try and elude us."

An uneasy pause flecked with awkward 'uhm's and 'er's followed the Samurott's words. The crew hadn't been expecting to go into a Mystery Dungeon en masse, and they didn't have a friendly port to give them support like they had in Kenobi… Just how were they supposed to square this circle?

"The Board and I anticipated something like this might happen after our meeting on Mengir," the Samurott continued. "So we prepared a contingency plan."

Lyn motioned with his seamitar to a Xatu to the side of him, who opened a container filled with glinting metal badges. The Samurott pulled his blade back and sheathed it, giving a stern scowl at the gathered Pokémon.

"Everyone who isn't here watching the ship or physically unable to move inland is heading in. I want all of you in groups of two so we'll cover more ground," the Samurott captain barked. "The sooner we get those Pokémon, the sooner you'll all be rewarded for this mission."

The crew's murmuring rose to an excited chatter as they dreamt up the size of the bounty on the Protector's head. Lyn motioned for silence, and harrumphed with a satisfied nod as the commotion died down.

"Glad to hear we're all on the same page, then," he grumbled. "Come and get your equipment and get _out_ there."

Lyn eyed his grunts closely, making sure each of them grabbed a badge for him or herself before leaving. His attention was drawn away by the approach of Ketu and Ellsberg, the two shooting each other a brief glare as they came closer. The Samurott shrugged the matter off as the duo came to a stop before him, Ellsberg turning his attention back to Lyn and clearing his throat to speak.

"I presume you needed me to stay aboard, Lyn?" Ellsberg asked.

"No, Ketu can handle that," the Samurott answered. "I need a flier who can cover my bases in the dungeon, and I want _you_ for that."

"Eh?!" the Bug-Type exclaimed. "But-!"

"You heard him, Elmer," Ketu sneered. "Leave the ship-watching to an _actual_ first mate."

Ellsberg balled up his tarsi and beat his wings forcefully, shooting a burning glare at the flippant Dark-Type.

"Why you-"

The Mothim flinched as a low growl rumbled through the air. Lyn peered down and glared at them, wordlessly demanding silence, and brought the dispute to an abrupt halt.

"Now that you two are _done_ , is there anything left to be said before Ellsberg and I take our leave?" the Samurott demanded.

"Good luck out there," Ketu cheered. "I'll be looking forward to you bringing back that bird."

"... Save the well-wishing for _after_ that bird's bound and below deck," the Water-Type snorted.

Ketu scoffed dismissively and responded only with a casual shrug of his shoulders, more than accustomed to dealing with his captain's overbearing adamance. The Dark-Type brushed away some sand out of his head feathers, before giving a languid glance up at his otter superior.

"Well, when he is, he'll be in good claws," the Weavile replied.

Lyn and Ellsberg turned around and started their trek towards the Mystery Dungeon, leaving Ketu behind alone on the beach. As the two drifted away and comfortably out of earshot, a small smirk began to creep over the Weavile's face.

"Just not necessarily in the ones you want him to be."

* * *

Team Traveller tore along into the dungeon for cover and, after double-checking everyone was present, began the long and arduous process of climbing up its floors. The lower levels were covered in a thick layer of sand just like the desert terrain outside, while further up the sandy floors grew riddled with stones that forced a slower pace to avoid injuries. They found themselves now on a floor which impressively managed to feel intensely claustrophobic despite its tall walls. Even though gargantuan pillars of orange-red stone arced out from the massive walls, the passages of this floor proved rather a tight fit even for the quartet of diminutively-sized adventurers.

On top of the gloomy cloud which hung over the group, the small solace in being able to explore a dungeon together again was stifled by a palpable tension between the four. Their moods were far from bright, but each of them trudged on without complaint, dutifully checking each branching path they encountered for any lurking ferals. However, their measured procedure was suddenly interrupted as they reached a spacious chamber, with three paths stemming from the room and carrying on beyond their line of sight. Pleo's pace slowed and he paused in the middle of the room, unsure of which path to take first. He glanced behind him, looking back to his friends for guidance, only for his heart to sink as he realized they all seemed more focused on glaring at one another than solving their conundrum. After one moment of tense silence too many, the young Lugia couldn't help but to break it by piping up with a question.

"Uh… where do we go next?" Pleo asked. His teammates paused and looked at him, before offering up their suggested routes.

"Left," Nida said.

"Right," Guardia insisted.

"Straight ahead," Elty yipped.

A tense, angry silence fell over the room as the three blurted out their preferred paths in unison. Nidoran, Cubone and Growlithe alike once more glared at one another, each of them sure that their way was the best and having little patience to humor alternatives.

"Spike ball, you don't have to be contrarian just because you're mad at me," Elty huffed. "Checking what's ahead of us is the easiest place to start and you know it!"

"Go ahead and look for yourself then," Nida hissed. "The left is opposite of the side where the stairs took us and that's where _I'm_ going."

"Ugh… you know what? Let's just split up," Guardia muttered. "We'll go down our respective paths just far enough to see if they lead anywhere, and then come back. Nothing can go too wrong in that little bit of time, right?"

"Eh? But-" Pleo began, only to be cut off by a simultaneous answer from his other teammates.

"Fine."

The three Pokémon each harrumphed and turned their backs on one another to leave down their chosen paths. Pleo stammered for a moment as they each walked away, threatening even to leave him behind completely. With no time to think, he simply stumbled after Nida, rushing to catch up to her as she stormed towards her path.

_Click_

Nida froze as she felt a pressure plate give way under her feet, and a sharp hiss rang in her ears as a sweet-smelling cloud of pink mist billowed out around her. Coughing, Pleo began to beat his wings in an attempt to disperse the fog, but it seemed it had already done its work; Nida's ears twitched and she felt her heart rate pick up as she looked around for any sign of trouble approaching.

"Spike ball, what did you _do?!_ " Elty snapped.

"I stepped on a trap, alright ?" Nida huffed. "Just brace yourself!"

Wrapped up in a heated squabble regarding the trap Nida had sprung, the trio didn't seem to notice that the strange pink mist had already cleared up. Pleo blinked a couple times, peering around the room for any sign of a change... He hadn't felt any weaker, and Nida didn't look hurt, so why were they still so worried about the trap?

"Huh?" the young Lugia murmured. "But nothing happened."

Guardia turned up her nose and took a deep whiff of the area. Then she seemed to catch scent of something, her eyes snapping open as she tightened her grip on her club and took a fighting stance.

"Don't be so sure about that, Guardian."

Nida and Elty seemed to smell whatever it was too, but all Pleo could smell was the faint sweetness that lingered from the mist. However, whatever they smelled that he didn't, it put them on edge just as much, each of them similarly bracing themselves for battle and glancing around the room warily.

"Why?" Pleo stammered. "Wh-What's happening-?"

_Rumble Rumble_

Team Traveller looked around uneasily as the ground's shaking continued, before being interrupted by a trio of plumes of sand and dirt. The four shielded their eyes and coughed up some sand, seeing the forms of a lost-looking Drillbur, Diglett, and Bunnelby before them.

"Aha! That's where that smell is coming from!" a Drillbur cried.

"Eh?! What are these hut-dwellers doing here?!" a Diglett yelped.

"What they're doing here is unimportant," Bunnelby growled. "Let's get them _out!_ "

The three ferals assumed tense and combative stances, Team Traveller hastily bracing themselves to for battle. Before any of the four could move, the Drilbur honed its claws for a series of furious swipes and lunged for Pleo as his Digglet partner began building up a glob of mud in his mouth and zipped behind Nida.

"Take this!" the Drillbur snarled.

"Yeah, eat mud!" the Diglett spat.

Pleo hastily flew up with a startled squawk, shedding feathers as he darted out of the way of the Drilbur's swipes. Nida rolled as the glob of mud sailed towards her, ducking just in time for it to pass overhead, only to feel a crushing blow on the side of her head.

"AAAAAGH!"

From above, Pleo heard Nida's shrieks, seeing her flop forward stunned with Guardia's bone lying beside her. A startled whine from behind prompted Pleo to crane his neck around, just in time to see Elty hastily turning tail from the Bunnelby after a kick in his gut and Diglett harrying a now-defenseless Guardia. The young Protector stopped in the air, struggling to determine who to aid, only to feel a sharp pain shoot through his wing.

"A-Aah!"

Pleo yanked his wing back, knocking a blue and black blur down to the ground. Pleo watched as the mole got up and reared up for another slash, prompting the bird to dive down, bluish light gathering on his feathers as he bore down on the Ground-Type. The mole yelped and went sliding back, panting from the sudden blow, trying to regain his bearings.

"Argh!"

The Drilbur dug his claws into the sand and staggered up as the cry of a beleaguered Diglett rang out. The mole looked over, and saw both the Nidoran was pinning him down with blows, the Cubone making a swift dash for her club before joining in. The Ground-Type panted and struggled to maintain his footing, his presumptions of an easy fight thoroughly dashed and filled with a strong desire to be anywhere but there at that moment.

"Gah! _Vetäytykää! Vetäytykää!_ "

Unnerved, the mole hastily dove under the sand and burrowed away, followed closely by the Diglett. Back above the surface, Elty yelped and tripped after being knocked over by the Bunnelby, blowing Embers at the rabbit's face to buy precious seconds to slip away yet again, much to the Normal-Type's frustration.

"Why won't you go _down_ -?! Huh?"

The Bunnelby paused and looked over his shoulder, hopping up with a start after discovering his teammates were missing. The Normal-Type bolted along for the hole, calling out after his unseen companions.

"Hey! Wait up! Don't run off without me!"

The rabbit bolted off in a hasty exit, leaving behind Team Traveller to flop down and lick their wounds from the surprise encounter. Disquieted grumbles filtered through the air, Nida in particular giving a scowl at her Cubone teammate in between runs at her throbbing head.

"Argh…" the Nidoran groaned. "Thanks a lot for hitting my head with that bone, Guardia."

"Why are _you_ complaining? Accidents happen," Guardia fumed. "And _you're_ the one who tripped the trap in the first place!"

Nida and Guardia scowled at one another, seething wordlessly, their furious silence broken only by an equally-irate yip from Elty.

"Way to _abandon_ me, you jerks!" Elty growled.

"Oh, _you're_ one to whine about abandonment!" Nida hissed.

Pleo looked on disheartened as his friends sank back into their infighting, further complicated now with the latest dispute between Nida and Guardia. The young legendary began to droop as a sense of crushing failure set in. How could it be that he'd failed so much at being a Protector? He'd hurt others with his powers, and he was unable to keep even the Pokémon he cherished the most from going at each other's throats. The Lugia began to sulk, only to flinch at the sound of approaching footsteps and jolt up with a start.

"Wait!" Pleo squawked. "Someone's coming!"

The others abruptly silenced themselves and turned their ears to the corridors beyond. Sure enough, each of them was able to clearly hear footsteps echoing from down the hall to the left, coupled with distant conversation about the sounds of a scuffle and that syrupy-sweet smell that the wind carried through the dungeon.

"Let's get out of here before they find this place," Guardia whispered.

The team obliged Guardia, quickly shuffling off into the winding maze ahead of them on Elty's chosen path. Although their temperaments were hardly calmed, their arguments would mean precious little if they were overpowered in the dungeon. For now, the best plan of action would simply be to focus on getting through this maze.

* * *

Back on Tromba, Osmund's condition had improved to the point where he was ready to resume his duties as the captain of the guard. The only sign of his encounter with Lyn's blade two weeks prior being a faint scar on his stomach that had yet to fade away.

The Sceptile made his way down the paths of Bluewhorl's southern end, meandering past domiciles and shops, and the sounds of sparring emanating of a freshly-busy Dojo for the familiar earthen lodge that served as the guards' headquarters. There at the front were a group of Pokémon in lavender headbands; a Mawile, a Granbull, and a purple Nidoran parted ways, the littlest of the bunch staying behind to slick his whiskers. The gecko gave a bemused shake of his head and walked up, eager to strike a conversation

"Heh, been learning those ropes well while I was out, Orino?" the Sceptile cheered.

"Eh? Captain Osmund?" the Nidoran asked. "I thought you were still recovering."

"Nah, we Sceptile bounce back from a little cut faster than your average tree in the forest," Osmund chuckled. "I was actually just on my way to pass your mom the news."

"Ah, she's been looking forward to getting back to the field," Orino murmured. "But did everything go alright while you were out? Dealing with _mamí_ on the force was… well, it wasn't nearly as easy as with you."

"Meh, it was a chance to take things a little slower," the gecko insisted. "Spent some time brushing up on my card skills, spent a few nights helping Hatteras out with his lighthouse duties, and I spent some time catching up with my sister."

The Nidoran blinked, taken somewhat aback by his captain's casual mention of a new family member.

"Wait, you have a sister?" the Poison-Type asked.

"Younger, yeah," the Grass-Type replied. "We got assignments to different islands a few years back from the capital, though it sounds like she's going through some sort of shake-up on her end."

Osmund trailed off, his gaze drifting to nothing in particular as he stared off into space for a moment. He brought a claw to his chin as his mind turned to his days watching over his sister back at the Academy. She'd been rather vague in her last letter, was she still doing alright? The Sceptile caught himself and shook his head as he brought his thoughts back to the Nidoran before him.

"But that can wait," he insisted. "What did I miss on the job?"

"Oh not much. There were a couple bar fights when the pirates got too much to drink, a Meowth got stuck in a tree the other day, Mildrew asked a few of us to help stake out whatever feral's been stealing his apples..." the spike ball answered. "Also, _mamí_ got a bounty issued on her."

Osmund's eyes widened, and his jaw fell slack in shock at his subordinate's offhanded remark. Marley had a _bounty_ issued against her?!

"Wait, _what?!_ "

"Yeah, take a look," the Nidoran prodded. The purple spike lump dug into his bag and fished out a stack of papers, unfurling them to reveal a collection of bounty posters with crude depictions of Pokémon. Osmund saw that one of the bounties was for a Hydreigon, thinking nothing of it until he noticed the other posters. There was Marley in her swirl-patterned scarf, and a Growlithe and a Nidoran in blue scarves with star patterns.

"Guess that's _one_ way of telling that _chiquita_ is still kicking around out there," he murmured.

"… Aren't you more worried about your mother and this bounty?" Osmund asked. "She's leaving the force, and there's no shortage of hunters out there who'd take a shot at this bounty."

_Crash!_

Osmund and Orino turned as a Donphan sailed through a shuttered window on the guard hut's first floor, faceplanting on the ground with splintered pieces of wood. A distressed Honchkrow quickly flew out and took off in a hurry, prompting the elephant to hastily right himself and roll off away from the guards' hut. Osmund stared, flummoxed at what had just happened, only for a Nidorina's head to poke out of the now-destroyed frame.

"… Shoot. Lost them," Marley grumbled.

After turning her head, the forms of a slack-jawed Osmund and nonchalant Orino came into the Nidorina's view. The Poison-Type shook her head, giving a cheerful afternoon wave as if nothing had happened.

"Oh, _buenas tardes_ , Osmund," the Nidorina cheered. "Here to take your old job back?"

Osmund blinked and stared ahead speechless at the Nidorina's nonchalance. Bemused at his superior's flummoxed demeanor, Orino shook his head and gave a dismissive wave of his paw.

"Nah, she'll be fine," the Nidoran insisted.

* * *

"Er… I can explain?"

Once again, Hess' words echoed about the darkened chamber that the Council gathered to meet in, fidgeting anxiously before an audience of four sour-faced observers. A quick glance evidenced that even the Council's members had not eluded the chaos surrounding Team Traveller's exit. Ingela was covered in welts from Jellicent stings, while Dirk and Tarquin were sporting fresh scrapes on their body. Of course, there was Sibich, who was battered and bruised from his impact, and all the more agitated for it.

"Explain? _Explain?_ What is there to explain?!" the Ghost-Type spluttered. "You _destroyed_ half the town chasing after that bird!"

"B-But it was that Imp and those jellyfish that did most of the damage!" the Steel-Type whined. "And I didn't _know_ that that Lugia would be in town!"

"Then why didn't you _come_ to us?!" Ingela demanded.

"I… er… uh…" Hess stammered. "I didn't think you'd believe me?"

"Well, that wouldn't have been an issue for me," Sibich sighed. " _My_ suspicions were confirmed with this little episode."

"Ugh… I suppose miracles _do_ happen after all. Of a sort," Dirk growled. The Bisharp sprang up and thrust the tip of his blade at Hess' neck, stopping a hair's breadth from the hide as the Steel-Type squeaked and his eyes dilated.

"E-Eek!"

"Unfortunately for _you_ , that doesn't get you off the hook," the Bisharp snarled, moving his blade-tip up against the throat of his petrified audience. "And there _will_ be consequences for this debacle."

The Aggron quailed, tucking his tail in as he felt his blood turn to ice. Hess desperately tried to raise a protest, only for his words to come out as a panicked stammer.

"I- I- N-Noooo…"

The Bisharp pulled his arm back, raising it in the air for a downward blow. Hess froze, whimpering as light glinted off the edge of Dirk's blade.

"On account of your complete and utter _incompetence_ , we sentence you to…"

The Steel-Type screwed his eyes shut, bracing himself for a piercing stab into his neck. In its place, he felt a stiff slap on the side of his maw, sending him falling down onto his rump with a yelp. Hess moved a claw up to paw at his now-numbed cheek, opening his eyes uneasily to see Dirk walking back for his seat.

"Forced labor," the Dark-Type growled. "Namely, you'll be hunting down and bringing that bird _back_ here."

Jaws dropped around the rest of the table, all eyes trained incredulously on Dirk at the leniency of his punishment. Most expected Hess to be lying stone dead on the floor by now, or at least thrown to the Imps or Square-necks for them to have their way with him. Yet here he was, let off with a slap and reassigned to the job _they_ all coveted?! What sort of madness _was_ this?

"Wh-Wha?" the Aggron stammered. Before Hess could receive his answer, Ingela gave the floor a stiff slap with her tail, shooting a hardened scowl at her Bisharp compatriot as he retook his seat.

"Um… Dirk, could we have a _word_ together?" the Primarina demanded.

"H-Huh?" Hess asked. "What are you going to talk abou-?"

"Not _you!_ " Tarquin snarled. "Get out and wait outside outside the room!"

"Meep!"

Hess hastily stumbled back to his feet and bolted past the doors at the front. Not wanting to leave anything to chance, the lizard loudly slammed the doors shut, leaving Ingela, Sibich, and Tarquin to trade furious scowls with their first among equals.

"Dirk, what sort of punishment is _that?!_ " Ingela exclaimed.

"Yeah, hunting down that bird's something that _we_ should be doing!" Sibich huffed. "Not that metal-jacketed buffoon!"

"Because, whenever crews from this town do something to majorly disturb order in Anyilla, it _always_ draws the full attention of the Company and the Empire," Dirk explained.

"Tch, so we'd have to deal with some more heat than normal," Tarquin scoffed. "Nothing that wouldn't blow over eventually."

"Just like it did for Beatrice?" Dirk countered. The Tyrantrum paused and shifted uneasily before giving a dismissive snort and attempting to wave the matter off.

"Okay, that Garchomp wasn't a normal case and you know it-"

"Or what happened to the town after Charles kidnapped an Imperial Governor's kid?" the Dark-Type interrupted, shooting a piercing glare up at the Tyrantrum. "Or how about when Kafavian stole sea fire recipes from the Company and got his crew and half the harbor burned up after the Square-necks tracked him back here? And do I even need to get into how Jack got his ship dragged to the bottom of the sea?"

The others paused and traded glances with each other. Each of the Pokémon the Bisharp mentioned had met… inglorious ends, to say the least, but all of them had taken needless risks. How was that related to the topic at hand?

"… What are you getting at, Dirk?" Tarquin harrumphed.

"Tch… I shouldn't have to explain this to you, Tarquin. You used to be _part_ of the Company for crying out loud!" the Bisharp spat. "This mission is bound to rile up the Company and the Empire, and it's in _our_ interest that whoever brings that Protector back takes a quick bow off the stage afterwards to keep our _base of operations_ from being razed to the ground."

Tarquin and Ingela paused, mulling over Dirk's plan. The two entertained thoughts of scenarios where they, or perhaps some other agent would chase around the Protector, only to begrudgingly realize that the Bisharp was onto something.

"… I'll admit, I think I can see your point there," Ingela sighed.

"But you're trusting the _Iron Fleet_ to bring the Protector back?!" Sibich exclaimed. "Surely you of all 'mons must realize that-"

"That even though they're clearly bottom percentage material, the Iron Fleet is also the only crew in port that has any idea of what to expect from that Protector," the Bisharp countered. "Or do _you_ know of any others, Sibich?"

The Ghost-Type gritted his teeth as smoky shadows billowed around him. That was _his_ bird for the taking and here Dirk was just giving him away? Even so, the Cofagrigus knew better than to challenge a peer with an advantage, and there were surely other ways to get what he wanted. So for now, at least, the best option seemed to be to relent.

"Urgh… fine," the Cofagrigus sulked.

"C-Can I come back in yet?"

The Council members looked back at the doors, which had opened conspicuously wide to allow Hess to poke his huge head back inside. Dirk groaned with a shake of his head and beckoned the Steel-Type over.

"Yeah, yeah," Dirk growled. "Hurry up already."

Hesitantly, Hess pushed the doors open the rest of the way and paced back into the room. He glanced this way and that, staying wary that perhaps Dirk had been joking when he spared his life, but thankfully that didn't seem to be the case. The Bisharp eyed him amusedly before clearing his throat to speak again.

"As I was saying, it will be on _you_ to bring that Protector back," Dirk barked. "And starting after sundown tomorrow, you will be persona non grata in port until you come _back_ with him."

"E-Eh?!" the Steel-Type whined. "But-!"

"Besides, _you_ have the most experience out of all of us with regard to that bird," the Bisharp pressed. "So you would be best-suited to track it down."

Hess blanched as Dirk's words echoed in the room, realizing that the Dark-Type had left him with two deeply unpalatable decisions. On the one claw, if he accepted - with Rodion and a chunk of the crew gone - it would be next to impossible just to get out of port, much less keep the remaining Pokémon from mutinying. On the other, if he refused... it would be hard to see any outcome where he didn't leave the room in pieces.

"I- I mean, I don't have much of a choice-"

"Hoy!"

The gathered Pokémon looked back at the doors as a black-and-white figure with a large bill pushed them open and flitted over to the Council members' table. As the bird slowed and settled to a stop, he took the clearer shape of a Toucannon wearing Tarquin's colors. The Council members narrowed their eyes and scowled, none the more pleased by the Flying-Type's interruption.

Do you _mind?_ " Ingela snarled. "We're in the middle of something here!"

"Er… apologies, but it's urgent!" the toucan insisted. "It's from the Imp who trashed the port! She wants to do a prisoner exchange!"

A chorus of disdainful groans followed the bird's words. That Imperial lackey had the temerity to assume that she could get her lost underlings back so easily?

"A _prisoner exchange?_ Pah!" Tarquin spat. "I wouldn't give them so much as a scale unless I got those Imp sods' weight in alumi-"

"We'll do it!" Hess cried. The Aggron paused, realizing that he had spoken out of turn and growing acutely aware of the harsh glares boring through his hide from the Council members. Even so, this _was_ his opportunity to patch up his crippled crew… perhaps he should just be candid about it?

"Uh… er… I… would kinda need the members of my crew who were captured back to have the best odds at getting that Lugia?" Hess offered, forcing a smile over his metal maw. Dirk glared harshly, only to see that the Armor Pokémon, while visibly unnerved, wasn't budging on his demand. It would be easy enough to kill him here on the spot… but then again, how else would the Council get another patsy this well-suited to the job?

"Ugh… fine," the Dark-Type sighed. "Where and when does she want the exchange?"

* * *

An hour's journey to the west of Orleigh, the Vasilek had laid down anchor at sea, far from unscathed from her daring entrance into Rosequartz. The sails had been shot through full of holes and the hull was being kept seaworthy through copious amounts of ice plugging breaks in the wood. The bow was blackened from fire damage, and a long and hostile pursuit from Spirit Trench's ferals had broken off parts of the stern. On top of it all, the ship had left port 13 claws short, and without the Protector that the whole mission had sought out.

Indeed, the only sign that the mission had been anything other than a complete debacle were the forms of a motley selection of hogtied pirates thrown together on the ship's deck. For some, the shock of capture and the stench of seawater and sweat had done much to instill a submissive stupor. A few like the Hoppip in the group had been busy being simpering and sniffling wrecks, some like the Floatzel had put on a brave face to try and tamp down the palpable dread and unease by trading supportive words and glances.

As for the others, including a certain Zangoose and his companions, the ordeal had done little to take off their edge...

"This is so demeaning…" Scian groaned. "Would it kill you guys to give us some more water?"

"Yeah, the sun's baking us alive here!" Cerny whined.

"Oh for crying out loud, we're captured and about to be shipped off to gods knows where!" Kai fumed. "And you choose to whine about us being thirsty?!"

The Banette cocked his head before turning back to the Flareon. Much to Kai's exasperation, the Ghost-Type did nothing but raise an eyebrow indignantly at his outburst.

"Yeah?" the Banette asked. "What's your point? Just because I'm tied up doesn't mean I'm not thirsty."

Scian rolled his eyes at his teammates' argument, before his mind drifting back to his present indignities of being tied up and ignored. The Cat Ferret Pokémon scowled and furrowed his brow, fidgeting against his bindings before he turned back to Nagant, growling after her.

"I know you can hear me, _portán!_ " the Zangoose yelled. "Give me some wate-!"

The Normal-Type was abruptly cut off by a stream of water striking his face, prompting a startled blurble as Scian toppled backwards and coughed up the unwelcome "drink". The Cat Ferret rolled over onto his stomach before feeling his upper body lifted by the scruff of his neck, coming face-to-face with a glaring shrimp looking down at him.

" _There_. You've asked for a drink ten times now in the last fifteen minutes," Nagant hissed. "Now shut up about wanting water."

Jun watched as the sopping Zangoose spluttered and coughed water onto the deck, and gave a sigh as he shook his head. The Vasilek had made a daring raid and paid a considerable price for it, with only that hacking furball and the rest of the pirate scum they'd drug aboard were all they had to show for it.

"Well, this could have gone better," Jun muttered.

"Eh? What are you talking about?" Cyanea bubbled. "I nabbed five pirates during that raid!"

The Tentacruel happily prattled along as Nagant pivoted on her tail, shooting a deepening glare at the jellyfish. Noticing her captain's increasingly stormy mood, Katyusha prodded her partner with a fin, speaking out of the side of her mouth.

"Er... probably shouldn't ring your bell too much when some of us didn't make it off the island. Or when we didn't get that bird," her Sharpedo partner whispered. "Besides, you only got _three_ of those without my help."

"But I managed to capture more pirates than any-"

" _Molchi!_ " the Clawitzer hissed. "That furball's whining is already enough of a headache and I don't need _you_ making it worse by your constant bragging, Cyanea!"

"Hey!" Scian spat. "I can still hear you, you old-"

The Zangoose once again was silenced with a Water Gun to his face, drawing eye rolls from the nearby captives. Among those was a more experienced-looking Floatzel, who gave a shake of his head and called out to the incensed crustacean.

"Not to tell you how to run your own ship, shrimp, but what _are_ you up to?" Rodion demanded. "You've been anchored here for almost an hour and haven't moved us into the brig yet. I would think that even in hard times, the Empire would still build them into their ships."

The Clawitzer frowned and narrowed her eyes, shooting a disdainful scowl at the otter from the corner of her vision as she perched herself against the railing.

"That's because I'm planning on making you someone else's problem," the shrimp answered.

"And just what is _that_ supposed to mean?" the Floatzel scoffed.

"Captain Nugget, there's a ship coming!" a Drifblim's voice cried.

The gathered Pokémon turned their attention to the form of an approaching ship with lightly-colored sails in the distance. Nagant's indigo-scarved crew crowded around the railing to make out the ship, squinting as a few of the more high-strung creatures braced themselves for battle.

The craft had a pair of masts decked with golden sails, groans breaking out as the brigands realized _whose_ ship was approaching. The grumbling intensified as the caravel neared, the silver spiked teardrop designs only serving to add insult to injury for much of the group.

"Seriously?" a black-scarved Furfrou groaned. "The Iron Fleet?"

" _That_ bunch is gonna try and rescue us?" Kai scoffed.

"Well I guess we'll have more company here on deck really soon," an orange-scarved Cacturne grumbled.

"Tch. Hardly," Jun chided.

As the gold-sailed ship neared, its occupants came into clearer view. An Aggron leered over the railing, watching over a group of hogtied Pokemon in indigo scarves which lay on the deck behind him.

"Her majesty's forces don't just leave their own behind." the Beedrill explained. "And like the Captain said, we're aiming to make you someone else's problem. Specifically the problem of these gold-scarved louts."

The Mistral Marauder pulled up beside the Vasilek, and at Hess's cry, a pair of gangplanks were lowered across the space between the two ships. At each end, the ships' captains made their way to their respective ends, glaring at each other from across the gap.

"Was there really no one _else_ from Orleigh to negotiate?" Nagant growled.

"Hrmph, I don't want to deal with you again either, but I don't have much of a choice right now," the Aggron harrumphed. "Do you have the 30 prisoners? You're not getting so much as a scale without them!"

"Do you have all of _my_ subordinates?" the shrimp retorted. "I counted 13 missing, and you'll be lucky to _swim_ home if you stand me up here."

"Ugh... yes."

"Then let's get this over with already," the crustacean snapped.

At their respective captains' calls, the crews of each ship roughly escorted their captives across the two gangplanks. The indigo-scarved captives were returned to the Vasilek, while Hess welcomed the captured pirates back aboard his own Mistral Marauder. On each ship's deck, some happy reunions took place as crewmembers were reunited with their friends.

"K-Kichiro!"

Wilhelm made a beeline for Kichiro and blubbered happily for his consternated Ledian friend, prompting the beetle to give an annoyed buzz and shake the living hayseed off.

"Give it a rest, you big baby!"

Further towards the stern, Scian and his partners tried their best to make a show of looking at home even on this foreign ship. Hess' attention was captured by Rodion, who approached his home ship while futilely tugging at the ropes which bound his wrists together.

"Rodion!"

The Aggron stomped over as quickly as his massive body would allow, the ship's deck creaking under his heavy footfalls, and scooped the Floatzel up into an embrace tight enough to make a Pinsir cringe. The otter Pokemon flailed against the sudden, crushing hug, pushing against the Steel-type's bulky frame in a vain attempt to escape the brazen show of affection.

"Gack! Hess, do that _after_ I've been unbound!" the Floatzel protested. "You're strangling me!"

Hess cracked his eyes open and noticed that the gathering was silent other than the sound of waves and breaking wood. The Steel-Type looked around and saw that the other Pokémon, even the Clawitzer captain, were staring and blinking at his overly enthusiastic affection. The Armor Pokémon hastily set his first mate down, batted his tail against the deck, and hardened his face into a scowl before gruffly turning back to his Indigo-scarved foe.

"Well, that's it," he muttered. "I don't have any more business here with you-"

The Aggron trailed off and looked about the freshly-boarded pirates, quickly doing a headcount. There were definitely 30 present… but where was Eltenios? He'd vanished in the chaos surrounding his battle with the old sea bug, so where was he now?

"Oi. Your letter said there were 30 prisoners," the Steel-Type grunted. "There's supposed to be a Growlithe with them."

Nagant looked at Jun before looking back, rolling her eyes in aggravation at the pirate taking up her time. The yappy mutt she soaked? He hadn't turned up when the riff-raff had been dragged in, so how would she know?

"What you see is what you get," she snapped. "No one who made it back to my ship brought a Growlithe with them, and I'd suggest that you _don't_ try to do anything cute with our deal right now."

Hess glared back across the gangplank at the Clawitzer. He _knew_ that Eltenios was still missing, so what'd the shrimp do to him? Was she pulling a fast one? Did one of her cronies drop him while carrying him off?

… Though either way, with her crew visibly raring and ready for battle, the crustacean in her native element, and his ship visibly more pockmarked with holes than hers… With such long odds, writing a mon he'd lost once already off as 'missing in action' seemed to be the smarter move than getting sunk over a fight.

"... Fine," Hess growled. "I had stuff to do in port anyways."

"You and me both. I've got places to be, pirate," the Clawitzer snapped. "If you know what's good for you, you'll keep your thieving face far, far away from me."

"Grr... the same to you," Hess growled. "And have fun dealing with the Company."

Nagant's blanched, taken aback at the implications of Hess' threat. Her shocked expression faded to a sharp glare, and she pounded her firing claw on the deck angrily.

"Just what are you implying there?" the shrimp demanded.

"You trashed our hangout to get at a Protector," Hess chided. "Do you think word won't get out and the Company isn't going to find out about this?"

Nagant clenched her mandibles and tensed her claws, coming to the begrudging conclusion that the metal-hided buffoon had a point. The shrimp began to mull over the potential consequences the whole debacle might mean for her mission, only to be brought back to reality by feeling her ship abruptly lurch. Hess gave a belligerent snort, before turning back to his crew and stomping the deck for attention, making his sloop rock underfoot.

"Come on, we're getting out of here!" the Aggron bellowed "And you other dweebs better pull your weight, or I'll have you _swim_ back to Orleigh!"

The gangplanks were pulled up and the Mistral Marauder's escorts whipped up currents in the sea and air which pushed the caravel forward and the frigate back. The Vasilek's crew fought to steady their ship as Hess' ship slipped over the horizon. All the while, Nagant remained silent, grimly staring off into the distance, drawing a concerned buzz from her first mate.

"Captain," Jun asked. "Is something wrong?"

The Clawitzer remained pensive, the pirate captain's words sticking with her. As much as she hated to admit it, the Aggron had a point. It really would be just a matter of time before the Company learned she and the Empire were also searching for the Lugia... but would she be able to still get the Protector in the face of their escalation?

Nagant scowled and shook her head. It was too late to turn back now. The die had already been cast and she was still going to fight to restore those days gone by even if it was the end of her. All that was left to do was to keep pressing on and let the future bring what it may.

"... Nothing that we can't prepare for," she sighed. "Just get those 'mons untied and let's get moving."

* * *

Team Traveller carried on climbing up the Mystery Dungeon, trudging through floor after floor and run-in after run-in with the Dungeon's hazards up to their current floor. The place was a space covered in sand and stony fragments, hemmed in by a maze of sandstone bluffs. Above, inverted arches hung from a suspended slab of ground high above, as the group followed the contours of the walls to a straight, unusually tall bluff, most likely a barrier the Distortion generated to enclose the floor's boundaries.

All the while, the darkness outside grew darker and darker, with only Elty's embers and the muddled light of stars and what the four presumed to be the moon giving any illumination at all. From the increasing fatigue the four felt, it was obvious that the night was not getting any younger, though even so, the team had a strangely hard time finding a stable zone to spend the night in.

"Nida?" Pleo yawned. "When are we going to sleep?"

"… I dunno, Pleo," the Nidoran admitted. "We haven't found a suitable place in any of the last floors we checked. Just keep looking a little longer."

The Lugia slowly dropped his head in disappointment, at a loss for what the team could do now. The bird shuffled uneasily and blinked, before a dawning realization lifted his spirits. Elty literally had a nose for finding islands of calm amidst the tumult of the Distortion, which had helped the team before on islands like Boisocéan. He gave the Growlithe a pleading look, who upon noticing gave Pleo an unamused stare.

"What's with _that_ look?" Elty snapped. "I can't magically do anything that _you_ can't to find a stable zone! This dungeon keeps blowing away the sand that would carry scents!"

Much to Pleo's dismay, the two quickly fell into a heated argument, first talking and then shouting over one another back and forth and all but drowning out any other attempts at conversation. As Nida and Elty continued bickering in the background, Guardia looked over at the floor's sandstone wall, where she noticed some cracks in the stone. She backed away from her bickering teammates and noticed the sound of moving air coming through, glancing down at her bone as a sudden realization dawned on her.

"Wait," Guardia interrupted. "Maybe there _is_ something that you wouldn't be able to do, _Gardie._ "

"Eh? And just what is _that_ supposed to mean?" the Growlithe demanded.

The Cubone walked over to the sandstone wall, and gave a forceful tap against it with her club. She heard a hollow tap, prompting her to strike the stone harder, and harder...

_Crack!_

With one final strike, the wall gave way and fell to pieces, a cloud of dust billowing out from the debris as it settled. The Pokémon coughed as the dust blew into their faces, backing away to allow the area to clear. Once everything had settled, they peered ahead into the newly-opened passage. There they saw that the stone had been hiding a tunnel, and not far inside they could see the fog of the Distortion swirling around.

"Ah! That's it!" Pleo chirped .

"Hrmph," Elty grumbled. "You just got lucky."

"Enough," Nida sighed. "Let's just head in and get some rest."

The group filed into the passage, by now more than used to the process of safely navigating the Distortion and dealing with the tricks it played on their senses. As they emerged from the foggy tunnel, they were met with a gentle, whispering breeze and the dusty scent of swirling sands it carried. After regathering their composure, they pressed on, noting the ground changed underneath them from loose sand to a ruddy-red sandstone. The stable zone they came to after the fog cleared away took the shape of a sandy clearing ringed by ledges of sandstone, and a ruined arch in the center, seemingly once hewn from a single, impossibly long and thin chunk of stone with rusted bits of metal wire poking out of the edges.

"… I guess it's as much as we can hope for right now," the Poison-Type sighed. "Let's make camp here for the night and carry on in the morning."

"Right. I guess we should start picking out our spots," Guardia murmured. "I'll take the other side of this ruin."

Elty shot the Cubone a sour frown, taking a bit of offense to her apparent enthusiasm to be rid of the others. Even if they hadn't been getting along so well, was it _really_ necessary to split the team up like that? He puffed out his chest angrily, and decided that two could play at that game.

"Alright then," he huffed. "Since we're playing that game."

The Growlithe dragged a forepaw along through the sand, drawing an uneven line that marked off a berth around his resting place.

"This is _my_ spot," he snapped. "So butt out of it."

"Fine, I'll sleep in front of the entrance then," Nida retorted. "You're coming, right, Pleo?"

"I… er… um…"

Caught in the middle of the little territorial dispute, Pleo found himself unsure of how to answer. He glanced around the room uneasily and the crude lines drawn in the sand. He didn't really want to have to pick sides with his friends, but was there even anywhere to pick that everyone would be okay with? The young Protector glanced at the lines and noticed that they met just in front of the sizable arch in the middle of the room, noting that no one had claimed that spot yet, and it was plenty big for him to curl up in comfortably enough. Maybe that would be worth a shot?

"Actually, why don't I take the middle?" Pleo offered. "There's enough space around for you to come over and rest there…"

The Lugia attempted a small smile as he made his suggestion, but it quickly deflated as the others frowned at him, seeming to already be set in their selected alcoves.

"Hrmph, you do that then," Elty harrumphed .

"I'm not changing my spot," Guardia insisted. "Not tonight."

"… I would rather keep my own myself, Pleo," Nida sighed.

"But…"

Pleo's whole body sagged, the young Protector seemingly running out of energy to protest his teammates' negatory responses. He raised one wing in an attempt to get them to reconsider, but he had little faith that his friends would listen at this point; his fears being realized as Elty waved a paw back dismissively

"Look, just get some rest," Elty interrupted. "The sooner dawn breaks, the sooner we can get going, get out of here, and get on with our lives."

Pleo watched as each of his teammates curled themselves up and screwed their eyes shut to sleep, equal parts irritated to have their rest delayed and thankful to finally be able to indulge in it. The young Protector fidgeted in place, his mind racing as he tried desperately to think of some way to help his friends become... _friendly_ again. Try as he might, though, after a short time spent wracking his brain, the realization came over him that he simply couldn't think of anything.

With that, the dejected Lugia tucked his head under his wing, drifting off unhappily into the realm of dreams.

* * *

Out on the sea, the Vasilek had carried on in its westward course, prowling the waters as the sun gave way to the moon and stars. Even the dark of night was not enough to deter the searching crew, prompting them to break out candles and lanterns of glowing algae in a so-far fruitless bid to find the Protector.

On the deck, Nagant shook her head, eying her cabin and having half a mind to bury her gills and her frustration in a nice, stiff bowl of vodka. The Clawitzer suppressed her urges and hopped over to her first mate who looked out at sea and was in a similarly deflated mood.

"Nothing at all?" the Clawitzer sighed. A few reluctant looks went around the nearby crewmates, before Jun gave an exasperated shake of his head.

"Nothing," the Beedrill buzzed. "If the Protector did make his way for the Subway, we've seen no trace of him or his companions."

"Pah… I should have known this would've been a moon shot in the first place," Nagant grumbled. "But how are we supposed to narrow things down at all when all we have to work with is him being sighted flying westward?"

"Gwark! Bogey inbound from port!" a Pidgeotto's voice squawked. "It's huge and closing in fast!"

"What the-?"

A fiery flash tore through the air, followed by a loud thump as the deck was driven down and the ship listed dangerously to one side. A chorus of yelps and cries filled the air as crew members tried to keep their footing and others staggered up from untimely falls. There, in front of them was a glaring Dragonite crouching against a ring of scorch marks on the deck, smoke curling from his mouth, and a lavender scarf with an intricate pattern of violet squares on his neck.

"I-It's a Square-neck!" a Vespiquen buzzed.

"Q-Quick!" a Salandit shouted. "Get hi-!"

"Hold your fire!"

The gathered crew paused, passing uneasy murmurs to one another as they watched the Dragonite tensely. Nagant twitched her barbels, none too terribly eager to deal with Administrator Darzin on such short notice, and hopped over, scowling.

"What are you _doing_ here, Administrator Darzin?"

"You were fairly hard to miss with all the light," the Dragonite snorted. "And we need to have a _talk._ "

"Talk about what?" the Clawitzer demanded .

"You can start by telling me why a report reached my desk of an Imperial frigate leading a swarm of ferals from Spirit Trench to raid Orleigh, and why _you_ specifically were there for it!" the Dragon-Type snarled. "I didn't make our little arrangement just so you could sail around chasing whatever adventure struck your fancy!"

"If you _must_ know, we tracked the Protector there," the Water-Type hissed back. "I saw him with my own eyes on that miserable rock and were it not for some bumbling pirate's interference, he'd be in my brig right now!"

"Tch, a likely story," Darzin harrumphed. "That's why Commissioner Lyn was conspicuously _absent_ from Orleigh, right?"

The Clawitzer caught herself and twitched her barbels uneasily. She hadn't the foggiest clue _where_ Commissioner Lyn was right now, but she at least knew he wasn't there with her.

"… _Ya ne znayu._ I can't speak for why he's not present," Nagant murmured. "Perhaps he received poor intel."

"Well then, where does your 'intel' suggest he'd head to next, hrm?" Darzin demanded.

"We saw him flying westward," the Water-Type explained. "There's only so many places he could have gone to from there, and the first island en route is Sormus."

"So in other words, you're sailing blind and entirely based off a hunch right now."

"Well, is it any worse than whatever Lyn has right now?" the shrimp demanded.

The Dragonite paused and glared at the Clawitzer, before relenting with a snort. Much to Nagant's relief, that seemed to be enough to convince him, evidently Lyn really hadn't had a breakthrough as she had feared… or at least not one that either of them knew of. The Dragonite turned and paced over to the railing, giving a sharp scowl over his shoulder.

"… So be it. I'll let you get back to your search, though _do_ be aware that our arrangement will stop being valuable as soon your options for capturing the Protector are exhausted," the dragon growled. "Don't screw this opportunity up."

Darzin leapt off the deck, whipping up a gale-like wind with his wings that made the sails billow out the sea dragon vaulted into the air and flew off into the deep night. On the deck of the Vasilek, the crew watched as the orange blur melted into the blackened sky, uneasy whispers filtering through the air as Jun shook his head over the whole episode.

"How on earth did you ever get yourself into this situation, Captain?" the Beedrill sighed.

"… I did what I had to to get off Mengir," Nagant muttered. "But we have bigger worries right now."

The Clawitzer looked at the deck and shook her head, before turning to her first mate with a hardened gaze.

"Let's get going for Sormus and renew our search from there," she chittered. "We need to get a more solid lead for the Sea Guardian's whereabouts, and fast."

Nagant raised a cry, drawing the attention of the escorts in the sea and air. The shrimp hopped overboard, and swam ahead of the Vasilek as the air and water began to churn, pushing the frigate on westward in its search. All the while, the crustacean couldn't help but shake the nagging sensation as if she was just a small hurdle away from a breakthrough...

But just what could that hurdle be? And did she have what was needed to surmount it?

* * *

A distant, moaning cry roused Elty from his sleep. Grumbling as he blinked the sleep from his eyes, he rose to his feet and looked around blearily, spotting Neo and Pleo stir awake as well. A sense of dread fell over the sleepy trio as they realized it was the same crying that had kept them awake in Rasp's hostel.

"Nrgh… No…"

"Eh?!" Nida cried. "That crying's going on even here?!"

"Wha- How?" Pleo squawked. "We _left_ Rosequartz, and we didn't take any Pokémon with us!"

How could this blasted crying have followed them _here?_ Whoever had been crying at Rasp's place had surely been left behind... right? Elty mulled it over for a moment, before an interesting thought occurred to him... He remembered Guardia being suspiciously quiet during those sleepless nights. Could it be that it was _her_ making that racket all along?

"Eh?" the little Protector asked. "What's with that look, Elty?"

"It's nothing," the dog insisted. "Let's just find whoever's making this racket, shut them up, and go back to bed."

"Something we can finally agree on," Nida scoffed. "I'll take the left with Pleo, you take the right."

The Pokémon went their separate ways; Elty heading off to the right and passing the edge of the ruined wall as he clambered up the dune and back down again. The Growlithe sniffed around for a trail, turning his nose skyward now and again until he came to a small alcove dug into ledges of sandstone. The Fire-Type frowned, giving a frustrated growl at his lead taking him to a dead end. Every sense in his body told him that crying _had_ to be coming from around here, but all he'd found were some stupid rocks!

… Right?

"Wait a minute," he murmured. "That crying's coming from..."

Elty looked up and noticed that the ledge seemed just high enough to jump onto. He took a few paces back and planted his feet into the sand before launching himself skyward with all his might, just barely catching the edge of the stony plateau with his front paws. With some effort, he dragged himself up onto the ledge and looked around once more, the ruined wall at the center poking out from behind an obscuring dune. As he caught his breath from the exertion of the jump, he scanned the area, and spotted a lone, broken pillar nearby.

"Uwaaa-"

Elty made his way around the ruin and came face to face with a sniffling Guardia. The Cubone jumped up with a start at the Growlithe's presence and scooped her club up, stopping her crying with a hitched breath.

"A-Ah!" the Ground-Type yelped. "What are you doing here?!"

"So it _was_ you keeping us up all those nights!" the Growlithe exclaimed.

As Guardia began to realize her intruder was merely her yappy _Gardie_ teammate, she eased her grip on her bones, and pointed it at Elty accusingly.

"W-Why would _you_ care?!" the lizard fumed in between sniffles. "B-Butt out and go back to your own end of the zone!"

"Well excuse me for worrying, _księżniczko!_ " Elty spat. "It's not as if there's a giant sign that lets me know what's going on with you-"

The Growlithe looked up and noticed that through the misty haze above, the familiar shape of the moon was shining down on them. The Fire-Type paused, and remembered a few passing yarns he had heard filter around on such nights of Cubone crying at the full moon… Gah, he should have realized this sooner! Why, the reason the bonehead was so upset had to be because...

"… Oh," he murmured. "It's because of your mother, isn't it?"

"Nice stereotyping there," the Cubone growled. "She was already gone before I even hatched, but…"

The lizard's voice trailed off, prompting her to wipe away some fresh tears from her eyes. She looked up blearily into the sky, where through the fog, a full moon just entering its waning phase hung in the sky.

"She's not the only departed staring down from me up there…"

"Eh? So you _are_ crying over someone?" Elty asked. "But… who?"

"… It was my father. He was the one who watched over me when I was growing up ," she explained, prodding weakly at the sand with her bone. "Up until the big accident."

The Growlithe uneasily looked at the ground and shifted his paws at Guardia's words. He knew from the Ground-Type's bereavement that the story surely had an unhappy ending, but even so...

"Er… what happened?" Elty asked.

"He was out with a scavenging party from our colony in the mountains," Guardia murmured. "They were going along a high ridge when the earth woke up…"

The Cubone prodded at a pebble with her foot before kicking it away. The pair watched as the stone fell upon some jagged crags, an audible crack ringing out as it landed split into two. Elty looked looked down at the fragments of the rock, and his eyes widened as the implications of Guardia's display flashed through his mind. For once in his life, he seemed lost for words, despite his best efforts to splutter something out. He took a moment to compose himself as he struggled to come up with the right words to respond with.

"… So he went out like that?" the Growlithe muttered. "Is that why you react like a stuck Spoink every time we get up high?"

"If you're trying to be comforting, you're not doing it right," the Ground-Type huffed. "But yes… And it's why when I see him looking down to me from the moon like this, I just- wish he could be-"

Guardia's voice hitched, as she began to dissolve back into tears. The Growlithe's tail and ears drooped, as the Fire-Type couldn't help but empathize with the bone lizard. He would have thought it improbable at first, but he shared a good in common with the Ground-Type. They both were fish out of water making their way through a strange world of scarves and badges and overpowered abstractions like the Company, and they'd both entered it with a loss that cut close to their hearts…

It sounded daft, but… maybe if he shared his story, it would help the bonehead out? She'd at least feel less alone, right?

"Hey… I get it, alright?" the Fire-Type murmured. "I've gone through something like that myself…"

"What- What's that supposed to mean?" the lizard demanded.

Elty froze and his gaze drifted back downward as Guardia continued to sniffle. For a long moment, the Growlithe avoided eye contact, appearing to struggle against some unseen weight over whether or not to speak up.

"Er… well…"

"Guardia?!"

Elty and Guardia jolted and looked behind them just as the forms of a Nidoran and a young Lugia rounded the ruin's corner. The two froze at the sight of Guardia sniffling, a deepening concern etching itself onto their faces.

"You're crying!" Pleo squawked. "What's wrong?"

"What's going on here?" Nida asked, folding her ears back worriedly.

The Cubone hitched and stumbled for her words, drawing a silence from her teammates. Pleo and Nida shifted uncomfortably, realizing that it had been Guardia crying in the dark at Orleigh all that time. Pleo wondered to himself, was she crying because she felt alone? Just as he had in that dark room aboard Lyn's ship. But... then why...?

"... How come you didn't let us know you were feeling like this?" Pleo prodded.

"Huh?"

"Yeah, you're obviously not doing well right now," Nida added. "But we can't exactly help you if you hide stuff from us."

Guardia sniffled a little, before hardening her eyes into a scowl and turning away. It was bad enough that Elty had to intrude on her in the middle of her pining, but now the _others_ too?

"H-Hrmph," the lizard retorted. "I don't _need_ help with this."

"Oh... but was there really nothing at all that you needed?" the young Lugia murmured. "I mean, we're a team and supposed to look out for each other, right?"

"... I guess it's been a little cold out at my spot…" Guardia admitted. "And since you know now..."

"I can do that!" Pleo chirped. "It would be just like the nights we spent the guild!"

Pleo craned his head down and gave a reassuring nudge at Guardia's belly. The bone lizard hesitated a moment, before heading off with the young Protector, becalmed as the late hour took its toll on her. As Nida and Elty were left behind, a question lingered on the Nidoran´s mind, prompting her to give a curious look at her teammate.

"What was it that you were going to say back there?" Nida asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about spike ball," Elty harrumphed. "We should get back to sleep along with those two."

Nida blinked and stared blankly at the Growlithe. What was with the sudden change in attitude? The Poison-Type looked after the fire dog as he began to pace off, expecting an explanation, only to be answered with a pause followed by a gruff grunt.

"Don't get any ideas here. It's just because it's colder than I expected tonight," Elty murmured. "When we get out of here, I'm still going my own way."

"Whatever," Nida grunted. "Let's just get some sleep."

The pair made their way back across the sand for the ruin in the clearing. There, waiting for them were Pleo and Guardia, the pair already starting to drift off to sleep. The Nidoran and Growlithe stood there for a moment, before sighing and curling up alongside their teammates.

There would be time to try and sort things out tomorrow. And who knew, perhaps things would work out for the better with a little rest. Until then, they'd be better off sleeping, reunited under the foggy skies for the first time in what had felt like ages.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _Vetäytykää!_ \- Finnish: "Retreat!" / "Pull back!" (given as a command in 2nd person plural)  
>  \- _chiquita_ \- Spanish: Term of endearment meaning "little girl" / "little child", used here in context roughly equivalent to "sissy"  
>  \- _buenas tardes_ \- Spanish: "good afternoon"  
>  \- _portán_ \- Irish: "crab"  
>  \- _Molchi! (Молчи!)_ \- Russian: "Silence!" (BGN/PCGN Romanization)  
>  \- _Ya ne znayu (Я нe знаю)_ \- Russian: "I don't know" (BGN/PCGN Romanization)  
>  \- _księżniczko_ \- Polish: "princess"


	55. Mending Fences

Through the foggy sky above, the sun's rays poked through in muted and soft hues. Late in the morning, they grew bright enough to rouse Team Traveller, the four stirring and rising to their feet beside the ruined arch with yawns and stretches. After a brief moment to check their surroundings, the group retraced their steps back through the fog of the Distortion, making their way for a hazy exit back out into the dungeon.

Upon exiting the fog, the group looked around and saw the floor transformed into a maze of stony ledges and cactus thickets filled with darkened sand. The four looked about, trying to make sense of where to best start amidst the narrow passages, the thorny plants, and similarly unwelcome-looking stone bluffs.

"… Where do we start here?" Pleo asked.

"Well, I guess the way to start would be to figure out how the Distortion's shifted the floor," Nida answered. "Let's start by checking out what's around here?"

"And just how are we supposed to decide that?" Guardia demanded.

Elty looked ahead and saw that the path split into two forks around a stony formation. On the left was a narrow path that carried along into a deepening gully, to the right was another path that ran through a cactus thicket. The Growlithe peered down each path, and saw that neither of the two had an easily visible end… Two shots in the dark, with no scents or tracks to help determine which was the better option. In moments like these, perhaps it was best to let fate have its say in the matter.

"Let's flip a coin," the dog offered. "Heads we go left, tails we go right."

Elty nosed into the bag over Nida's shoulder and dug out a coin with his muzzle. Merchantry coins didn't have the heads of kings on their fronts like Imperial Bezants did per se, but the mint marker and value inscription did a good enough job indicating the tail. The Growlithe sat down and took the metal disc awkwardly in between his paws before setting it on his snout. As he struggled to keep the coin in place long enough to flip it, Guardia looked on, amused.

"You know _Gardie_ , I could probably-"

"Quiet, bonehead," he snapped. "I've got this."

Finally, he positioned the Poké to rest steadily on his snout, and he flicked his nose skyward, sending the coin spinning upward through the air. The coin landed neatly in the sand and the sun glinted off of its surface, the number denoting its value and the stamped Merchantry design indicating its originating mint highlighted that the flip had come up 'tails.'

"Guess that means we'll start with the right," Elty said.

The four went down the right corridor, and cautiously inched along through halls and chambers crowded by dense clumps of spiky plants. The group carried along through the cactus thicket, stumbling across a Totter Seed, some stray coins, and a chipped Gravelerock during their journeys, passing into a shaded corridor when a faint melody carried along the air.

"Bum bah de dum bum bum bah de dum~"

The team paused, their ears perking up as they glanced around for the source of the mysterious melody. Nida tapped her foot thoughtfully at the sound of the tune, which upon closer listening sounded somewhat familiar... but who could be making all that noise in a place like this?

"Eh?" Pleo murmured. "Is that someone humming?"

"Should we assume that it's hostile?" Guardia whispered.

"I'm not sure, but…" Nida muttered. "I could've sworn that I heard Calino hum something _just_ like that at his shop back home..."

The Nidoran carried on as she and her teammates entered the chamber ahead. There, the entire clearing had been covered in red carpeting with golden designs of swirls circumscribed by overlapping squares. All around, items of every conceivable shape and color were carefully laid out. On it, a Kecleon cheerily idled with a hum as a bulkier counterpart and a grizzled-looking Kecleon with a stomach scar sat in the background playing cards, occasionally looking up and eying the rest of the carpet.

"Welcome! Welcome! " the shopkeeper Kecleon cheered.

"Eh?! What's a Kecleon doing down here?" Pleo asked. "Is he lost?"

"Nope! I'm here for business!" the chameleon insisted. "Selling to explorers like you in towns might be our bread and butter now, but we still ply our wares where they're most needed, just like in the days of Taloon the Great!"

"Egh…" Guardia muttered. "How do we know that we're really getting a good price here?"

"I mean, it can't hurt to look around at least," her Nidoran teammate offered.

The four youngsters stepped onto the ruddy carpet, sniffing and prodding at the Kecleon's wares. There was a plump Sitrus Berry, its overripe scent and faint glimmer indicating it had been touched by a dungeon's distortion. A little further away was a wand with an orb of light inside that moved to track some unseen point when the wand was shifted…

"Oh!"

And there, beside Pleo's wing was the black, glassy form of an Escape Orb. The Protector craned his neck down and nosed at the orb, its bright light evidencing that it was primed and ready for use. The seabird's thoughts turned back to their last excursion with an Escape Orb, remembering how it instantly pulled the team out of the Distortion on Mengir. As long as the lizard shopkeeper came in through the right place, if they got this orb, they'd be able to get out of the dungeon! The rest of the merchant's wares could always be bought in town, and wouldn't it leave money over for a proper room at a hostel?

"We'll take that one," Pleo chirped, pointing proudly at the Escape Orb with his wing.

"That will be 300 Poké," the shopkeeper Kecleon said.

Team Traveller blanched and felt their jaws drop at the chameleon's words. 3- 300 Poké?! That was more than quarter of the money that they had with them right now!

"E-Eh?!" Nida exclaimed. "But we'd be able to get it for half of that back in town!"

"Yes, and we need to bump the prices up in here to cover a little service fee," the bulkier Kecleon explained. "We don't exactly have any town guards to cover our security here!"

"I mean, if you're startling the spike ball here, it _has_ to be an unfair price," Guardia insisted. "Can't you lower it at all?"

"No," the scarred Kecleon snapped.

"But you hiked it for no reason!" the Cubone fumed.

The Cubone's argument with the shopkeeper carried on, the Ground-Type fruitlessly attempting to haggle the chameleon down to a fair price. The bodyguards traded exasperated looks with one another as the bulky Kecleon's eye caught movement from its corner. The lizard turned and saw that at the edge of the mat, while his superior had been distracted with his unruly customer, the Growlithe in their group was nosing at a Perfect Apple and eyeing it hungrily…

 _Too_ hungrily.

"Oi, mutt!" the bulky Kecleon shouted. "Get your mouth away from that!"

"Eh?!"

The Growlithe clamped down on the apple reflexively and jumped back in a panic off the mat. After looking down and seeing that he was no longer on the red-and-gold carpet, he went wide-eyed, and spat out the apple, pulling his ears and tail back with an apologetic whine.

"Er… sorry about the misunderstanding?" the Growlithe gulped.

"You bit it, you bought it," the scarred Kecleon seethed. "So cough up the money."

"Uh… how much will that be?" Pleo stammered.

"1200 Poké."

"Wh-What?!" Nida cried. " _Eso es una locura!_ We don't even _have_ that kind of money!"

The three Kecleon's moods visibly darkened and the shopkeeper among them began to growl. His bulky and scarred companions began drawing forward, their claws flashing out for swipes as Team Traveller backpedaled more and more from the mat.

"Er… what she meant to say was… uh…" Elty stammered. The Growlithe hastily fished around in his mind for a suitable excuse, but with the lizards visibly honing their claws to slash them, the Fire-Type's instincts to flee swiftly overwhelmed his more sober thoughts.

"Run!"

The dog spat up a column of cinders at the bulky Kecleon, prompting the group to break in a blind panic as the three chameleons hastily stamped out fires on the carpet.

"Don't let them get away!" the shopkeep shouted. Team Traveller tore along through the passages in the cacti thicket, the sound of the bodyguards' pursuit nipping at their heels. Guardia made it to an intersection, where a sudden claw swipe prompted her to veer leftward and charge on blindly. Much to her horror, the Cubone quickly discovered that she'd separated from the group, and tried to double back, only to see an orange Kecleon charging her. The bone lizard turned to bolt, only for her foot to get caught on a loose pebble and send her falling face-first onto the ground.

"A-Aagh!"

"Gotcha!" the bulky Kecleon shouted.

The fiery-orange Kecleon lunged for Guardia with a claw swipe, prompting the Cubone to throw her club at her pursuer's face in a blind panic. A loud _smack_ rang out and the chameleon bowled back with a pained yelp as he stumbled back into a prickly pear plant. As the lizard winced and inched away from the thorny bush, the Cubone hastily drug herself up to her feet, running past the Kecleon and after her team as they charged blindly down the corridor.

"Gah!" Nida cried. "We can't shake 'em!"

Elty charged on ahead, when he chanced to notice a small spray of sand in the air being carried down to the ground at an unnaturally fast pace. For it to do that, it had to be blown down from above…

And for _that_ to happen, the odds were as good as any that it was coming from the floor above them.

"Ah! That way!" the Growlithe yipped. "That's our exit!"

As the group followed Elty's direction, they spotted a set of stony steps in a chamber at the end of the hallway. One by one, they bolted for the exit as fast as they could, bursting into the chamber when a sharp shout rang out.

"Going somewhere?!"

Team Traveller looked up in time to see a pair of scaly presences blocking their way and skidded to a stop. There in front of them were the bodyguards from the dungeon shop, the scarred Kecleon to the left, and the bulk Kecleon, now a tawny brown, to the right. The pair glared and hissed at the four youngsters, readying their claws for a strike as Pleo shrank back uneasily.

"Uh… Wh-What do we do now?" the young Legendary stammered.

As the two lizards slowly closed in on the team, a sudden realization came to Guardia. She noticed that the Kecleon she struck earlier had turned into an earthy brown color. In addition, the other lizard had turned orange _after_ Elty had breathed fire on it, and had seemed to be particularly hurt by her subsequent bone throw…

Who was to say that they couldn't do the same again?

"Wait! They become like whatever attack hit them last!" Guardia cried. " _Gardie_ , light that one on the right up!"

"Coming up!" Elty cried.

The Growlithe spat up a gout of fire onto the bulkier of the two chameleons, the lizard's scales melting from their tawny color into a vivid orange as he recoiled from the fire. The bodyguard dug his feet in and growled, regaining his balance to charge ahead and tackle the Fire-Type back with a yelp. Seeing that Guardia was keenly eying his partner and sweeping her bone out for a running smash, the scarred Kecleon quickly put two and two together, and dashed over to try and intercept her attack.

"Oh no you don- Ack!" the scarred Kecleon began, only to abruptly cry out in pain. A forceful kick caught him in the stomach, followed by a second that swept him off his feet and knocked him over with a yelp. The culprit, a blue-furred Nidoran panted, and turned to her other teammates, crying out as loud as she could manage.

"Pleo! Guardia!" Nida shouted. " _Now!_ "

Not letting a moment go to waste, Pleo hastily brought his wings together and sent a cutting gust of wind at the reddening Kecleon that Nida attacked. Guardia followed suit and bolted for the bulky, orange Kecleon, springing up and bringing an overhead smash with her bone onto the current Fire-Type's head. The two chameleons bowled over in pain, and groped about in a stunned stupor, slow to rise back to their feet. Sensing that they'd been given precious moments to get a head start over their pursuers, Guardia whirled to her teammates and motioned to them with her club.

"Hurry!" Guardia exclaimed. "Before they get back up!"

The group bolted up the stairs in a multicolored blur, Elty limping along afterwards gasping for air. The group staggered up and flopped down, the stairs pulling itself into the floor just in time to thwart the shouting approach of the Kecleon bodyguards, filling the air with the sound of stone grinding against stone. Together in a tired heap, Team Traveller laid in the sand panting as the grinding noise ceased and they were left listening to the quiet shifting of sands in the dungeon as they caught their breath and nosed at a set of fresh wounds. After they had a moment to recuperate, they separated from their pile, and Nida wasted no time in pointing blame for their unfortunate encounter.

"Nice _going_ there, Elty," Nida huffed.

"Yeah, way to almost get us knocked into next week thanks to stealing," Guardia glowered.

"Oi, I didn't do it on purpose this time!" Elty snapped. "And if you had covered for me half as well as you fought back there, we might have been able to get away _without_ being chased by a bunch of angry lizards!"

Pleo balked somewhat at Elty's unintentional, backhanded compliment. Although his sour attitude didn't help things now any more than it had been recently, Pleo thought that perhaps he was onto something after all. Maybe if they had been working together a little better from the start, those Kecleon wouldn't have taken them to be such a rough crowd so quickly...?

"… Actually, I think he's right," Pleo murmured.

"Eh? What are you going on about?" Guardia demanded.

"Well, we _did_ get through that fight because we worked together," he explained. "If we had also done the same back at the Kecleon shop, then…"

Nida flicked her ears back and shook her head begrudgingly. Her dour mood made her want to disagree, but she couldn't in good conscience say that Pleo was wrong. Throughout their history as a team, they had definitely been at their strongest while working more closely together.

"Let's not read too much into a fluke Pleo. What's done is done," Nida sighed. "Let's just keep a sharper eye out this time and stick closer together."

Guardia gave a small, tired nod in agreement, while Elty shot a sour frown at the spike ball before opting to let the matter be. The team hastily divided up an Oran Berry and devoured it before gathering up their belongings and starting to set off. First Nida, followed closely behind by Guardia. Pleo paused a moment before ruffling his feathers and starting off, only to feel a presence nose him from behind.

"Hey, Pleo."

The young Lugia turned around, and saw Elty looking at him, giving a grateful nod and wag of his tail. He was… happy? It had felt so long since the last time he'd seen him like this.

"Thanks for backing me up back there."

The Fire-Type carried on, leaving Pleo to blink and stare after before following after himself. In spite of his wounds and his tired gait, he'd felt in higher spirits than any time since the day on the beach in Mengir. Maybe… Just maybe, they'd get through this.

* * *

Out on the sea, the Vasilek continued on its course for Sormus, the island announcing its presence as the air grew hotter knot after knot as they drew nearer. The heat began to take its toll on the laboring crew, as the Pokémon were driven towards exhaustion by the sweltering heat, and Nagant's trips into the sea to stay hydrated grew ever more frequent. At the bow, the form of sand dunes and stony hills surrounding a column of fog poked over the horizon, prompting the lookout to announce the sight of the land. The lookout's cry drew the attention of the crew, who gathered on the railing to stare off at the approaching island in the distance.

"… Where do we even start?" Berecien murmured.

"Yeah, would those _kersat_ have gone in town?" Niilo mulled. "Or in the Mystery Dungeon?"

"Let's start by looking for anything that seems out of place," Nagant grunted. "We know that that Protector brings trouble wherever he goes, so if he's here, we'll surely see some sort of sign."

"Uh…" Cabot murmured. "Would that count as something out of the ordinary?"

The Cranidos gestured with his claw off at a white object in the distance. Nagant - failing to make out the object with a squint - fished out a scope from her bag and peered through it to see that the white belonged to the sails of a small Brigantine. The vessel had an unusually skeletal crew, and seemed to be anchored out at sea on the far side of Sormus for no particular reason: both matters which dredged up a sense of suspicion from the wizened shrimp.

"… It does, actually. If I didn't know better, I'd have sworn I saw a ship like that that in port at Mengir," she chittered. "Take us in a bit closer."

The frigate changed its heading and the escorts in the air whipped up a headwind to slow the craft down to a crawl as it drifted along past the waiting twin-master. It was a craft with a blue sun design on it, the meager white-scarved crew having become suspiciously tense at the sight of their craft. Among them, there was one, very visible exception, consisting of a Weavile perched on a small mound of large ice blocks lying down basking in the sun's rays as his throne slowly melted away at the bottom.

"Hoy!" Jun buzzed. "Whose ship is this!"

"Ketu, acting captain of the Nektar… Whatever here," the Weavile lazily answered from his icy perch. The Dark-Type shuffled off his icy perch and dropped down to the deck, making his way over to the railing with a stretch before coming to a stop in front of the Clawitzer captain resting his chin on his claws.

"Are you Imps all this nosy? I was just catching some rays here."

The demeanor aboard the Vasilek quickly darkened at the mention of 'Imps', a few growls and glares breaking out at the smaller ship and its crew. Nagant was similarly displeased by the Weavile's flippant attitude, giving a dismissive twitch of her mandibles.

"Uh… huh…" the shrimp scoffed, shifting her big claw towards the Dark-Type with a fierce scowl. "And just _what_ are you doing here anchored in the middle of nowhere like this?"

"We're a ship full of Company spies performing surveillance," Ketu snarked back. "Can't you tell?"

A wave of shock crested over both crews, stunned surprise from the Vasilek's, and nervous, startled expressions from the white-scarved crew. Even Nagant and Jun weren't immune to the surprise: the Clawitzer captain dropped her firing claw to the deck out of astonishment and her Beedrill first mate flitted up with a start and buzzed out of shock.

"WHAT?!"

The Weavile shifted a claw over his mouth, trying and largely failing to stifle a snickering laugh at the expense of his interrogators. Nagant, sensing that she was being mocked, clicked her mandibles and hopped up and down on the deck of her frigate irately.

"Take this _seriously_ and give us a straight answer, Weavile!" the Clawitzer hissed.

"Tch. I'm sunbathing on an anchored ship here!" Ketu retorted. "What do _you_ think I'm up to?"

A wave of exasperated sighs and scowls settled over the watching crew at the furball's response. Chief among them was Nagant's who peered off into the sky with an audibly irked grunt, before directing her attention back to the apparent captain of the white sailed ship.

"Hrmph. Did you happen to see any Pokémon fly by at least?" the shrimp demanded. "A bird with white plumes and a long neck?"

"Nope."

A skeptical frown began to spread over Nagant's face, the Clawitzer none too pleased with the short and dismissive answer the Weavile gave her.

"Are you _sure?_ " she pressed.

"Yup."

The Clawitzer gave the Weavile a sour look, only for him to lean on the railing and pick his claws, completely indifferent to the Imperial Captain's displeasure. Nagant chittered under her breath and rolled her eyes, before pivoting on her tail and turning back to her crew, eager to leave behind the furry slacker and his ship.

"Let's get moving!"

At their captain's command, the crew of the Vasilek set into a hurried daze; the escorts whipping up wind and sea currents to move the frigate along on its route for land. As Nagant's ship departed, the Clawitzer looked back in time to see the Weavile from the white ship give a mocking wave, prompting her to turn away with a frustrated chitter.

The ship carried on, the sand dunes and bluffs of Sormus growing larger and more visible, along with glimpses of the gaping pit mines in the distance, and the dusty adobe huts of a small-ish village by the seaside. All the while, Nagant still seethed from her prior encounter, and how the run-in with the ship and its furball captain had done little but waste her time and raise the pressure of her blue blood from his obnoxious demeanor. Sensing that it would be best for everyone involved if Nagant wasn't in one of her tempestuous moods before higher nobles, her First Mate settled down beside his superior, and gave a buzzing beat of his wings for attention.

"Talk about making much ado about nothing…" Jun sighed. "But I'm honestly at a bit of a loss of where we can go from here. After all, we just know that the Guardian headed west… but there's precious little else we know that isn't conjecture."

The Clawitzer paused and thought the matter over. They truly were short on leads, but they were already here at Sormus, and they knew that the Protector had flown off in a course headed for it… Perhaps this was the right time to get a feel for what the Pokémon on the ground had been hearing lately.

"… Have word sent to the Duke in Copperband Village" Nagant ordered. " _We_ might not be able to narrow things down on our own, but he can certainly help."

"Right," the Beedrill buzzed. "I'll see to it that it's done once we-"

" _Now_ , Jun."

"Ex-Excuse me?" the Bug-Type stammered.

A tense silence hung in the air as the detailing on Copperband's buildings started coming into view, Jun uneasily shifted his drills waiting for further explanation from his superior. He was met with a firm glare from the captain Clawitzer, the old shrimp's patience clearly thinner than normal.

"The fate of the Empire rests in that bird's wings," the crustacean said. "If the Duke has any idea at all of where we could look for him, I want to hit the water swimming."

* * *

"Eh? What _is_ this place?"

Nida's words floated through the air as Team Traveller made their up the steps to a small, open chamber consisting of a long, spindly crevasse ringed by sandstone walls. The four carried on, passing sand mounds and stones, but not a single passage or turn, a night-and-day difference from the maze-like levels that they had encountered before.

"It's nothing like the last floors we've been on!" she exclaimed. "Are we even still in the dungeon right now?"

"Not exactly, we're at the midpoint right now," Elty scoffed.

"Midpoint?" Pleo murmured.

"It's a stable zone that occurs in a lot of dungeons," the Growlithe explained. "If a dungeon branches into multiple ones, it usually happens in places like these."

"But how can you tell this is a midpoint, Elty?" the young Protector insisted.

" _That's_ how I can tell."

The Fire-Type pointed off ahead at a stony lump with his claw. The stone clump looked vaguely familiar to the young Lugia… Two legs, two arms, a strong tail, and a pouch up at the front. Why, that looked just like a Pokémon he had seen back on Tromba!

"… Why is there a statue here of that one juice shop owner from back in Bluewhorl Town?" Pleo asked.

"Because it's not a statue," the dog insisted. "Look."

Elty noticed a small pebble by his paws and bent down to pick it up with his mouth. The dog stretched up, and dropped the pebble down the pouch with a hollow-sounding _clunk_ as it struck the inside of the rock, immediately making Guardia's eyes light up in realization.

"Ah! It's a hut-dweller's Storage Rock!" she exclaimed. "Though this is the first I've seen in _this_ shape…"

"I've heard that they tend to be made in the shape of the Pokémon who hold onto your items," Elty explained. "So I guess the Storage Shop that handles this rock must be run by a Kangaskhan."

"Oh? But what's _in_ here?" Pleo wondered. Curious at the mention of the stone being a Storage Rock, the young Lugia craned his head in and began to poke around with his beak in the darkness.

"Ugh, how much further do we need to go in this sandbox anyway?" a snorting voice added.

"Come on, Hooke. It ain't that bad, and we're almost at the midpoint anyway," a low, raspy voice murmured.

"Huh?"

The bird looked around inside the rock for a moment, before realizing that the voices were coming from outside. He pulled his head back out, and saw his teammates staring at a Krokorok and a Grumpig in white scarves further down the room, sniffing at the ground.

"Hey!" he chirped. "Are you another rescue team?"

The white-scarved duo jolted upright in a startled shock. The Krokorok bared his teeth and gave a belligerent, throaty hiss, only for some chatter from his companion to seemingly put the creature at ease as the two began to make their way over.

"Do you know how we can get out of here?" the bird asked. "We're kinda lost."

"Er… well, we've got a teleporter if that's what you're talking about," the Grumpig answered, drawing a skeptical head tilt from Nida. Something about these two felt familiar to her, as if she had seen them somewhere before… but where?

The Psychic-Type began to make his way over, his Krokorok companion pausing to press his badge and speak into it, appearing as if a weight had been taken off his shoulders.

"Hey, Maria," the reptile said into his badge. "I think we just got our lucky break."

The pair walked up, revealing their white scarves to be sporting blue sun-like designs that caught Elty's eye. The Growlithe shifted uncomfortably, starting to look unnerved, and leaned in to Pleo's side to gain his attention.

"Uhm… _mewa_ , not that I'm one to look a gift horse in the mouth," Elty whispered uneasily. "But doesn't that design look familiar at all to you?"

"Eh? Where's it from?" Pleo asked.

" _I_ haven't seen anything like it since I joined you," Guardia scoffed. "Between all the patterns you hut-dwellers put around your neck, it's no surprise everything would start looking the same to you."

"… It's probably just the desert sun playing tricks on you," the Grumpig reassured. "Come on, we'll get you taken care of once we're out."

"Yeah. Just come along and we'll get you out of this dive," the Krokorok added. "Sure beats crate work any day."

Nida's barbs stood on end at the mention of "crate work", prompting her to tense up and go wide-eyed. This was that same Krokorok and Grumpig that had discovered Crom from his crate aboard Lyn's ship! The same ones that had helped those horrid cretins beat him and throw him off that lousy boat in the first place!

"A-Aah! You!" she squeaked. "Don't touch him!"

The Poison-Type fanned her barbs out and flicked one at the Krokorok, catching him in his wrist and drawing a pained bellow from the Desert Croc Pokémon.

"ARGH!"

"Spike ball, what are you _doing?!_ " Guardia exclaimed.

"These guys were some of the Pokémon who beat up Crom when we entered Lyn´s ship!" Nida cried.

Team Traveller went rigid and felt the blood in their veins run cold at the realization that their company's mood had decisively soured. Both Ken and Hooke were now sporting glares, and pawing at the ground ready to lunge.

"Grr… so you figured us out after all, Nidoran," Ken spat.

"Not that it´s gonna make a difference!" the pig snorted. "Get 'em!"

The Psychic-Type sent a ray of light sparkling like a column of gems from the pearls on his head towards Elty, only for Guardia to shove him out of the way and be sent flopping back along the floor with a yelp. At the same time, Pleo flapped up and began to form a Weather Ball in his mouth, disgorging the glowing orb at his Krokorok assailant, only for him to drop to the ground and vanish in a plume of sand and dirt.

"E-Eh?! Where'd he go?!" Pleo squawked.

Nida looked around frantically, as all sign of Ken's presence had vanished barring a hole in the ground that he'd left behind. The Poison-Type's ears pricked up at the sound of rumbling, which drew her attention to a snaking streak of disturbed sand beelining straight for her. The Nidoran hastily tried to hop away in a panic, only to hear the crash of dirt flying up from the ground, and a sharp shout.

"Gotcha!"

The Nidoran shrieked as she felt a heavy blow on her belly from below, sending her flopping back on the ground. The Poison-Type woozily stumbled back up to her feet, just in time to see Pleo disgorge another Weather Ball at the Krokorok, who much to his horror, largely shrugged the blow off and proceeded to chase after the bird with snapping jaws.

"A-Aah! H-How are we supposed to _fight_ these guys?!" Pleo exclaimed.

As Nida paused to catch her breath, she saw Guardia and Elty being herded by the Grumpig towards the Krokorok with a series of beams. Grah! How were they supposed to beat these two when they were so much stronger?! It wasn't as if they could just make them beat each other up!

… Wait a minute, maybe they could! They'd picked up a Totter Seed just a few floors ago, and now was the time to use it!

"Pleo!" Nida cried. "Come this way!"

The Lugia flew along the ground in a panicked hurry, followed closely by Ken, who swiped at the seabird, ruffling his feathers with near-missed bites and claw swipes from just out of his reach. Nida waited for the pair to come by as she readied a swirl-patterned seed in her paws for a throw.

"Take this!"

Nida hurled the Totter Seed with all her might, the projectile sailing along into the Krokorok's mouth. The crocodile gulped the seed down with a choking gag, and for a second, Nida grimaced, thinking the Totter Seed had failed to do anything other than fatten her attacker up… only to notice that the Krokorok's gait had grown dazed and erratic.

"Nrgh…" Ken groaned. "Room spinning… Oi! Stop right there, bird!"

The Desert Croc dug his heels into the earth and launched himself with his jaws opened… at none other than his Grumpig partner. The crocodile knocked the Psychic-Type down with a startled yelp, followed by a pained squeal as he bit down onto the pig's rump.

"AUGH! What is wrong with you, you stupid clod?!" Hooke shouted. "Do I _look_ like a bird here?!"

The Krokorok blinked in confusion before his partner hastily shoved him off to the ground, visibly wobbling and struggling to keep his balance as he nursed his injured rump. Guardia's eyes lit up at the sight of her tottering foe, this could be just the break that they all needed!

"Get the pig!" she cried. "If we can defeat him, we can narrow things down to that _Waruvile!_ "

The Cubone charged the Psychic-Type, only to lose her footing and tumble after being struck by a glowing beam of light. Before Hooke could follow up with a further blow, he felt a burning pain on his back, followed by a sharp jab on his flank. In a wide-eyed panic, the pig sprang off his tail just as a glowing orb narrowly missed his head, prompting him to reach for his badge after losing his nerve.

"Hey! A little _help_ he- AUGH!"

Only to feel a heavy blow against his head and for his vision to run muddy. The Grumpig's grip on his badge slackened and he tottered forward and backward a moment, attempting to spring away off his tail only to faceplant and lose consciousness. Unbeknownst to the Company underling, the culprit of the blow planted her foot on the Psychic-Type's groaning head, giving a triumphant bat of her club against her free claw.

"Hah, they really do fall harder when they're bigger," she jeered. "I'd have expected more of a fight out of him!"

"Grah… Stop _multiplying_ , you lousy brats!" Ken fumed.

The four youngsters' attention quickly turned to the Krokorok as he stomped the ground, setting the area around him shaking with enough force to flatten the surrounding sandy terrain. Ultimately though, the attack hit far off from its intended target, the Krokorok accomplishing little more than to kick up a cloud of dust from the stamped sand. Team Traveller looked on nervously as the Krokorok stomped the ground flat around him, whirling around in a desperate attempt to land a hit. Although he wasn't accomplishing much at present, it was clear to them that they were on borrowed time against the disoriented Desert Croc. If they were to have any chance of coming out on top here, they'd need to act quickly and decisively to overpower him.

"Quick! Take him out too before he snaps out of it!" Elty yipped.

"Right behind you!" Guardia cried.

Elty landed the first blow by somersaulting into the reptile as flames danced on his pelt, followed by Guardia lobbing her bone at the Ground-Type and striking him in his stomach. As the Desert Croc reached around for the Cubone's club, he felt a spike lodge in his flank and bellowed out in pain after being knocked back by a forceful, burning tackle.

Ken looked up, his vision starting to sharpen and settle as he saw that the tackle had come from none other than Pleo, filaments of fiery blue light still dancing on his plumes. The Krokorok lunged ahead at the Lugia, the seabird noticing his attacker at the last moment with a terrified squawk.

"A-AAH!"

Pleo desperately tried to fly off, only to flop forward as a heavy weight pinned him against the ground. He felt a crushing bite along his back and shrieked in pain, desperately beating his wings and kicking until a loud blow rang out and knocked the weight off his back, allowing him to break free. His rescuer was none other than Guardia, the Cubone staring down the Company Krokorok as he rose back to his feet, seething.

"Oi, you overgrown _mogura!_ " Guardia spat. "You've got the rest of us to deal with!"

"Grr! Let's see how tough you're talking after I've got my jaws around you!" the crocodile bellowed.

The Krokorok ran for the Cubone with his jaws opened, biting down as he got near. Instead of feeling his jaws clamp down on something, he felt a weight latch onto his upper snout. Ken tried to open his mouth to throw the unwelcome weight up and into his maw, only to find that his jaws refused to budge at all.

"Mrrph?!"

There, directly in front of his eyes, was the form of the Cubone, clinging onto his snout and holding his mouth shut by pulling her bone against his lower jaw! The Krokorok thrashed his head this way and that, trying to throw the lizard off of him. After a few fruitless thrashes, Guardia's left grip slipped, prompting the Desert Croc to wrench his head right and finally shake his unwelcome passenger loose. The crocodile turned to pounce on his attacker, only for his victory to be short-lived as a burning pain erupted on his flank. Ken whirled in time to see embers dance on his hide, and yelp as he felt a pair of forceful kicks hit his stomach.

The Krokorok gagged and clutched at his stomach, as the world started to grow fuzzy and faint as he struggled to stay on his feet. The sound of a harsh wind kicked up, and the Desert Croc felt himself lifted off the ground and sailing just above it, the form of the Storage Rock fast approaching.

**SMACK!**

Pleo brought his wings back to his sides after his Whirlwind, watching Ken strike the Storage Rock headfirst. The crocodile bounced off of the Pokémon-shaped stone, and flopped sprawled-out against the ground, groaning incoherently out of pain.

"Ur-Urgh…"

Team Traveller stared and winced against their wounds, their breaths coming ragged and short. The four braced themselves for further blows, only for none to come. A quick check of their surroundings revealed Hooke and Ken slumped over in the sand, both unresponsive and with nary a sign of life other than the quiet rise and fall of their chests. Still half-disbelieving the turn of events, Nida walked up and prodded at Ken's leg, giving a forceful kick after she was satisfied the crocodile wouldn't be getting up soon.

"That- That was for Crom!" Nida panted. "And don't you forget it, you Company scum!"

"Save the theatrics for later," Guardia grunted. "They almost certainly weren't alone, and their friends can't be far behind."

"Then let's get ourselves a little apology from them before we have to leave," Elty said. The Fire-Type made his way over to the unconscious form of Hooke, pulling the Grumpig's bag off of his shoulders as Nida gave a disgusted shake of her head.

"Elty, are we seriously getting into banditry here?" the Nidoran sighed.

"Eh?" Guardia protested. "But you didn't have any problem when my Colony did it to that giant _tonbo_ and his buddies."

"Besides, when they get back up, who would you prefer to have this stuff?" Elty countered. "Them or us?"

"Uh... that's a pretty good point, actually," Pleo replied.

The Growlithe stuck his head in the bag and began throwing out its contents. A few berries, a few Heal Seeds and a Reviver Seed, some orbs and wands that he couldn't make out yet...

The team quickly divided up the healing items among them and set to work patching up their bruises and scrapes and began to dump the pilfered items into the ratty bag on Nida's shoulder. The group quickly discovered that there was too much to take, and the Grumpig's bag was too bulky for any of them to carry off. Not knowing what to do with the remainder, but deciding that it was best to not let Ken and Hooke have it, Nida opted to dump the bag and its contents down the Kangaskhan-shaped rock. As the Poison-Type handled the rest of the bag's contents, Elty and Guardia traded quiet glances with each other, each waiting for the other to speak first.

"Hey... about that fight there…" Guardia murmured. "Thanks for pulling in for me."

"Well, it's just what was needed then," Elty said. "It's no big deal-"

_"Hey Ken, you there? You and Hooke went dark all of a sudden._

The four froze at the sound of the voice filling the room, and they turned to see that Ken had shifted onto his badge, unwittingly calling out to the teleporter on the other end. The Krokorok was dazed and far from ready for another battle, but even so, he was starting to stir, and his lucidity was clearly starting to return to him.

"Grnk... Wha...?" the Krokorok groaned. "Who is this?"

"That's our cue to get out of here," Nida said. "Come on, let's go!"

The group hastily fled, continuing off into the distance where a fresh set of stairs awaited them at the end of the chamber. All the while, their hearts pounded and their breaths grew light from knowing that Lyn and his underlings were catching up with them. And yet, in spite of it all, they knew that they were nearing the end. Just a little further, they'd finally have a safe harbor to pull into.

* * *

As with the more seaside portions of Rosequartz Town, the local market had been similarly damaged by the arrival of Nagant and her pursuing horde of ferals. Roofs were caved in, walls toppled, but in spite of it all, the entrepreneurial spirit carried. Merchants shifted the undamaged remnants of their stock out for sale in their shop, or in the case of some such as Laurens and his amulets, in the midst of battered shops. Other shopkeepers such as his immediate neighbors were less fortunate, and carried on their trade on hastily spread mats in front of obliterated storefronts.

There amid the chaotic hubub, Kichiro sized up a trio of hastily-patched buckets filled with blackish pitch set out by a Mr. Mime. The Psychic-Type did his best to study the reactions of his customer, the Bug-Type evidently noticing the sorry state of his wares a bit more than he would have liked. Even so, this was what he had to work with right now, and the shopkeep crossed his fingers that his Ledian customer would need the pitch more than he needed the money to rebuild his store.

"Sorry about the condition," the Barrier Pokémon sighed. "But it's the best we've got considering the circumstances."

"Guess I can't complain _too_ much there…" Kichiro sighed. "This is actually the third place we've had to pick up stray supplies from like this."

The Ledian picked up two of the pitch buckets and began to hand off the last to Wilhelm, only for the Hoppip to never take it. The Bug-Type looked behind him, where there on the other side of the street was his partner loitering at a battered shop managed by a Feraligatr, mesmerized with his reflection in the pink baubles hanging from the eaves of his battered shop.

"Oi, hayseed!" the Ledian snapped. "Get your leaves in gear and help me carry these buckets of pitch!"

"Oh! Er.. coming!"

The Hoppip flitted over and grabbed onto the handle of his bucket and flew up after his Ledian teammate, struggling under the weight of the pitch-laden container. The pair flew along in a course tracing the docks of Rosequartz Town, passing a Gurdurr overseeing a repair on a trashed pier. Further out in the harbor, a large group of harbor Pokémon directed by a Starmie helped to raise a freshly-sunken hulk off the harbor floor, the ship leaking water out of its port holes. Kichiro's attention was drawn to the sound of a nearby yelp, as a Zangoose, a Banette, and a Flareon were chased off from the Torrent Tsars' dock with a loud, contemptuous "and don't come back!" from Ingela's underlings. The beetle turned his attention to follow Scian and his partners' flight, only to be distracted by Wilhelm suddenly piping up from behind.

"Heh! A 'mon sure learns a lot hanging around the likes of you!" the Hoppip cheered.

Wilhelm's enthusiasm was not shared with his partner, who stared ahead with a sour look on his face. The Ledian grumbled loudly under his breath, fighting with his buckets of pitch to stay balanced and airborne.

"I'm starting to think that Captain Hess stuck you with me _on purpose_ because of that bone lizard," Kichiro growled.

"Huh?" Wilhelm asked. "What do you mean by tha-?"

"W-Wait! What do you mean _we're_ going after that demon?!"

The Ledian flitted to a stop, almost dropping his buckets out of surprise at the sudden voices. The beetle hastily scanned his surroundings, where on the docks down by the sea nestled among a small stack of crates he spotted a Combusken, a Grotle, and a Scraggy in the black scarves of the Shadow Brigade.

"… Hey wait a moment, that's _our_ job they're talking about," the bug murmured.

Kichiro looked around and spotted a flat roof nearby, flitting down and coming to a stop atop it. The Bug-Type set down his pitch buckets and lined them up to provide cover before peering over at the group of Shadow Brigade Pokémon. The Ledian turned to motion for his partner to follow, only to see Wilhelm flit past… and keep going. The beetle hastily dragged the Grass-Type into his perch before he could get spotted, stifling the pink Pokémon's yelp as he shushed and motioned for silence.

"Ugh… this again?" the Combusken grumbled. "I thought we concluded that it was just hearsay!"

"I dunno, Sela. I've been hearing it too," Hanuna murmured. "And Sibich _did_ try to go after the demon while he was in town…"

"All the more reason why he _wouldn't!_ " Sela insisted. "He's seen how dangerous that thing is for himself, there's no way he'd risk scaring us and a third of his crew off with some goose chase!"

"Oh come on, you can't admit that _something_ doesn't smell about this," Eric countered. "Going off to do an operation on Giotto with all three of his ships? Just a day after the port got trashed?"

Back from their place behind the pitch buckets, Kichiro shifted uneasily. Sibich had stopped going out with his full force a few years ago after a failed raid on an Imperial copper shipment that cost him a ship that he'd only recently replaced. So just what would motivate him to be so bold again?

"We're just like spies right now! Like the Company and Empire and their cloak and dag-" Wilhelm whispered, only to be cut off with a shushing hiss from his Ledian teammate.

"Can you _can_ it right now?!"

"Oi! I'm not giving you a cut of my take to loaf around!"

The trio of Marked pirates below them gulped and turned around reluctantly to see a red-eyed Cofagrigus looming over them. The Ghost-Type was in a visibly foul mood, which served to quickly quell the disagreement among the three and draw a more apologetic tone.

"Er… sorry, Captain Sibich," Eric said. "It's just that we were a little worn down and thought a break might help us work better."

"Yes, and there will be plenty of time to do that _on the water_ ," the Cofagrigus insisted. "With everything that I've done for you, I'd have thought that you'd return the favor with your work!"

Kichiro and Wilhelm blinked at the Ghost-Type's words, the pair casting blank glances at each other. Just what could Captain Sibich have meant by...

"'Everything he's done for them'?" Wilhelm asked.

"Don't ask me," Kichiro answered. "Maybe they're some of those Marked his crew apprentices."

"Right, we'll get back to work," Hanuna replied. "The sooner these crates get onboard, the sooner we can get moving."

"But… why _are_ we heading out so soon? What exactly are we chasing after?" Eric prodded.

"My source from within the Imperial Admiralty told me to expect the haul of a lifetime out there," the Ghost-Type explained. "Setback or none, it's not a matter to dismiss lightly."

The three Marked traded uneasy looks with each other, turning their attention back to their captain hoping for reassurance. The Ghost-Type, sensing that the conversation wasn't going where he wanted it to, narrowed his eyes and gave a dissuading wave of his hands.

"It's nothing that you all need to worry about," the Cofagrigus huffed. "Just do your part aboard this crew, and the job will go smoothly."

"… If you say so," Sela murmured.

The three Pokémon paused and uneasily turned to their work, shuffling off and leaving Sibich behind among the crates. After a quick glance about his surroundings, the Ghost-Type lazily floated above the ground and brought a left hand up to his face, where a silvery feather emerged from his palm. The Cofagrigus cradled it with a knowing sneer, before tightening his hand around it and drawing it back into his wraith-like body, leaving Kichiro and Wilhelm staring stunned and slack-jawed.

"… We need to tell the captain about this," Kichiro muttered.

"Yeah! Captain Sibich can hide stuff in his body!" Wilhelm exclaimed. "Who knows what else he's keeping in there-"

"No, you dunce!" the Bug-Type hissed. "About Sibich going to _Giotto!_ "

"Er… right. That too."

The pair cast some glances about their surroundings, and after being suitably satisfied they weren't being watched, they scooped up their buckets and lept off the far side of the roof. The two Pokémon took wing, zipping along as quickly as their wings and burdens would allow as they wondered just who Sibich's lead could've been… and what else did he know that they didn't?

* * *

After the ambush and a hasty healing, Team Traveller hurried on lower and lower into the shifting floors of the Mystery Dungeon. Their travails took them past one floor to the next, brushing up with feral and trap alike. The scenery in the dungeon's second half had similarly changed, as was the case of their current floor riddled with stony spires, and curiously enough, an admixture of smooth ruined walls and pillars. The search for the stairs had gone slowly, with the four making their way through the labyrinth, searching here and there for the exit only to continuously come up short of leads.

"See anything, Guardia?"

"... Nothing," the Cubone murmured. "Just the normal sand and rocks."

"That's strange… floors aren't normally this empty right?" Pleo asked. "We haven't seen any ferals or items down here yet."

Elty blinked and flicked his ears uneasily. Now that the _mewa_ had mentioned it, they really _hadn't_ seen any other Pokémon down here. It couldn't have been that late into the day, could it? But even if it were, that wouldn't explain the lack of items...

"... You're right," Elty murmured. "Somethings up."

"Eh?" Pleo asked. "What do you-?"

"Hey, Locke. Did you hear that?" a gruff voice murmured.

"Yeah, sounded like it was coming from over there ," a small, nasly voice added. "You think it's our targets?"

Team Traveller froze at the sound of the familiar-sounding voices, as they saw the shadows of a short, pointy-snouted nymph, and a tall, gangly humanoid with prominent fists spread on the walls ahead. Nida's fur stood on end at the mention of "targets", realizing that they belonged to none other than…

"Ah! It's more of Lyn's lackeys!" Nida yelped.

"Wh-What do we do?!" Pleo exclaimed.

The four watched as the forms of a Nuzleaf and Hitmonchan passed the end of the hallway, prompting the two dart ahead into a large chamber riddled with large stone clumps and a broken pillar. Guardia wheeled her club back, ready to strike at any pursuers coming into the room... but nobody came. She carefully peeked around the corner and down the hallway, discovering that it was empty and their pursuers not visible beyond the faint sound of distant footsteps.

"I don't think they saw us," Guardia whispered.

"... They're close," the Hitmonchan murmured. "These tracks are fresh."

"You take the far corridor, Jan. I'll take this one," the Nuzleaf grunted. Team Traveller froze as approaching footfalls rang down the corridors ahead, the movement periodically paused to give way to loud thumps against the walls as the distant Pokemon checked for stable zones. Elty pulled his tail in between his legs, whining anxiously to his teammates as he glanced back and forth at his surroundings.

"If we stay here, they'll find us!" Elty whispered.

"I _know_ that!" Guardia hissed. "But what are we supposed to do?"

Scanning across the room, the Nidoran's thoughts turned to the pillar in the center of the chamber. It would hardly make a reliable hiding place in the long-term, but it would at least provide cover to block the sight from wherever the Pokemon in the corridors emerged.

"There!" the Nidoran said. "We'll go behind that pillar, and we'll move on when they're not looking."

The four Pokémon bunched up behind the pillar, scooting along to the other side as they heard their pursuers approach from behind it. The four carefully inched along the pillar as the Company Pokémon passed by, and began retracing the tracks the pair had followed into the chamber. The four managed slip along the length of the long chamber as Jan and Locke searched the rear, the form of a rock cluster coming into view, with a corridor behind that provided a glimpse of stairs to the next floor.

"Alright, we're clear," Nida murmured. "Let's go to those rocks next."

Team Traveller crept along, making it to the rock cluster just in time as the Company Pokémon turned around and tried to puzzle out where their targets had gone off to. The four waited for the voices to grow distant, evidently trying out the other corridors before setting off. Pleo took the lead, the young Protector waddling on into the corridor ahead... and directly onto a small tile with a swirly design set in the stony floor underfoot.

_Click!_

The young Lugia squawked as a the ground under his feet abruptly spun around, sending the bird whirling in place and stumbling forward. Pleo lurched forward, groaning in a daze and the shapes of the surrounding stones running muddy as the racket drew the attention of the Company Pokémon from further down the chamber.

"Hey! Someone's here!" Locke exclaimed.

The team froze and blanched as the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps sounded out, putting Nida, Elty, and Guardia into a blind panic. Nida and Guardia hastily latched onto Pleo's wings, guiding the dazed seabird along as Elty hung back, much to their consternation.

" _Gardie_ , hurry up!" Guardia snapped. "They're coming!"

"I know that! Just go on ahead for a moment!" the Growlithe insisted.

The three others hurried along as Elty walked in front of the trap, and waited patiently. The Fire-Type didn't brace himself, or do anything that seemed to indicate he was preparing for a battle at all. He watched as the Hitmonchan and the Nuzleaf rounded the corner, and then bellowed out to draw their attention.

"Oi, you Company clods!"

The pair of Company Pokémon looked ahead just in time to see the dog waiting for them, giving a taunting shake of his rump in their direction.

"Want a piece of this, come and get it!" he jeered.

The Hitmonchan and Nuzleaf blinked a moment, and then glowered at the portly mutt, neither particularly amused with his taunting first impression.

"Grr… Aren't _you_ a pleasant one," Locke growled.

"Oi, just hurry up and tan his hide already!" Jan shouted. The Hitmonchan hurried along, dashing straight for the waiting Fire-Type. As the pair neared, he suddenly leapt behind, leaving Jan to run off into a patch of disturbed sand where a loud click rang out in the chamber.

"Hey, what the- ARGH!"

The floor underneath abruptly spun the Fighting-Type around with a yelp. The Punching Pokémon reached out to try and grab onto his taunter, only to latch onto his partner and drag him onto the trap. Elty snickered as the two staggered off the trap trading loud recriminations, bolting off, but not without calling back to his would-be attackers.

"Have fun seeing things!" he barked. The Fire-Type ran ahead, following the tracks of his teammates around the bend, and towards a set of stairs, where the three waited uneasily at the lip of the steps.

"What's the deal with that?!" Nida cried. "You could've gotten yourself hurt!"

"Yeah, yeah, chew me out later," the Growlithe yipped. "Let's just get _out_ of here before they get back to their senses!"

The group darted up the stairs, coming to a stop on a sandy floor. The familiar sounds of the staircase grinding back into the floor rang out, the racket of stone on stone filling the air before fading away and finally stopping. The four Pokémon breathed sighs of relief before settling down into the sand, grateful for their reprieve.

"Elty, what you did back there was reckless, childish, and stupid..." Nida growled. The Nidoran scowled a moment at the Growlithe, before easing up and giving a small smile.

"And it saved our hides," the Poison-Type said. "So thanks for that."

"Heh… well, I _might_ have had an idea it would work from past experience," the Growlithe answered. "But hey, what works, works, right?"

The three quickly turned to amicable smalltalk, trading exhortations and cheers with one another. From his place to the side of his teammates, Pleo watched as the mood took on a happier and more upbeat atmosphere for what felt like the first time in an eternity, prompting a small, relieved smile to settle onto his face.

"Pleo?"

"Huh?"

"Why are you just standing there?" Guardia asked. "We should get going before a new set of stairs opens up on the floor below and those Company Pokémon can get up here."

"Ah, right!" the bird chirped.

The four hastily staggered to their feet, gathering up their items before they hurried off into the twisting corridors of the floor. In the midst of it all, the group's spirits were lifted as a strange feeling of reassurance came over them, the four finally feeling like a team once more.

* * *

While Team Traveller carried on in their search for the next floor, the crew of the Siglo Swellow was hard at work at sea. Captain Beatrix had called for the sails to be switched back to Company colors en route to Orleigh, which prompted the crew to set about switching out the current white sails they'd prepared in anticipation of Otvaga.

The air and rigging hummed with activity as Pokémon detached and pulled down the white sails and pulled up lavender ones to take their place. Down on the deck, the Pokémon in charge of packing away the spare sails were similarly kept busy, among them being a young Druddigon, his father, and their acquaintances from Bluewhorl, including a Scyther with five-tailed blotch on his head that seemed at a loss over their task.

"Er… _why_ are we doing this again?" Ander asked.

"Well, we don't have much in the way of defenses beyond our own strength," Pladur said. "So we'll need anything that can help us keep as many pirates as possible second-guessing how strong we are."

"That's… 50% less assuring than I was hoping for from your explanation, Pladur," Kiran sighed.

Pladur's misgivings settled down on Crom and the others, the lingering worries about being in proximity to _Orleigh_ of all places weighing down their work stashing away the sail in their claws. Seeing their unease, Beatrix flitted over and settled on the deck, hoping to reassure them.

"Well, we're not exactly planning on storming the beaches," their captain replied. "I think that it should be more than enough for our needs."

"Are we _sure_ that this is a good idea, Beatrix?" Pladur asked. "I mean, it _is_ a pirate hangout…"

The Fraxure waited expectantly for an answer from the Illumise captain, only to be met with silence. Evidently, the gravity of the matter hadn't escaped her, and even she seemed to hesitate over what the best course of action was.

"… We don't have much other choice, I'm afraid."

"But what will we do if we get to Orleigh and find out they're there?" Crom asked, only to be answered by a snarling, burbling voice.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that."

The Dragon-Type and his companions froze and jolted upright at the sound of the voice, whirling around in an attempt to see just who the surprise speaker was.

"H-Huh?!" the Druddigon cried.

All around the ship, the sea escorts had flown into frenzy looking around for the culprit. Off of starboard, a Mantine on the team went wide-eyed after seeing a horde of approaching shapes, turning back to the ship in a panic.

"Agh!" the Mantine lookout yelped. "Bogeys surfacing under u-"

The ray was cut off by a sudden jet of water, knocking the Water-Type back against the hull. A wave flecked by the bodies of sea Pokémon crested and broke over the deck of the railing, sending Crom and his partners tumbling back with the rest of the crew coughing and gagging up water. The wave had knocked out a few sea escorts who were unceremoniously strewn groaning on the deck, their counterparts being driven back against the ship by a hail of attacks from darting Pokémon further out in the water.

" _Protivnik sleva!_ " a Kingdra cried. "Keep your eyes on those Company rats!"

"Someone jam their rudder!" a Relicanth shouted.

The crew of the Siglo Swellow looked around and saw that the seafaring marauders had hemmed in their escorts, the lot shrinking back out of intimidated pallor. There, directly behind Crom and his companions, the brown and violet form of a Dragalge sliced through the water, coming to a growling stop next to the hull.

"You're not going _anywhere_ fast," Viktor snarled.

* * *

Team Traveller's search on the floors above their run-in with the Nuzleaf and Hitmonchan proved to be profitable for the quartet, with the four discovering a foggy shortcut hidden in a wall during their search for the stairs. Nida led the group along, pacing through the foggy passage as the feelings of desert heat and the smell of swirling sand wafted through the air. The four emerged into a chamber filled with sand dunes hemmed between tall stone ledges, looking at their surroundings and rocky pillars hanging like stalactites from an inverted floor overhead.

"Hm, looks like it's another sandy floor…" the Nidoran murmured.

"Well at least it _sounds_ quiet enough," Elty remarked. "Nothing we can't handle."

Team Traveller carried down a series of corridors, stopping and inspecting their surroundings at each chamber. The group would hurry along after hearing a grunt or footsteps of an approaching feral, repeating the process a few times until...

"Eh? Aren't those the stairs?" Pleo chirped.

Sure enough, directly ahead of them was a flight of stony stairs heading up from the sandy floor. Guardia blinked, prodding incredulously at the steps before giving a shake of her head.

"Huh. Seems like the dead's fortune is smiling down on us," Guardia said.

"Fortune, schmortune," Elty scoffed. "I'm not celebrating until we're _out_ of this place.

One by one, Team Traveller filed up the stairs, the creaking and groaning of the floor behind them sealing off the stairs rang out, as the took in their new surroundings. They had come to a wide-open grassy expanse nestled among unusually tall dunes. At its center was a sandy patch bordering a pool of water, with tall and leafy palms towering overhead of them.

"Eh? I've never seen a floor _this_ open before…" Nida murmured.

"If it wasn't for the stairs, I'd think we went into another stable zone!" Pleo chirped.

"That's because we _are_ in one!" Guardia exclaimed "Look!"

The Cubone pointed off ahead of the group beyond the oasis in front of them. There in the distance, there was a craggy, stony tunnel with the haze of the Distortion visibly filling up its mouth.

"This place must be one of the exits to the dungeon," the Ground-Type explained. "If we go through there, we should be in the clear here."

"Heh, about time we got a lucky break," Elty sighed.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Elty trotted along towards the exit, counting his lucky stars that the worst this accursed leg of their journey had to offer was finally over with.

"Who dares tread on our territory?!"

As if on cue to disprove the Growlithe, a cry rang out and a torrent of grit exploded from the ground, obscuring the vision for each member of Team Traveller as they screwed their eyes shut against the stream of sand. After the initial plume of dust, the quartet of youngsters were able to crack open their eyes, now able to see the source of the disruption: a massive, tawny Hippowdon leered them down through the sandstorm, flanked by three equally irritable-looking Hippopotas.

"A-Aah!" Guardia cried.

"N-Nida?!" Pleo squawked. "What do we do?"

"I- I-" the Nidoran began, only to be interrupted by a low, rumbling growl from the Hippowdon.

"Yes, you'd _better_ be scared, _kakarat!_ " the hulking hippo snarled. "This is _our_ space, and by time we're through with you, you won't forget it for the rest of your lives!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _Eso es una locura!_ \- Spanish: "That's crazy!", lit: "That's (a) madness!"  
>  \- _kersat_ \- Finnish: "kids", "children"  
>  \- _Waruvile (ワルビル_ _)_ \- Japanese: "Krokorok" (Official Romanization)  
>  \- _mogura (土竜_ _/ 鼹鼠_ _/ 鼴_ _/ モグラ_ _)_ \- Japanese: "mole" (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _tonbo (蜻蛉_ _/ とんぼ_ _/ トンボ_ _)_ \- Japanese: "dragonfly" (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _Protivnik sleva! (Противник слeва!)_ \- Russian: "Hostiles on left!" (BGN/PCGN Romanization)  
>  \- _kakarat_ \- Finnish: "brats"


	56. Working Together

Lyn and Ellsberg's search through the Mystery Dungeon had proven to be a long, largely uneventful affair… or at least as much as a draining trek through a desert could be. Most of the local ferals shrunk back at the sight of the large, imposing mustelid, with the more strong-headed easily routed with a seamitar slash or a jet of water to cut them off. All the while, the pair had come up with no meaningful lead on the Protector's whereabouts beyond some Merchantry lackey claiming his dungeon mat had almost been robbed by them earlier in the morning… Far too long in the past to help get a good bead on where the youngsters were now as they exited a foggy passage into a smaller chamber lacking interior walls and corridors.

"Urgh... all this sand and ferals but still no sign of the Protector or his friends…" Ellsberg buzzed.

"Pipe down, Ellsberg," Lyn snapped. "We don't have much time before word of our presence filters out to Copperband Village, and the last thing we need is to lose the Protector because we failed to check some irrelevant corner."

"I _know_ that, Lyn!" the Mothim insisted. "But aren't I allowed to make some commen-"

"Oh come on, it's gotta be around here somewhere."

"Gah, who knew those lousy half-pints would hit so hard."

Lyn paused and sniffed at the air, catching the scent of Pokémon ahead in the haze. The Samurott looked around, sensing that the voices were familiar from his crew but unable to put a bead on whose they were.

"Eh?"

Lyn flicked his ears at the sound of movement down the chamber and paced ahead, where before him he saw the forms of a Grumpig and a Krokorok kneeling and pawing at a Kangaskhan-shaped storage rock. There was a small pile of objects, evidently fished from inside, though the two's attention had been turned outside of it.

"Oh come on," Hooke whined. "My badge was just right here-"

"What are you two _doing?_ " the Samurott demanded.

The duo jolted upright and turned around, flushing pale at the sight of their captain scowling behind them. In spite of their obvious unease, the two feebly tried to force a pair of smiles, hoping to put the mercurial Water-Type back at ease.

"Uh… j-just dropped a badge, that's all!" the Grumpig insisted.

"Y-Yeah, everything else is going great, Captain!" the Krokorok added.

_Ka-chick!_

The forced smiles abruptly melted into terrified grimaces as the pair watched as Lyn pulled his left blade slightly from its keratinous sheath. The Samurott lowered his head and shot a piercing glare, clearly finding the explanations the pair had offered to be woefully inadequate.

"I _know_ when I'm being lied to," Lyn growled. "Spit out what _really_ happened, or I'll beat it out of you."

_Ulp_

"Uh… well, you see, the matter is…" Ken stammered. "We kinda ran into the Guardian and his buddies earlier."

"And, uh… they overpowered us," Hooke added sheepishly, anxiously squirming while looking up at his superior's eyes. The Grumpig's remark visibly darkened his captain's mood, the Samurott glaring daggers at his subordinates as a low, seething growl rumbled out of his throat with each heavy breath he took.

" _You what?_ " the Samurott seethed.

"Ugh… _of course_ ," Ellsberg sighed.

"N-Now hold on here! It wasn't our fault!" Ken insisted. "That bird- uh… He used his powers! Yeah, blew us clear across the room without brea-AAAAAGH!"

A sudden scream of pain filled the air as the Krokorok was cut off by a sharp slash at his belly. The creature whimpered in pain and bowled over weakly only for a paw to grab the back of his head and stomp it into the sand, the creature going limp and groaning muffledly.

"There's no sign of wind damage to any of the walls _or_ the Storage Rock!" Lyn bellowed. "Do you expect me to believe that crap?!"

Hooke went wide-eyed and whirled away in a panic. The Psychic-Type sprang onto his tail, ready to bounce away, only to feel a heavy stomp on its end. He squealed and jerked up, his newfound tether sending him crashing down to earth facefirst. The pig coughed and spat up a mouthful of sand, just in time to see a keratinous blade come to a stop between his eyes

"A-AAH!"

"So, are _you_ going to give me a straight answer?" Lyn snarled. "Or do I need to pull it out of you the hard way?"

The Grumpig quailed and clutched his stomach, his innards in obvious disagreement with himself over his terrifying circumstances. All the while, Ellsberg fluttered along, basking in his much despised seat thief's plight, coming to a stop in front of the Psychic-Type to give a taunting flit of his wings before the pig's face.

"You know _Hooker_ , none of this would have happened if you learned to _respect your superiors,_ " the Mothim sneered. "Alas, I suppose that some lessons in life just aren't learned until you have the _scars_ to show it."

"Oh no no no- Please! They threw a Totter Seed at Ken and mobbed us!" the pig squealed. "That's what's really happened, I swear!"

The pig felt a weight lift off his tail, prompting him to reflexively nurse his tail and hastily curl up, expecting the piercing pain of a seamitar slash only to be left waiting. Shivering, the Psychic-Type warily cracked an eye open, looking up just in time to see Lyn pull his blade back to his side before giving a disgusted shake of his head.

"Well, I suppose that clears _that_ mystery up-" Ellsberg began, only to be cut off by an incensed bellow.

"Enough!"

The Samurott swung his seamitar and brought it to a stop in front of the Grumpig's throat. The Psychic-Type froze and paled with widened eyes, as a low growl from his superior filled the air.

" _You_ , use your partner's badge and go back to base camp," the captain demanded. "Get your wounds treated, and when you're both able to move, I want the two of you scrubbing decks until further notice."

"B-But-" Hooke began.

"No buts!" the otter barked. "I've tolerated _enough_ failure on this mission already! If I hear of you shirking work, I'll throw you from the ship so you two can _swim_ back to port!"

"Y-Yes Captain!"

The still-quailing Grumpig set off to grab and drag his downed Krokorok teammate away. Lyn watched as the Psychic-Type made a grab for his partner's badge, and began to speak into it, leaving the Samurott to turn away in disgust. The otter began to trod off, only to come face-to-face with a contented-looking moth fluttering before him.

"Well that went well, didn't it?" the moth buzzed. The chipper smile slid off of Ellsberg's face, the moth freezing motionless but for the beating of his wings as he noticed Lyn glaring right at him, obviously displeased with his unusually bright demeanor.

"Er… aside from losing the Protector, of course," the Bug-Type hastily added.

" _Shut up,_ Ellsberg," Lyn spat. "The Protector and his friends had to have made their way into the second half of the dungeon by now. At this rate, we'll have to wind up searching Copperband itself for him."

"Eh?" Ellsberg asked. "But surely your subordinates would be able to handle the matter with just a little regrouping to prevent embarrassments like that back there."

Lyn gave a dissatisfied grunt before sheathing his blade and began to walk off ahead. The Water-Type paused, and gave an exasperated scowl back at the Bug-Type, clearly eager to move on.

"… We'll see," the Samurott sighed. "Though I'm starting to suspect from this mission that if I want anything done, I'm going to need to do it _myself._ "

* * *

"This is _our_ space, and by time we're through with you, you won't forget it for the rest of your lives!"

Back in the exit chamber to Sormus' Mystery Dungeon, Team Traveller backpedaled further and further back from the center of the room as the snarling Hippowdon and his three Hippopotas underlings kept advancing. The three watched as the Hippowdon expelled sand from the pores of his body, whipping up a sandstorm in the room that forced the quartet to struggle to keep their eyes open. Sensing that things were going nowhere good, Elty hastily cried out, hoping to try and get a reprieve from the Ground-Types.

" _Z-Zaczekaj chwilę!_ " Elty protested. "We don't need to fight, we just want t-"

"Eat sand!"

The Growlithe pitched back with a yelp as the Hippowdon expelled a clod of sand into the dog's face, making him grope around blindly. Seeing the other Hippopotas coming to pounce, Nida, Guardia, and Pleo hastily eased into battle stances, darting ahead to intercept Elty's attackers.

"Hang on, Elty! We're coming!" Pleo cried. The bird and his other two companions charged forth, grabbing the Growlithe and turning to retreat. Before the group could make any progress, the Hippopotas charged into Team Traveller's path.

"Oh no you don't!" a dark-nosed Hippopotas shouted.

The Hippopotas lunged forward, gnashing her teeth and scattering the team as she snapped fiercely at the empty air. Pleo made to take flight to avoid their aggressors, only to be forced into a hasty retreat back to his friends as a clump of sand struck him from behind. A sense of dread fell over them as they realized that their foes had shepherded them with their backs against the wall, hemmed in in a semicircle by the angry ferals. The Hippowdon at the front took a menacing step forward, wearing a fierce, cocky smirk.

"Now!" the Hippowdon exclaimed. "Our scouring sandstorm combo!"

The hippo sent a whirling vortex of sand forward, scattering the team as it sucked up Guardia with a yelp. Not to be outdone, one of the Hippopotas flung a clod of sand into the vortex while the others skirted the edges to throw some of their own at the other members of Team Traveller. Nida and Elty were swiftly struck, being knocked to the ground by the sandy projectiles, staggering up just in time to see Pleo gusting away the vortex and Guardia stumbling out…

"Get them!"

Followed by the sight of the four hippos charging ahead, gnashing their teeth and kicking up clouds of sand to herald their thundering approach.

"Agh!" Nida squeaked. "Fall back! Fall back!"

The four hastily fled back, ducking clods of sand and dirt all the while. Every now and then, one of the four would attempt to throw a counterattack back, only to be driven backward by another Sand Attack or a lunging bite.

"Gah! There's too many heavy hitters on their side!" Elty cried. "We'll never be able to make it past them with them hogging the ground like this!"

Guardia blinked, and a proud grin spread across her face as a solution occurred to her. She made a mental note to thank the Fire-Type for his inspiration when they found themselves in less dire straits.

"Then let's get off it!" Guardia exclaimed.

Guardia hastily clambered onto Pleo's back, much to the surprise of the wide-eyed seabird. The young Protector craned his head back, eyeing his passenger with a confused look.

"Huh?!"

"If we ride you, we can get out of their reach!" the bone lizard explained. "Come on, everybody!"

Nida and Elty followed suit, vaulting atop Pleo just as he took off for a flapping run at the sight of the Hippopotas burrowing under the ground. The young Protector took off just in time to dodge a series of sand plumes as the smaller hippos burst from the ground, taking to the air above the chamber.

"It- It worked!" Pleo chirped. "They can't reach us!"

"Gah!"

Nida spotted a milky-white bubble floating for Pleo, spewed out by one of the Hippopotas with a loud yawn. The Nidoran flicked a spike at the bubble, lancing it and sending the fluid of its membrane dripping into the sand, hastily turning her attention back to the young Legendary.

"Pay attention!" the Nidoran cried. "They can do things _other_ than fling dirt around!"

"Okay! Okay!" the bird insisted. "I'll be more care- GWARK!"

Pleo jerked back, jostling his passengers unexpectedly, and let out a startled squawk as a Hippopotas sailed by, mouth open and snapping for any bit of him on which it would find purchase. Having missed his initial attack, the hippo kicked its feet to stall in the air and angled itself towards Pleo's tailfeathers as he began to fall. On reflex, Guardia swatted the Hippopotas away as it passed her, clocking the feral across the side of his head and sending it tumbling in freefall towards the ground.

"Gack!"

Before the recoiling hippo could hit the ground, Pleo sent a glowing orb of light at the feral, striking him and sending him pinwheeling into the oasis with a loud _splash_. The water churned and oscillated until it settled around the dazed form of the Ground-Type weakly staggering up, only to squeal out of pain as a spiky barb and a gout of fire struck him, sending him slumping over in the shallow water.

"We got one!" Elty cried. As her teammate barked excitedly, Nida peered down at the felled Hippopotas below, and then at his very much lucid teammates. All this time, the Ground-Types had proven to be particularly ineffective at hitting Pleo when he was high off the ground like this… So then all they had to do was just to keep it up and potshot the lot from above!

"Wait, if they're this bad at attacking Pleo from here," she murmured. "Then we can-"

"ENOUGH!"

Pleo squawked out of terror as he saw a gaping Hippowdon maw come at him from underneath. He lurched up and pulled up, just as Nida was rooting through the bag. The Nidoran lost her grip, fell backwards into her Growlithe teammate and tumbled off their Lugia mount with a frightened cry before hitting the sand with dull thuds. Nida weakly twitched and stumbled to her feet, seeing Elty lying on his back stunned and the contents of the bag strewn about a trail behind her.

"N-Nrgh…" she groaned. "Talk about your hard landings…"

"Grr…"

The pair blanched as they heard the sounds of the approaching growls and stamping feet, turning around to see two Hippopotas running for them. The youngsters went wide-eyed, and hastily dragged themselves up into a limping run, desperately trying to stay ahead of their pursuers.

"A-Agh! Seriously, can't we catch a break here?!" Elty whined.

Nida bounced back after the Hippopotas lobbed another clod of sand at her, prompting her to. whirl and see the slender shape of a seed lying in the sand. The Nidoran hastily scooped it up and whigged it at the closer of the two Hippopotas, causing a faint _crack_ to ring out, followed by the sound of bodies tripping over one another and startled yelps.

"Hey!" the dark-nosed Hippopotas cried. " _Herätä!_ You can't just fall asleep on me like that!"

The female Hippopotas nosed and pawed at her partner, trying to shake him awake only to catch an orange glare from the corner of her eye. The Ground-Type whirled around just in time to see Elty somersaulting towards her with fire dancing on his pelt, and striking her with a burning blow. The hippo recoiled, and struggled against the burning pain to open her mouth and clamp down on his hindquarters to intercept.

The Growlithe howled out of pain, and thrashed around in an attempt to desperately pull away. The Fire-Type wildly tried to spit up embers and bite back, only to be dragged along in the sand by his attacker, unable to get a clear shot at her.

"Hey, tubby! Over here!"

The Hippopotas' ears perked up before feeling a stiff kick at her rump. The Ground-Type yelped and let go of the fire dog in her jaws to whirl around, only to see a spinning kick come at her from below. The second kick caught the hippo in her chin, sending her flying back facefirst into the sand, out cold as Elty panted and licked at some ruddy streaks in his leg's fur.

"N-Nice save there!" the Growlithe panted, only for his words to be joined by a dazed-sounding yawn.

"Ngh… Wha?"

The pair looked over to see the last Hippopotas stirring and rising to his feet. Nida's barbs stood on end and she dug her feet into the sand, bracing herself for a hasty rush of attacks.

"We're not out of the woods just yet, Elty," she grunted. "Come on!"

On cue, the Growlithe spat up a clump of cinders at the dozing hippo, prompting Nida to follow up with a pair of spinning kicks at the Ground-Type's heavy head. The second kick knocked the Hippopotas back and stirred it awake, tottering and dazed from his blows. The Ground-Type went wide-eyed out of abrupt realization of his predicament, and dug his feet in, opening his jaws for a sharp, crushing bite. The hippo lunged forward, only for Elty to barrel into him with a flaming somersault. A pained yelp rang out, followed by a dull _thud_ against the sand as the hippo tumbled to a groaning stop, unconscious and weakly twitching. The dog looked on, panting, and upon the realization of his victory sinking in, he began to puff his chest out in satisfaction.

"Heh," Elty chuckled . "I'm on fire today-"

"GYAAAAH!"

Nida and Elty's blood curdled at the sound of Pleo's screams, prompting them to look behind just as the Hippowdon pulled the bird out of the air with an electrified bite to his wing. Guardia lost her balance and fell from her place on Pleo's back, the Cubone dropping down to the ground with a _thud_ and a plume of sand. The sand swirled in the air for a moment, only for Guardia to burst out of the sand plume in a panic, the Hippowdon pinning Pleo down against the ground and biting at his back with an audible crunch.

"PLEO! Hang in there!" Nida cried. "We're coming!"

Nida and Elty flung forward a venomous spike and a cone of embers respectively at the Hippowdon's rump, prompting him to open his mouth to growl out of pain and whirl around. The Ground-Type stormed along at the two backbiting pests, leaving Pleo to flop forward feebly in the sand, panting and shaken from his ordeal.

"N-Nrgh…"

Pleo shifted, twitching his wings when he felt a claw tugging at it. The Lugia craned his head, turning to see Guardia pawing at his wing, pulling at the little Protector with wide, anxious eyes

" _Kamome_ , can you stand?" she asked. Pleo stumbled up, tottering and struggling to stay on his feet.

"Everything hurts…"

"I _know_ that," the Ground-Type insisted. "But if you can fight at all, we really need you-"

The Cubone was cut off by the sound of a rabbit's squeal and a frightened yelp coming from the distance. Guardia turned and much to her shock, saw Nida swept up in a sandy vortex, with Elty being chased off in a panicked haste by the Hippowdon stomping along after him.

"Gah! Look, find a safe place to hide if you can't fight!" Guardia insisted. "Just don't _stand_ here like this!"

Guardia bolted after the Hippowdon that hounded Elty, feet pounding on the ground carrying her as fast as they could manage. She tightened her grip on her club, winding one arm back for a crushing blow, only to realize that Elty was losing ground fast and that the Hippowdon would soon be upon him. Try as she might, there was just no way she could make that distance in time. Finding little other option in her situation, Guardia lifted the club above her head and - against her better judgement - took aim to throw the bone instead.

"Hey, _yajū!_ Heads up!"

Guardia sent her bone into a flying spin, the club twirling along until it struck the side of the Hippowdon's head. The feral gave a loud bellow out of pain, and much to the Cubone's astonishment, her projectile bounced off of his head and remained airborne, starting to follow an arc coming back to her...

"Ah! It's coming back!" she cried. "It's-!"

Only to plant into the sand a little ways away. The Cubone, jolting up out of alarm, took off in a mad dash for her club, only to feel heavy vibrations in the ground. Guardia turned to her right, and much to her horror, spotted the Hippowdon lumbering for her, the hulking Ground-Type knocking her back into a rolling tumble on the ground. The lizard staggered up panting, pawing at deepening bruises and trying to regain her bearings. Just then, the earth rocked under her feet a second time, making the Lonely Pokémon freeze out of terror. There, charging directly for her was the Hippowdon once again, his cavernous maw swung open wide and ready for a crushing bite.

"Leave her alone!"

A blur of vibrant blue in the vague shape of a dragon tore through the air towards the Hippowdon, slamming into him with a massive impact and sending the beast tumbling back with a pained roar. Guardia panted, wide-eyed and white-knuckled, scanning the room frantically for a place to hide away.

" _Tutaj!_ " a yipping voice cried.

The Ground-Type turned to see Elty standing beside her, the team's tattered bag on his shoulder and her bone in his mouth. The Cubone spluttered a moment, torn between surprised relief and an overwhelming urge to yank her bone out of the Fire-Type's maw.

"E-Eh?! _Gardie?!_ " the Cubone exclaimed. "What are you doing?!"

"Giving you a Helping Hand!" the dog barked back, muffled somewhat by the bone locked between his teeth. "My paws are gonna be full with the spike ball, so make the most of it!"

Elty sidled up against Guardia with her club firmly locked in his maw, a charge of blue sparks building on his pelt as he ran. He dropped the bone into her waiting hand and tagged her on the back with one paw, sending the sparks of energy flowing into her in turn, and bounded back to pull Nida from her sandy vortex. The Cubone jolted upright as she felt the invigorating current of energy course through her and gripped her club tight, grimacing somewhat at the feeling of dog slobber on her precious club, but shook the worry out of her head for now. Instead, she focused on the battle at hand. Glowering at the Hippowdon rising back to his feet, she pulled her helmet snugly against her snout and lowered her head to charge like a raging Tauros.

"Right!" she grunted. "Come on Pleo! Let's make this count!"

The Cubone darted for the Hippowdon as Pleo arced around above the ground, the Lonely Pokémon jumping down with a lunging overhead smash against the hippo's rear leg. She felt her club land with a thud and brought it up for another blow, and another. The Hippowdon snarled and reared up to counter the little pest, only to be sent tumbling back by a stiff whirling wind from Pleo's wings.

"Grnk?!"

For a fleeting moment, the Hippowdon flailed as he felt his body leave the ground and sail through the air, followed by a headfirst splash into the water. The Ground-Type tumbled under the surface before finding his footing and staggering up. The hippo panted from exhaustion, coughing up water and blowing out globs of wet sand from his pores disgustedly. The feral paced back to shore seething when he felt a sharp kick on his chin, seeing a blue blur weave back by his feet. Instinctively, the hippo lifted his legs and stomped down, feeling spikes lodge into his feet amidst the wet sand and hearing a loud, terrified squeal of pain. There, underfoot was the culprit of the blow, a wide-eyed and thrashing Nidoran desperately trying to pull herself free.

" _You!_ " the Hippowdon snarled. "You're going to _pay_ for thi-"

The Hippowdon was cut off by a burning kick across his face, crying out with a pained shout. The Ground-Type tottered back into the oasis, his strength rapidly leaving him as his vision ran muddy and black, collapsing into the water. Back onshore, Elty pulled himself and Nida out of the oasis, shaking off some water off his pelt as Pleo and Guardia rushed over, the Nidoran shifting weakly before looking up at her teammates.

"U-Urgh…" she groaned. "Did… Did we make it?"

"Yeah… we won," Guardia panted. A tired smile crept over the Cubone's muzzle as she slung her club over her shoulder, her face marked with the satisfaction that followed a hard-won battle.

"Heh… looks like it's finally over."

"Not just yet," Elty grunted.

"Huh?!" Pleo squawked. "What do you mean-?"

The Lugia opened his beak to protest, only to see Elty point off tiredly with his paw. The little Protector turned and followed it and saw that it was pointing at the foggy passage from earlier, the paw's owner giving an impatient snort and shake of his head.

"We weren't just planning on staying down in this dungeon, were we?"

"… No, come on," Nida sighed. "Let's hurry up and get out of here."

The four Pokémon set off, trudging tiredly against their fresh wounds for the exit ahead of them. One by one, the youngsters slipped off into the fog, leaving behind the grueling gauntlet of the dungeon behind, and off to unknown environs outside.

* * *

Back on the waters south of Orleigh, the Siglo Swellow remained under an oppressive atmosphere of shock from the [i]Khranitel Rod'[i]s sudden invasion. The sea nomads held the ship hostage under threat of a volley of powerful Water attacks, the captors glaring out at the crew as they waited for the command to open fire. With every movement one of their would-be assailants made, the ship's crew squeaked and whispered amongst themselves, a few braver or perhaps more desperate types trying their luck at pleading their case with their accosters.

"H-Hold on here," Philips stammered. "You've got the wrong idea-!"

"Shut up, Company scum!" a Kingdra from the water snarled. "You're gonna do _exactly_ what we say, and you're gonna _like_ it!"

The crew aboard the Siglo Swellow shrank back and traded nervous glances with each other at the sea Pokémon's snarls. A few crewmembers here and there attempted to maintain a battle stance, but there was no disguising the predicament the ship was in, which didn't elude Crom. They were all surrounded and at the mercy of hostile faces, ones which were undoubtedly up to no good.

"D-Dad?" the Druddigon stuttered. "What do we do now?"

"Maybe- Maybe we could calm them down?" Pladur gulped.

The Fraxure inched along waving his claws to try and motion for calm, but all the while betraying a deep anxiety over his current predicament.

" _Lo siento! Lo siento!_ We really don't mean any harm or want to start a fight!"

In the midst of the sea of glares, a slight change stirred. It was only a few faces here and there, whose hardened scowls began to show signs of unease. The most obvious of them was a Kabutops towards the front, who blinked at the foreign tongue, and swam up warily to press for more information.

"Huh? What's with that accent?" Dimitri murmured. "Why you're talking just like that Nidoran did when she passed through with her friends-"

"Dimitri!"

The Kabutops flinched and sheepishly turned back to his Dragalge superior, sinking a little at the sight of the seahorse's scowl. All the while, the crew of the Siglo Swellow had been listening and growing increasingly wide-eyed at the realization that this Nidoran was...

"Eh?! You saw Nida?!" Crom exclaimed. "Was Pleo with her?!"

"And how would _you_ know about them?" Viktor demanded. "You're with the Company!"

"They probably just overheard their names, this means nothing," a Relicanth close to him spat.

"You're _wrong!_ " the Druddigon exclaimed. "We're their teammates!"

Crom's protests elicited nothing but a dismissive scoff from the bulk of the gathered crowd of nomads. The Kingdra in front seemer particularly unimpressed, as he rolled his eyes and glared back at the Dragon-type before growling out a response.

" _Sure_ you are," Kuda snorted. "And I _fly_ around in the sky in my spare time."

"I'm serious!" the young dragon insisted.

Hurriedly, Crom dug through his father's bag until he felt his claws make contact with soft cloth. He tugged out a corner to check and, upon catching sight of the familiar blue and white-starred scarf, he pulled the cloth out of the bag and presented it for everyone to see.

"Look, was _this_ the scarf she and her friends were wearing?"

A dead silence fell over the gathered sea Pokémon, as uneasy murmurs and puzzled glances flittered here and there among their number. Their Dragalge leader seemed less persuaded, though still was unable to find a convincing way to reconcile why the Druddigon ought to have one of Team Traveller's scarves, prompting him to slap the water for attention.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Viktor demanded.

"Like we said, we're their teammates," Kiran answered.

"We're from Tromba looking for our Protector after the Company took him away," Beatrix said.

As soon as the Illumise's words left her mouth, the demeanor of the nomads took a skeptical turn. The story seemed far too implausible, especially to the Kingdra bobbing impatiently in the churning waves. After all, if they _really_ weren't with the Company...

"Then why on earth are you sailing around in Company sails, huh?!" Kuda prodded.

"We did it so we could sail into Company ports and ask questions without attracting too much attention," the Hitmontop first mate explained. "How else were we supposed to find leads on where they might have taken our Protector?"

"And the Company told you to go here...?" a Dewgong pressed.

"Er… I know it sounds fantastical," Ander murmured. "But we ran into some escapees from Orleigh earlier, and they said that they saw him on that island."

"Hrmph," Scout harrumphed. "You could have just said it was me, you know."

Some blinks and idle splashes filled the air, as the Siglo Swellow's crew watched the surrounding nomads eased their expressions. Even so, there was still not the expected sheepish hospitality that comes from discovering a friend in strange places, but rather some sort of solemn and overpowering somberness, which a Relicanth towards the front put into words:

"Well you're a bit late," the fish sighed. "Our own scouts couldn't find any sign of them on that rock when we looked for them."

Crom's heart sank, and his wings drooped as the sea Pokemon's explanation sunk in. He'd hoped perhaps these nomads could finally point them towards a reunion with Nida, Pleo and Elty, and yet... they hardly had any better leads than he did regarding their whereabouts.

"Do… Do we really have no other idea of where they could have gone?" Crom asked.

"Well… I don't know for certain," Dimitri murmured. "But I think I might have an idea of where they _tried_ to go."

"Eh?" Kiran chirped. "Where would that be?"

"Before we got separated, the kids and I were making our way to Sormus to try and get to some island they were after," the Kabutops explained. "It's close enough to Orleigh to make it there if they knew which way to go."

"But what would keep them from just going back into the Subway?" Kuda countered.

Dimitri opened his mouth to retort, raising one scythe in protest, but his words failed him as he realized that Kuda had a point. Pleo _did_ seem to take naturally to the water, so it wasn't unreasonable that he could get down there on his own once his wing had healed...

"Er… I hadn't thought about that," the Kabutops admitted.

"It's nothing that our _rod_ can't handle," Viktor grunted. "We'll take the Subway tunnels around here, and the ship can handle going to Sormus. We can always meet up there later on to regroup."

"Er… right," Dimitri answered. "So then we should get-"

" _You're_ staying with the ship," the Dragalge ordered.

"H-Huh?!"

"Someone's gotta keep an eye on that crew and keep them focused on their task," the Poison-Type insisted. "And you're the one who's the most chatty with airbreathers anyways."

Viktor sighed and shook his head, sinking lower into the water before rising up. Much to his puzzlement, Dimitri noticed that the Dragalge's expression had softened, with the faintest outlines of a smile visible on his snout.

"Besides," the seahorse continued. "I thought you were the one who always wanted to see more of what was up here on the surface."

Dimitri floated stunned for a moment, his eyes lighting up and his mouth forming an ever-widening smile at the Dragalge's words. The Kabutops gave a salute with his scythe, and cheerfully bubbled back a thankful answer to his superior.

"Right!" Dimitri replied. "I won't let you down _Ataman._ "

The nomads ducked under the waves and began to swim off into the deep, leaving Dimitri behind in the care of the Siglo Swellow's crew. A rope ladder was thrown over, prompting the Fossil Pokémon to clamber up it and onto the deck where a crowd of curious sailors had gathered.

"Er… thanks for sticking up for us back there," Crom said.

"Yeah, if you didn't, who knows where we'd be right now," Pladur murmured.

"What name do you go by?" Ander asked.

"It's Dimitri, and I was just pointing out an observation," the Kabutops insisted. "You guys handled the rest fine on your own."

"Well, handling it or not, we're going to need all the help here we can get," Beatrix buzzed. "So let's get going, and we'll talk the details over as we sail."

The Kabutops gave a small wag of his tail and a smiling nod back to the Illumise. Perhaps he could've had it in better circumstances, but this felt like the sort of mission on the surface he'd been looking for for years, and a ray of enthusiasm cracked through his face's exoskeleton.

"Heh, sounds good to me."

The escorts stirred up a moving current in the sky and sea, pushing the Siglo Swellow westward. All the while, the crew's spirits lifted again, having gotten a bead on their Protector's whereabouts, and gotten the aid of some new friends.

* * *

Copperband Village was a sleepy village of adobe buildings, characterized by a mix of flat and gabled roofs. Every so often, a building here or there made entirely of timbers would stand out, including a shrine that glistened with the shine of metal rings. At the seaside, the port was busy much as it always was, if packed with carts and crates laden down ores and a few with glinting bars of tawny metal; the normal rhythm carrying on as Nagant and her Vasilek neared the piers.

The frigate slowed and began to pull to the dock, prompting the shrimp to hop from the deck into the water and swimming the distance over to the pier, pulling herself out in front of a waiting Mudsdale with a white scarf with six orange crystals radiating outwards. Bobbing along in the air to the horse's side was Faraday, the Drifblim messenger who'd notified the official of the ship's approach.

"Welcome to Sormus, Captain Nagant," the Mudsdale said. "I trust your journey went well?"

"My journey isn't done just yet," Nagant grunted. "I believe you two had somewhere to be taking me?"

"… Right, the Duke and Duchess have been waiting for you," the Drifblim murmured. "Clyde here will show you the way."

The Mudsdale gave a swish of his tail and set off down the narrow and dusty streets, leading the visiting captain along. The village was a meager settlement, lacking the flash of the capital and as meager as the desert itself. Even so, there were signs of life to be had: there were the Gible and Numel youngsters playing cards with each other, shifting pebbles onto their cards as imaginary volleys of attacks rang out between the Pokémon depicted on them. Further ahead, there was a lively bar, with a Camerupt regaling listeners with obviously exaggerated tales of his time as a "soldier of fortune".

As the journey wore on, scenery began thinning out after Clyde led Nagant towards an oasis on the southern outskirts, where a stone bridge snaked over the water towards the local bastion, a simple fortification made of adobe that ringed the manor of the Duke of Sormus. The pair were waved through the spartan front, and whisked along a series of courtyards to the fortified entrance to the manor where a Nosepass let them in. Inside, the dusty and simple exterior melted away and was replaced with sumptuous corridors lined with red carpeting and portraits of nobles from bygone ages.

Clyde's guidance ultimately led Nagant to a rock garden with a few fire pits for warmth at night. At the center, a male and female duo of Volcarona waited along with an attending Blaziken: Duke Atlas, Duchess Agila, and Governor Orloff respectively if her memory served her right. The Mudsdale stopped at the door and bade Nagant to go ahead of him, the male Volcarona giving a buzz and flitting his wings at the sight of the shrimp as she drew near.

"Ah, Captain Nugget!" the Bug-Type greeted. "We've been expecting you!"

Atlas' cheery buzzing carried on as the Blaziken beside him quietly noted the barely stifled agitation on the Clawitzer's face. Sensing it would be better to start the meeting with their guest on a less grating note, the Fire-Type cleared his throat and hastily corrected his superior.

"Eh... your Grace," the Blaziken whispered. "I believe it was 'Nagant'."

"Ah right… Nagant," the Duke slowly corrected himself. "So, what brings you to our fair island?"

"Some recent developments," she answered. "During my assignment to Boisocéan, I discovered that Tromba Island's Protector has awakened."

"Eh? But Tromba's halfway across Anyilla from here!" the Duchess exclaimed. "How does that involve us?"

"Because the Company's pursued it into our waters, and my tracking has led me to conclude that he's come here for shelter," Nagant insisted.

The gathered Pokémon traded dubious looks with one another. Were they truly to believe that an esteemed Protector had come to _their_ island, with them none the wiser of his presence? The four simply found that too hard to believe, as evidenced by the Blaziken Governor who stepped forth with a skeptical look etched on his face.

"… I believe some validation is in order, Captain," Orloff scoffed.

"We already _do_ have quite a bit on our plates keeping the town and the mines humming as they should," the female Volcarona insisted. "We can't tend to every little matter on a whim."

"Tell me," the crustacean demanded. "What do you know of the Sea Guardian Lugia?"

Atlas, Agila, Orloff, and Clyde glanced to one another once again, Orloff and Clyde seeming to have racked their brains in thought while the Duke and Duchess had already come up blank. Nevertheless, no one seemed really knowledgeable about this 'Lugia'. Even the ones who didn't seem totally lost looked as if they could hazard a guess at best. A few uncertain murmurs floated throughout the gathering before the Volcarona Duke fluttered his wings uneasily.

"Er… admittedly I haven't really done much research into the Protectors of foreign islands," the Bug-Type said. "But I do remember it is supposed to be some manner of bird with silver feathers."

"You mean like one of these?" the Water-Type asked.

Nagant fished out a silver feather from underneath her scarf and held it up high for her audience to see. The sight was met with audible gasps, the small audience stammering and tripping over their words in stunned surprise as they attempted to press the Clawitzer for more details.

" _Uskomatonta!_ " Atlas exclaimed.

"Where did you _find_ that?" the Governor questioned.

"I encountered the Protector back on Orleigh yesterday," the shrimp explained. "While there, I learned a bit about his habits and tendencies, which may be valuable in capturing him."

"… What do you have in mind and what do you need from us?" the Duke asked.

"I propose that we post the guards at places the Protector and his entourage are likely to pass through if they're here. The entrances to the town, the guild, and the local hostels," Nagant said. "My crew will be ready to assist the local guards. From there, just pen them up and my crew will handle the rest."

"… I think that that can be arranged," the male Volcarona mulled, before turning to the Blaziken beside him. "Governor Orloff, send word to the Captain of the Guard to meet Captain Nu- Ah… Nagant on her ship for further debriefing."

"So be it," Orloff grunted. "I think that this meeting can be adjourned."

Nagant gave a respectful bow and made her way hopping for the door. All the while, thoughts and fantasies of finally restoring her house swirled in her mind... along with a nagging exasperation over how much longer she'd have to put up with hearing others butcher her name on the job. Whenever this settled down, she'd have to find some land to retire and unwind. Someplace along a coast with plenty of stones for target practice, perhaps…

But those plans could wait for later. For now, the fate of the Empire was still undecided, and in the wings of the Protector lurking somewhere out there under the big blue sky.

* * *

"Oi! Be careful with those!"

At the seaside, the Mistral Marauder had been pulled into a drydock for repairs, so much so that the space behind the iced wall had yet to be fully drained. In spite of that, the sloop was aflutter with activity, with Pokémon darting between repairs and loading cargo. Hess didn't know if it was the haste, or else just the crew being... the crew more than usual, but the process of overseeing his ship's preparations had been one headache after another for himself and his first mate. The latest of such headaches were a Kricketot and a Pawniard he'd caught dragging barrels aboard by their flats.

"Well, I suppose you can't fault them for keeping _busy_..." Rodion sighed. The Aggron captain, wholly unpleased with how the state of affairs were going, turned and barked at the two deckhands.

"If I see another broken barrel, I'm taking it out of _your_ share of the loot!"

"Oi, Captain!"

"Hrm?"

Hess lifted his head up at the sound of the buzzing voice and turned around as the noise of wooshing air caught his ears. There, behind him were Kichiro and Wilhelm, coming to a rest on the dock with the buckets of pitch he'd sent for, visibly tired from having flown over in a hurry.

"Eh, Kichiro?" the Aggron asked. "What are you doing here? I thought you were back and tarring the hull already!"

"It's _Keiichiro_..." the bug corrected irkedly, before shaking his head and shifting the conversation. "Anyway, while we were gathering supplies, we overheard some goons from the Shadow Brigade talk about that Lugia, so we followed them and found something big."

"Yeah, Captain Sibich can hide stuff in his body!" Wilhelm chimed in, much to his Ledian partner's exasperation.

" _Anta baka?!_ " the Bug-Type snapped. "What did I say about that?!"

Hess and Rodion gave skeptical tilts of their head at the pair, watching as Wilhelm flitted back with a start. The Ledian gave an exasperated sigh and shook his head before continuing on with his explanation.

"Captain Sibich is looking for that bird too, and he was talking about 'the haul of a lifetime' on Giotto," Kichiro explained. "My guess is that that's where that Lugia must have gone off to, he even hold out one of his feathers!"

"Huh?" Hess murmured. "But Eltenios said that they were originally headed for Sormus and then Pioppo."

The Ledian gave an irritated buzz and glared up at the Aggron, grumbling under his breath. Hess could remember the name of some tubby mutt who fell off the face of the planet, but not his?

"Oh, so you get _his_ name right…"

"Hrm… that means that the Imps must have already brought him back?" Wilhelm suggested.

"Eh? What are you _talking_ about? You were tied up on deck with me out there!" Rodion exclaimed. "That sea bug's ship was the only one who came into port, so who else would capture that Protector?"

The Aggron captain blinked as a dawning realization came over him. If the Empire really had another crew capture the Lugia and the brats, it would've logically been to cover the shrimp's bases. For the bird to be found so soon, the ship couldn't have possibly been apart from that Clawitzer, and would have accompanied her into port during the raid. On _top_ of that, the very fact that the Empire sent only one ship to Orleigh would mean that someone wanted to keep the matter under wraps, even among other Imps. Based off that, there was only one possible conclusion the report about Pleo being on Giotto right now...

"… They wouldn't," Hess muttered, "meaning he's not there."

"What- What do you mean he's not there!" Kichiro spluttered. "It's _Sibich!_ He must have some intel we don't have! Since when has he ever gotten anything wrong?"

"I don't know, but it just doesn't match up, alright?" the Steel-Type insisted. "And as long as _I'm_ captain, _I_ say we stick to _my_ original plan!"

A long, tense silence followed the Aggron's words. In spite of his advantage in strength and size, Hess' scolding had failed to erase the scowl on the Bug-Type's face, who still glared up at his taller superior.

"… Just be careful," the Bug-Type murmured. "Keep pushing like that, and you won't be captain for very long."

Kichiro's words drew a low, deep growl, prompting the Bug-Type to dig his feet into the dock. There in front, Hess was glaring, the Aggron captain opening his maw menacingly. Rodion seemed little better, with a fierce scowl entrenched on his face.

" _What_ was that, Kichiro?" Rodion growled.

"He was saying that you wouldn't be captain for-" Wilhelm started, only for Kichiro to clamp his mouth shut and hiss at him under his breath.

"Shut up, you stupid hayseed!"

Rodion glowered at the exchange, only to pause as he noticed a shift in the demeanor of the neighboring crew members. A number of them had begun to glare during the whole exchange, and not at Kichiro as the Sea Weasel Pokémon would have hoped. Instead, their frustration was trained firmly on the hulking captain of the ship, prompting the Water-Type to clear his throat and make an attempt at de-escalating the matter.

"Look, we've all obviously been through a lot," the Floatzel offered. "But at least make yourself _useful_ around here so we can get out of port already."

"Alright, alright!" the beetle snapped.

The Bug-Type hurried off with his pitch buckets, dragging the Hoppip with him by his leafy wings, leaving the dock and waters to return to their normal business as the crew's expressions grudgingly softened. After seeing the two get a suitable distance out of earshot, Rodion sighed and shook his head, before turning to his superior.

"Are you _sure_ about this, Hess?" Rodion asked. "I mean, you saw how all those Pokémon reacted at first, and it's not any less common behind your back…"

Hess faltered a moment at the mustelid's question and racked his brain. It was true that Sibich _was_ part of the Council and privy to things that he wouldn't know… but he'd heard Eltenios' words come from his own mouth before anyone else knew the importance of that mutant Wingull being on the island. It sounded implausible, yes… but Sibich _had_ to be in the wrong here, and checking Sormus was still their best bet. It just didn't add up otherwise!

"… I'm sure, Rodion," Hess insisted. "You heard Eltenios too that night, they didn't have any plans of going to Giotto."

"… Then let's stick with it then, and hope for the best," the Floatzel muttered. "We've only got until sundown to get everything together anyways."

The two carried on chattering as the work preparing the ship carried on. Meanwhile, at the base of the drydock, Wilhelm and Kichiro set their pitch buckets down on a floating raft, sizing up the work to be done caulking the hull.

"Hey Keiichiro...?" Wilhelm piped.

"For the thousandth time, it's Keiichi-!" the Ledian snapped, only to catch himself as his eyes adopted a surprised sheen.

"Oh wait, that's what you said."

The Hoppip had shrunk back and uneasily fluttered in place, waiting expectantly on the beetle. Kichiro huffed and his expression gradually melted into a grumbling, unamused stare. He'd probably regret asking, but...

"Hrmph, what is it?" Kichiro grunted.

"Uhm… I was going to say, maybe it doesn't really matter where that Protector is…" the Grass-Type said. "Won't we have a great adventure no matter where we go?"

The Ledian stared blankly as the Hoppip flitted expectantly in place, prompting him to bury his head in a hand and pinch his brow.

"… What did I ever do to deserve this?" the Bug-Type groaned.

* * *

Team Traveller followed the path through the dungeon fog, eventually exiting out the other end in a burnt-orange desert filled with rolling dunes. The four limped along the sandy waste, passing the occasional large stone and clump of cacti as they tried to make sense of where they were.

"We- We made it," Nida panted.

"Yeah," Elty huffed. "But to where?"

"I'm not sure… but I see lights," Guardia said. "Here, _mite!_ "

The Cubone bade the three to follow with a wave of her club, leading them along to a tall ledge over a large, expansive pit. There in the distance was a smattering of lights, in the mix of warm oranges of fires and cool blues of glow-moss against the twilight hues of the setting sun, sure signs of a nearby town.

"So then we must be getting close to a tow-"

The Ground-Type's breath hitched as the earth heaved underneath her and the ledge crumbled away, sending the whole of Team Traveller into freefall down towards the inky blackness. Pleo beat his wings furiously as the screams of his teammates rang out, only to connect with a gravelly surface on his side and fall into a roll, tumbling down a slope before finally coming to a rest flat on his back in a pile of loose, rough earth. Dazed, the young Protector laid there with his eyes screwed shut in pain. The sound of his friends groaning and staggering to their feet nearby hit his ears, and Pleo shifted his body as he weakly followed suit.

"Eh?! What was that?!" a startled-sounding exclaimed .

"Another debris slide?" a deep voice fumed. "What on earth are those Water-Types _doing_ with stabilizing those slopes?"

"No it sounded too small for that," a feline voice countered. "Like it was someone falling."

Pleo opened his eyes and craned his neck up to discover a trio of watching eyes. The young Lugia flapped back with a start, seeing that the Pokémon were a dusty-looking Golem, Meowstic, and Excadrill, the lot sporting hardened scowls.

"Oi, these aren't work scarves!" the Golem exclaimed.

"They must be some kids from town trespassing," the Meowstic growled.

"T-Trespassing?!" Nida cried.

"But that's not what we were-" Elty began, only to be cut off with a snap from the Excadrill.

"Hope your trip taught you a nice lesson about sticking your craw where it don't belong-"

"Hey! No one said that you could take a break, you lazy bums!"

The gathered Pokémon staggered and struggled to keep their balance as the ground shook underfoot, prompting them to look back and see a towering green lizard with a stony hide and a mouth full of sharp fangs. Team Traveller watched as the three strangers visibly flushed pale, prompting them to shrink back at the sight of the visibly irate Tyranitar.

"Just because it's half an hour until closing hour doesn't mean that _you're_ allowed to slack off on the job!" the Armor Pokémon snarled.

"A-Aah! _Anteeksi! Anteeksi!_ " the Excadrill squealed. "We didn't plan this, boss!"

"Yeah, we caught some trespassers here!" the Golem insisted.

"Eh?"

Team Traveller paled as the hulking lizard made his way to the front and stopped before them. The Tyranitar growled irkedly, peering down at the little intruders with a harsh glare.

"… Who are you, and what do you think you're doing in _my_ dig site?" the Rock-Type demanded.

The four gulped in sequence, keenly aware of the stony-faced, powerful-looking lizard's presence as he hovered over them threateningly. As if that weren't enough, would he really take their word for the situation even if they explained everything? One after the other, the young Pokemon blurted out a hasty explanation, each of their attempts delivered in a stammered, squeaky tone.

"Ah… we're… we're Team Traveller," Nida stuttered. "And we just got out of a Mystery Dungeon up this ledge."

" _C-Chotto matte!_ We weren't _trying_ to trespass here!" Guardia protested. "Our ledge gave way underfoot!"

"Yeah," Pleo added. "We were just look for a place to- Nrgh!"

The Armor Pokémon sneered down at the strange white bird and noticed that he was holding his foot up awkwardly, as if he'd sprained it. On further examination, the other youngsters seemed similarly bruised and battered, far more than should have been the case from their fall Although the rocky reptile's stony-faced demeanor didn't budge an inch, Team Traveller noted his silence as he almost seemed to be mulling the situation over in their favor.

"I take it that's where all those scuffs of yours came from?" the Tyranitar asked. "You _do_ look a little more beat up than I'd expect from rolling down the hill here."

"Uh… yes?" Elty answered.

"… Then so be it."

The Tyranitar shook his head and turned to the other Pokémon, giving an impatient stomp of the ground. The earth shook and the three miners jolted upright and wide-eyed, grimacing as the Rock-Type shot them an impatient glare.

"Get back to work," the Rock-Type barked. "I'll handle the rest from here."

The trio each shot their boss a hasty affirmative before bolting away as instructed. As the Tyranitar turned his attention to Team Traveller, the four froze in place and grimaced up at him, bracing themselves for the heavy blows their captor was certainly capable of. Team Traveller watched and waited uneasily as the lizard glowering down at them as his tail swaying to and fro dangerously, waiting and waiting for the first strike to try and bolt away.

"Are you just going to sit there?" the Tyranitar demanded. "I'll let your trespassing slide _this_ time. _Joutukaa_ , you're going to need a guide anyways. I'll take you into town to get patched up."

"Oh!" Pleo exclaimed. "Er, thanks… Uh…"

"It's Aulis," the Rock-Type answered. "But let's worry about life stories _after_ you're patched up."

The Tyranitar motioned for Team Traveller to follow and set off, making his way for a winding path up the pit overlooked by scattered adobe buildings. The four looked at each other warily before following along. They were on a strange island, following a strange Pokémon to a strange adobe town... but in the midst of it all, a reassuring sense of calm asserted itself. For now, they were safe... hopefully.

"Welcome to Copperband, kids."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> _Herätä!_ \- Finnish: "Wake up!"  
>  _Tutaj!_ \- Polish: "Here!"  
>  _Lo siento! Lo siento!_ \- Spanish: "Sorry! Sorry!"  
>  _Uskomatonta!_ \- Finnish: "Incredible!" / "Unbelieveable!" (interjection)  
>  _Anta baka?! (_ _あんたバカ_ _?! /_ _あんた馬鹿_ _?! )_ \- Japanese: "Are you stupid?!" / "Are you an idiot?!" (Hepburn romanization)  
>  _mite!_ \- Japanese: "Look!" (Hepburn romanization)  
>  _Anteeksi! Anteeksi!_ \- Finnish: "Sorry! Sorry!"  
>  _Joutukaa_ \- Finnish: "(You all) Hurry up"


	57. Run to Ground

By the time Aulis led Team Traveller to the top of the winding path up the slopes of the mine, the sun had begun to retreat beyond the horizon, coloring the sky with the day's final rays before slipping over the edge of the Cradle entirely. The group made their way through Copperband Village, a sleepy abode of simple adobe buildings flecked with the occasional well-built wooden stalwart. The town had begun winding down for the night, with shopkeepers starting to shutter shops, and a few taverns catering to night owls lighting their lanterns to tempt Pokémon with the smell of fresh food as they drifted home. All the while, the four shivered slightly, finding that the sweltering heat had given way to an unexpected chilliness as the skies darkened.

"Blergh… I'll never understand how the days here can be so hot and the nights freezing like this," Guardia groaned.

"That's the way life is in a desert," Aulis grunted. "Hot days, cold nights, and dry enough for most plants to struggle just to sprout on their own."

"Huh? Was that why we didn't see that many fields coming here?" Pleo wondered. "Then where does all the food come from? And where do all the Pokémon who live in the outskirts work?"

"We're a bit more dependent on Gummi Fabs to get our grub around here," the Tyranitar explained. "As for work, they work under the likes of yours truly, digging up copper and whatever else we can get for the Empire's treasury."

Nida blinked and twitched her whiskers at the Rock-Type's explanation. For such a sleepy and dusty-looking town, it sounded as if the place was rather important to this Empire. But even so, how could _everyone_ here make their living from this mine?

"Eh? But what about the Pokémon that don't dig so well?" Nida asked.

"Well, there's always selling to the miners in town, and some of them take up work as mercenaries," the Rock-Type responded. "Usually on behalf of the Empire, though there always seems to be some body of idiots that drifts into a pirate crew in search of fast riches."

Elty blinked at the mention of "body of idiots", his mind turning back to the crew of the Mistral Marauder. After taking Aulis' explanation into mind, a realization suddenly began to dawn on him about who some Pokémon from said body might be...

"Oh, so _that's_ how Pyry and Pekka got into the business…" Elty muttered under his breath.

"… It sounds like a bit of a harsh town," Pleo murmured.

"Well it is at times, but we do our best to make the most of it," the Tyranitar replied. "And that includes paying our dues to the Pokémon watching over us."

Aulis gestured off with a claw off at a glint on a hill in the distance. Guardia squinted through the dimming light and saw that the glint came from a pink-and-black pavilion with shining metallic rings threaded through spires. At the front was a gleaming copper statue of a small horned figure holding a ring in front of a taller six-limbed being with a hollow chest… Was the smaller of the two a hero associated with the Protector? Whatever the case was, the sight seemed to impart a degree of pride to Aulis, the rock lizard giving a satisfied grunt at his guests' reactions.

"When our Protector comes, he will be able to help smooth things over," the Rock-Type explained. "But until then, we've gotta start by helping ourselves."

Each member of Team Traveller silently admired the Tyranitar's steadfast determination... but at the same time, they wondered whether the Protector of this island would manage to live up to his expectations. After all, for all the lore surrounding Pleo back home, he hadn't turned out to be quite as big and powerful as expected, at least not _yet._ Could the same kind of thing wind up holding true for the Protector of Sormus?

They had little time to mull over the situation in detail, as the team were snapped out of their reverie by the sound of chatter echoing by from around a nearby corner.

"A white bird with a long neck…" a squeaky voice murmured. "What sort of a description is that to work with?"

"I dunno, isn't that basically a Swanna?" a high, ghostly voice asked. "Shouldn't be too hard to spot, right?"

"So why would the Captain be so obtuse about it and not just tell us that the 'mon Duke Atlas wanted brought in was a Swanna!" the first voice exclaimed. "What's with all the cloak and dagger all of a sudden? Do you think it has something to do with that _fregatti_ that pulled in?"

The four slowed and grimaced at the sound of the voices, watching as a Maractus and Sandygast in Imperial scarves rounded the corner. Nida froze as Aulis carried on ahead, looking around in a panic for someplace to hide or slip off to.

"Ah... oh, look over there!" Nida squeaked.

The spike ball hastily tugged at Pleo's wing, bidding him to waddle off after her, Guardia and Elty following close behind at a brisk pace. Aulis paused and looked back confusedly just as the four slipped down an alleyway before breaking into a sprint, bounding down the narrow corridor until they reached another lane, panting and glancing around their surroundings nervously to see if there was any sign of the guards.

"Do- Do you think they saw us?" Pleo stammered.

"I… I dunno," Nida panted. "But whatever happened, they're not chasing after us-"

"What are you _doing?_ "

Team Traveller froze and blanched at the harsh voice, looking up uneasily to see Aulis staring down at them. The Tyranitar's face was hardened into an unamused scowl, clearly not enthusiastic over having to abruptly chase after the group.

"What's the big idea of running off on me, huh?" the Rock-Type growled.

"Uh… er…" Guardia stammered.

"We were just…" Nida began.

The Nidoran faltered, glancing around the adobe-paved street grasping for any excuse she could find to satisfy the Tyranitar's questioning. After a half-moment too long, her eyes settled on a long, low-slung building nestled against a hillside, a lantern-shaped sign hanging welcomingly above the entrance. 'Lamplight Inn,' read the sign...

It would have to do. Nida turned back to Aulis, straightening up and forcing her mouth into the biggest smile she could muster to reassure him.

"We spotted a hostel!" the Poison-Type exclaimed. "It seemed like someplace we could get some rest."

Aulis frowned and raised a brow skeptically at the youngster's word. The kids had obviously been through a lot, but even so the Tyranitar seemed visibly unsatisfied with their explanation.

"… Eh? But why wouldn't you go to a medic's hut first?" Aulis demanded. "You're rather scuffed up."

"Well… I don't think that our condition is anything we can't handle with the stuff in our bag," Elty insisted. "And we need to get going bright and early in the morning anyways."

The Tyranitar furrowed his brow, clearly not buying the Growlithe's explanation. His gaze lingered on the group a bit longer as he observed their wounds again, and noted their poorly-forced smiles despite their obvious beaten-up state, and a low hum rumbled from his throat. Finally, after another moment's scrutiny, he relented and shrugged off his misgivings. These kids had clearly been through a lot; could be they were still a bit cagey from being thrown around the dungeon. Nothing to worry about after all, he decided.

"Suit yourself, then," their guide grunted.

Aulis pressed on ahead, pushing the door open to the inn. A mass of warm air filtered out, beckoning the youngsters in, where they discovered a simple room with low tables bearing candles and ringed by cushioned seats. At the end was a flight of stairs up, and to the left, a rudimentary counter with a bucket of water on it with a finned tail poking out. After feeling the ground thump from Aulis' approach, the tail shifted, as the flattened, tawny form of a Stunfisk poked his head out of his container to greet his customers.

" _Hyvää iltaa_ , and welcome to Lamplight Inn," the Stunfisk greeted. "How many places can we put you down for today?"

"A room for four," Aulis answered.

The Electric-Type's brow raised skeptically, the mudfish taken aback by a party of five asking for only four beds.

"Eh? You're not with them?" the fish asked. The Stunfisk fidgeted his fins impatiently, only to be answered by a shake of the Tyranitar's head.

"Nah, I'm just lending a helping claw for tonight," the Rock-Type explained. "They should be out of your fins by tomorrow."

"Whelp, whatever floats your boat," the Stunfisk replied.

Aulis fished through a small pouch slung across his waist, fishing out a few copper coins and sliding it across the table. Team Traveller watched as the flounder moved his tail over and pushed the coins into a drawer with an audible clink, breathing sighs of relief that they'd found a place to spend the night. Even so, a nagging sense of unease lingered in the air, Pleo shifting his wings uncomfortably before craning his head down to his Nidoran teammate.

"Nida?" Pleo whispered. "How are we supposed to get out of here when the guards are looking for us?"

"… We'll think about it in the morning," the Nidoran replied. "Let's just take things easy for now."

"Whelp, that's it. The room's yours," Aulis said as he turned around and approached the team to give them their key. "I'll stop by in the morning to check up on you in the morning."

"Um… _dōmo_ ," Guardia replied.

"Yeah, you wound up being more of a help that I'd have thought at first," Elty added.

"Hmph. Well, you're welcome. Though I need to go and take care of my own problems now," the Tyranitar grumbled. "Good night, and hope you rest well."

Aulis turned and left, shuffling out the door into the night. Back on the counter, the Stunfisk sloshed in his bucket, pointing with his tail up a flight of stairs opening out into a hallway that branched left and right.

"Sixth door to the right," the flounder prodded. "It's yours for the night."

"Right," Nida answered. " _Gracías._ "

The Nidoran bowed and climbed a crude stairwell up to an the adobe hallway with her friends, coming to a stop in front of a solid-looking wooden door that had been left open a crack. The Poison-Type nudged it open, revealing a spartan room with the window facing a westward alleyway, thankfully away from the moon's rising spot. The abode was largely barren, barring a few piles of bedding spread out neatly along the right wall and a stump-table at the center. Not the finest accommodation they could have hoped for, but the air had been recently freshened with some herbs hung over the window, and it was certainly more than an empty visitor's mat on the fringes that they'd have to claim were it not for Aulis' help.

"Was wondering when we were ever going to see one of these again," Elty muttered.

"Come on," Nida sighed. "Let's patch ourselves up and call it a night."

Exhausted, the four flopped down onto the straw bedding around the room, each taking a turn to dig through the team's satchel for berries to treat each others' wounds. One after the other they took a turn applying the berry ointments to each other, until only Pleo was left. The Lugia winced and bobbed his head on reflex as Nida shifted his feathers aside to inspect his wounds. Drawing in a sharp breath as her paw brushed against a particularly harsh scrape, he averted his eyes from Nida's work and reached out with conversation to distract himself from the procedure.

"Nida?" Pleo chirped. "Where do we go from here now?"

"Eh? Why do you ask?" Nida wondered.

"Well, even after we get past the guards…" Pleo murmured. "How do we know if Dimitri made it here? And if so, how would we find him?"

Nida paused, staring into space blankly before shaking her head. The team _had_ somehow managed to endure the entirety of that Mystery Dungeon, staying a step ahead of Lyn and his lackies in the process. But what would they do now? They now found themselves stuck with no guide to Sormus and the surrounding area, and although they'd given Lyn the slip for now, there was no doubt he remained as hot on their trail as he could manage. And how would they handle things when it came time to leave Sormus?

It would only be a matter of time before Lyn caught up, but as exhausted as they were by the escape, they would need every second of rest they could afford. Perhaps the best course of action would be to take things slowly for now, and save their energy for the morning when their assailants would surely be after them in full force once more.

"Let's take things one at a time, Pleo," Nida answered. "For now, let's just enjoy our peace and quiet."

The young Lugia blinked, before obliging the Nidoran's request and nestling himself into his bedding. The sky had grown completely dark, prompting Elty to similarly flip down, and after poking her head out the window and seeing that the moon wasn't visible from the room, Guardia followed suit after a moment of lingering deliberation. Something still didn't feel right about tonight, but even so, it was hard to argue with rest right now…

Another day, another battle. So perhaps it really was best to make the most of their current breather.

* * *

As Team Traveller settled into their lodging for the evening, the final rays of daylight started slipping over the horizon for the dark of night. Unbeknownst to Copperband Village and its shuttering shops, offshore on the far side of Sormus, a small flotilla of sea Pokémon and their passengers were making their way back to a white-sailed ship, carrying tired and discouraged-looking creatures off the foreign desert island.

At the head of the group was the sour-looking Samurott captain of the ship, cutting through the water as a Mothim flitted tiredly after him from behind. The otter made his way to a rope ladder that had been unfurled over the edge of the brigantine and grabbed it with his forepaws, pulling himself up to the main deck, where he shook away the seawater which clung to his pelt and irkedly twitched his whiskers.

"I don't believe this," Lyn growled. "The crew spends well over a _day_ searching inside some blasted Dungeon and we _still_ haven't found the Protector yet."

"Well, we know he made it past the midpoint from reported sightings," Ellsberg sighed, brushing some sand loose from his wings. "At this rate he might have managed to make it through the dungeon."

"Then we can't rest here for long!" the Samurott fumed. "The longer we wait the more likely he'll slip away!"

"Hey there! Welcome back, Captain."

The Water-Type turned to see that much to his surprise, a chair had been left on the deck amid small piles of melted ice lumps. There on top of it was Ketu getting up from reclining, leaving his captain to splutter out of frustration.

"Ketu?! What do you think you're _doing?!_ " Lyn yelled. "You were _supposed_ to be watching the ship!"

"Well, what's it look like I'm doing?" the Weavile answered.

"Like you're being a lazy furball and shirking your duty," Ellsberg harrumphed, only to be answered with a dismissive shrug.

"Eh, better a furball than a sand flea," the Dark-Type retorted.

"I don't _care_ about word choices right now, Ketu!" the otter shouted. "What I want is a good reason why I shouldn't demote you on the spot here and now!"

Lyn's temper quickly erased Ketu's relaxed smile. The Dark-Type tensed up, his demeanor taking a huffy and defensive turn.

"Because I actually _did_ my job?" Ketu snorted.

"If you did, then how about you start telling what you did _besides_ sunbathing," Lyn demanded.

"I gave the remaining crew some R&R and did the standard checkups," the Weavile replied, his explanation doing little to improve his superior's mood. "Oh, and I kept our cover with some Imp crew who was looking around for the Protector."

Lyn's jaw dropped at Ketu's answer. The Samurott spluttered incredulously, finally forcing out a single roaring word in reply.

"What?!"

"Hm? Oh yeah, some Clawitzer who seemed dead set on capturing him," the Dark-Type continued. "Quite the determined type."

Lyn blanched, raising a shaking paw to his brow and pinching. Two weeks… Two weeks since what was supposed to be a simple capture and transport, and here the matter had blown up to the point where the Empire was now privy of his pursuit.

"This can't be happening..."

Lyn buried his head in his paw, despairing the situation and at a loss of what to do next. He had lost track of the Protector once again, and no idea where on the island he was exactly... Wait a minute. If that Imperial Captain was _also_ looking for that bird, then why hadn't they run into any of her underlings while searching the Mystery Dungeon? Even after crossing the midpoint, if the Imperial Captain had thought the Protector was in the Dungeon, she'd have sent Pokémon to search there. Between that and their discovery that the bird and his little friends crossed the midpoint earlier today, there was only one logical conclusion...

The lot of them had made it out, and were en route to Copperband if they hadn't already reached it.

"Gather the crew," Lyn growled. "I'm going to need a team to head into Copperband with me."

"Hrmph," Ketu answered. "On it."

Ellsberg fluttered and spluttered incredulously as the Weavile shuffled off. Lyn wanted to go into an Imperial town _himself?!_ How could that possibly end well?

"Wait, wait. _Why?!_ " Ellsberg exclaimed. "Lyn, the Protector is-"

"Not in the dungeon anymore, or else we'd have run into Imps down there," Lyn snorted. "So it's safe to assume that he's gotten out."

Ellsberg blanched and flitted back uneasily. Lyn did have a point, and with how mercurial he was, did he really want to contest the matter if he and Ketu still got the Protector in the end?

"I mean, if you're certain," the Mothim murmured. "But I'm sure that we could spare a small team to check for you."

The Samurott gave a glowering scowl back at the moth's suggestion. What mission given to a "small team" _had_ gone right in this entire chase after the Protector? The otter remembered how the infiltration team got exposed by a bunch of common peasants on Tromba, and how the team of infiltrators he dispatched to Boisocéan had failed their task so badly that two had to be left behind for the paper pushers in Canalhouse to work out an extradition. The Samurott chanced to see the pig and sand lizard from earlier sitting tiredly on some crates, only to jump back to their feet after realizing their captain was watching them. Yes, he certainly didn't need any reminders of _that_ debacle either. No, trying the same thing over and over again while expecting different results was the definition of insanity. With that in mind, perhaps it was best to shake things up and take a different tack.

"... No. I'm going in person this time," he growled. "I'm done playing games and am going to get that Protector back, no matter _what_ it takes."

* * *

In spite of its positioning, the entrance and the lobby to the Lamplight Inn had the benefit of facing east, allowing it to catch the morning sun as it rose over the horizon. The oil lamps on the table were cold and unlit, with the sun's first rays carrying the burden of illuminating the worn and low-slung wooden desk where a bucket of water with an idling Stunfisk sat. It was in this sleepy environment that a Heatmor and Graveler in white scarves with blue sun patterns made their way in from outside, keenly eying their surroundings as they walked up to the receptionist.

"Excuse me," the Graveler said. "But I was wondering if you could answer a question for us."

From his bucket, the receptionist poked his head above the water and looked out, eying the strangers in white scarves before him. The flounder shifted in the water and raised his head up to talk to the new visitors.

"Hrm?" the Stunfisk asked. "Looking for a room?"

"Not quite. We were looking for some friends of ours who are spending the night here in town," the Heatmor explained. "Did a group with a white, long necked bird check in here lately?"

"One who looks kinda like an overgrown Wingull?" the Stunfisk receptionist mulled. "Yeah, they checked in just last night."

The Heatmor and Graveler glanced at each other at the Stunfisk's answer and traded small nods, prompting the Fire-Type to make his way for the exit. The Receptionist fidgeted against his bucket, sloshing some water around uncomfortably as he looked puzzledly at the remaining Graveler.

"Eh?" the flounder murmured. "Your buddy was in an awful rush."

"He went off to give a heads-up to some company," the Graveler explained. "We've been looking for our friends for a while now."

"Hrm… guess you've really been expecting to see them again?" the fish asked. The Rock Pokémon paused in obvious thought, before shaking his head and answering.

"You could say that," he grunted. "So... would you happen to know what room they booked with-"

"Hey _you!_ "

The Graveler froze after feeling a prickling brush on his lower shoulder. The Rock-Type grudgingly turned around, where waiting for him were a Maractus and Sandygast in Imperial scarves, scowling impatiently.

"We couldn't help but overhear about your friend," the Maractus growled. "Would you be able to answer a few questions for us?"

"Uh... questions?" the Graveler stammered.

"Yeah, how do you know about this 'mon," the Sandygast demanded. "And what's your relation to him?"

The Graveler stiffened up at the Ghost-Type's questioning, shifting his arms uneasily. After thinking of a suitable sounding excuse, the Rock-Type answered, his voice carrying an audible uncertainty to it.

"Er… you could say that we're associates. We wound up getting separated a few ports back and this is where he finally pointed us to go," the Rock-Type offered. "Why, what are you up to with him?"

"… That's none of your concern," Maractus snorted.

"But it _is_ if there's guards after him" the stony Pokémon insisted. "I wouldn't be a good friend if I just stood by if they were falsely accused, would I?"

"That'll be for us to decide," the Grass-Type scoffed.

"Hey, Stunfisk," the Sandygast asked. "What room did you say that 'mon was in?"

"Sixth door to the right."

The Sandygast nodded and turned to his fellow guard, sending a small wave of sand rippling over his body with the movement of a forward nub, pointing in the direction of their destination in a crude facsimile of a wave.

"Come on, let's go check it out."

The Maractus and Sandygast began to make their way for the stairwell, only for the sound of heavy footsteps to ring out. There, in front of them, stood the Graveler who had spread his arms, blocking the whole of the route up to the floor above.

"I can't let you do that," the Rock-Type said.

The guards' mood visibly darkened as their faces hardened into scowls and their bodies tensed for action. The Maractus in particular grew agitated, giving a prod with his spiky arm at the Graveler's stomach.

"Get _out_ of my way, or I'll have you arrested for annoying a guard!" the Grass-Type growled.

The Maractus' outburst drew a blinking pause from his Sandygast partner, the sandy wraith shifting to give the Grass-Type a puzzled look.

"Wait, that's a bookable crime?" the Ghost-Type whispered.

"Shh! We'll sweat the details later!"

"Hrmph," the Rock Pokémon spat. "Like I said, you're not going any- AGH!"

The Graveler was knocked back into the wall by heavy, thorny blow, making him stagger and topple over. The Maractus drew his arm back, green flecks of light dancing along his arm as the Stunfisk receptionist slunk into his bucket unnervedly, the Grass-Type giving an irritated grunt.

"And _stay_ out of our wa-"

**_SLAM!_ **

The guards looked back across the lobby to see the door was thrown open by a glaring party of five Pokémon in blue sun scarves. At the front was a hulking Samurott, flanked by a Xatu, Heatmor, Heracross and a Dusknoir. At once, the tension in the air thickened, the otter giving a low growl as his eyes pierced into the two guards.

"I heard that there was a white, long necked bird here at this hostel," the otter glowered. "I'm going to need to leave with it. _Now._ "

The Maractus and Sandygast shrank back at the sight of the hostile party. Dealing with the Samurott and his companions would be a tall order, but they had the high ground to fall back on and these strangers didn't. Besides, perhaps there wasn't a need to come to blows after all...

"Er… who are you and what business do you have here?"

Up above on the second floor, Team Traveller started to stir under the dim morning light as the sounds of an argument below rang out. Nida was the first to notice the noise, pricking up uneasily, Guardia and Pleo following after after being awoken by her movements, leaving Elty to futilely paw at his teammates to attempt to return to sleep.

"Nrgh…" Elty groaned, lethargically swatting his forepaw. "Keep it down."

"It's not me," Guardia insisted. "There's something going on downstairs."

"Hey buddy," a ghostly voice snapped. "I don't know what game you all are trying to pull but- AGH!"

The four heard thumps and blows coming from below, followed by the sound of wood splintering and a loud, ghostly shriek. The group tensed up, warily making their way to the door as a bellowing cry rang out from below.

"Gah!"

The youngsters' blood ran cold at the sound of the shout, prompting Nida to crack the door open. The downstairs had been trashed, with the Sandygast slumped over in a sandy pile in front of the desk and a petrified-looking receptionist. At the bottom of the stairwell at the end of the hallway was Lyn, cradling a shoulder freshly-flecked with green spikes, snarling at a Maractus at the top who gave a jeering wave

"Hah!" the Maractus sneered. "Not so tough, are ya-AAAAAAAH!"

Before the Grass-Type could react, a freezing beam struck his foot and froze it against the floor. The Cactus Pokémon cried out and desperately tried to free himself, only for the _splutch_ of a blade embedding itself in his torso rang out, followed by a pained squeal. Lyn wrenched the blade out as the cactus rabbit staggering forward, and grabbed the Maractus by the back of his head and threw him down the stairs with a clatter, the unconscious guard falling into the receptionist desk and knocking over the Stunfisk's bucket over with a yelp. At this, Nida hastily slammed the door, wide-eyed and panting.

"We need to get out of here."

Guardia motioned for Elty to help her move the stump-table, the two shoving it up against the door as footsteps rang down the hallway outside. From downstairs, they overheard a pained, rumbling voice conversing with the intruders.

"Nrgh… They're in the sixth room to the right," a Graveler's voice groaned.

"Right," a Xatu's voice answered. "Remember to check your surroundings on the way up. We don't need _more_ surprises here."

"Just where are we supposed to go?" Pleo whispered. "Lyn's out there in the hallway!"

Glancing around for an answer, Elty's eyes fell on the shuttered window, beams of sunlight breaking through cracks in the shutters and a sliver of the clear blue sky visible beyond. He looked out the window a moment, then to Pleo, and shook his head.

"The only place we can go," Elty insisted. "Come on, help me with those shutters!"

The Growlithe blew out a column of cinders, his desperately forceful Ember setting the wood of the shutters alight. Pleo followed by spitting up a glowing orb, smashing the shutter into a collection of charred splinters that fell out into the alleyway. Nida, Elty, and Guardia hastily vaulted onto Pleo's back as the bird clambered up the windowsill, the sound of shouts and footsteps ringing out from the hallway.

"They're trying to get away!" Lyn shouted. "I can hear them!"

"Now or never, Pleo!" Elty yipped.

The Lugia heard a smash and the splintering of wood as Lyn stabbed a seamitar through the door, prompting him to leap from the window and take wing… only to abruptly feel his leg yanked back. The bird squawked, realizing that he'd caught his foot on a line of sheets hung out to dry and pitched forward with his passengers, crashing to the ground along with the laundry with a loud yelp just as the door was broken down. Back in the room, Lyn burst in, the first thing coming to his and his subordinates' attention being the charred and splintered shutters along with the visibly open window to the room.

"They've made a break for it!" a Heracross cried.

"They flew off _again?!_ " Lyn bellowed. Scowling, the Samurott whirled around and turned to the door to storm outside, only to pause at the sound of a few groaning Pokémon coming from outside, just under the room's window.

"Oww…"

"Gah, talk about your false starts."

Lyn ran over and poked his head out the window, noticing a snapped clothesline dangling from the building across the lane. The Samurott followed the cord down with his eyes, to the sight of a young Lugia, Nidoran, Growlithe, and Cubone staggering up. The four hastily untangled themselves from the cord only to peer up with a startled grimace and see Lyn staring down. The youngsters turned to run, prompting the otter to spit out a pressurized orb of water at the four. The sound of a yelp and loud splash rang out, making Lyn pause tensely as he watched the dust settled… only to see that the group were rapidly approaching the corner to a blind alley. Determined not to lose his targets yet again, the Samurott pulled his head back in, turning to his underlings with a fierce bellow.

"Take out the wall!"

Lyn grasped his blades and sliced the frame of the window with a cross-slash, making the wall above visibly sink downwards. The Samurott sidestepped, prompting his underlings to strike the wall with a mass of attacks, collapsing it outwards into the lane in a rain of adobe fragments. The otter leapt forward and came to a crouching landing on the ground, charging ahead to the corner just in time to see a Growlithe's tail slip around the corner up ahead.

"This way!"

* * *

As Team Traveller desperately ran through the narrow alleyways of Sormus, a Samurott's roar echoed behind them. The four whirled down one blind corner after the other, but all the while were unable to shake the sound of Lyn and his underlings chasing after them. Throughout the ordeal, Pleo was wide-eyed, batting his wings for takeoff only to find his path blocked time and time again by an ill-placed curve or pole above.

"How did Lyn find us _again?!_ " Pleo squawked.

"I don't know," Nida panted. "Just keep running for now!"

The four skidded around a corner and ran down an alley lined with discarded crates. As Team Traveller charged on ahead, they heard Lyn and his lackies' shouts and footsteps grow less and less distinct. Nida and her friends popped out ahead into a small clearing in a cross-roads, looking around uneasily at the paths branching out in the small square to try and tease out which way to go next… Only to look up and see the wide, blue sky overhead, and realize that the clearing was surely big enough for Pleo to run fast enough to take wing.

"This place looks more open than I was expecting," Nida said. "Pleo, let´s all get on top of you and then we can fly-"

" _Nie ruszaj się!_ " a whinnying voice cried.

The four whirled to the left, where they saw the forms of a Ponyta, a Sandslash, and a Cranidos in indigo scarves dart in and block their way. The three hardened their glares and hastily assumed battle positions, the Ponyta at the head snorting out a challenging jeer.

"You're not going _anywhere_ , pirate scum!"

"Eh?!" Pleo exclaimed. "But I'm not a pirate!"

"Yeah!" Elty snapped. " _I'm_ the pirate here!"

Elty's outburst hung in the air, giving way to an awkward silence as the three indigo-scarved Pokemon blinked and exchanged skeptical glances with one another. This scruffy lot with the Protector really _was_ a team of pirates…?

"Psst, Niilo," Cabot whispered. "I thought those wanted posters were supposed to be Company cover to nab these 'mons."

"Maybe they were more accurate than we gave them credit for?" the Sandslash mused.

"There's clearly a long, interesting story behind this…" Berecien snorted. "But that can wait. En garde!"

The Ponyta lowered his head and charged forward as flames flared out from his hide. Thinking quickly, Elty leapt to the side and swiftly cartwheeled into Berecien's side with a Flame Wheel, knocking the horse off his feet with a yelp.

"Not so fast, hothead!" the Growlithe barked.

"Hrmph!" the Ponyta fumed. "You're one to talk, pirat- GAH!"

Pleo watched as Elty clamped down on the Ponyta's rump with his jaws, the horse kicking wildly to try and shake his attacker loose. The young Protector darted in a flapping run to try and come to Elty's aid, only to feel a heavy ramming blow from underneath just as he left the ground, sending him pitching back to earth with a shriek.

"I got him! I got- OW!"

The Cranidos' cheers were cut off with a sharp clubbing to his side, sending him staggering back as Guardia came to a panting stop in his place. Pleo looked up as he wearily picked himself off the ground, seeing the Cubone's eyes wide with alarm, frantically motioning backwards with her free claw.

"Pleo!" Guardia cried. "Fall back!"

"R-Right!"

"Oh, no you don't!" a Sandslash's voice shouted.

Pleo turned and saw a Sandslash charging him, prompting him to bolt in a panic. The pangolin neared the bird with his claws ready to swipe, only to hop back as a needle-like spike sailed through the air and landed in front of him with a _thwip_. Niilo looked up just in time to spot and deflect another poisonous missile with his claws, before noticing the spike's owner: a blue Nidoran with her barbs fanned out, and her red eyes hardened into a glare.

"Pleo!" Nida cried. "When you've got a good shot, hit him with an- AGH!"

Nida's instructions were interrupted by Niilo's claws raking down her side. The Nidoran tottered, clutching at her side, before being flung aside by a back-handed blow from those same huge claws. Pleo yelped as the Nidoran was casually sent sailing through the air with such ease.

"Nida!"

Pleo flinched back, coming forward again while sending a glowing ball of energy from his mouth in the general direction of the Sandslash. Without checking to see if his attack had hit home, he took the chance to bolt. As he turned to fall back, he spotted Guardia groaning on the ground, knocked back by a stiff headbutt from Cabot. Further ahead, Elty let out a pained yelp as Berecien reared up and brought his hooves down on the dog's flank with a forceful stomp.

Taking in the battle with an ever-worsening expression of horror etched on his face, Pleo froze. His friends were in danger! For all the hoping and dreaming he and the villagers back home had done about finally returning home... he couldn't possibly think of accomplishing any of that if he couldn't even get his friends out of here with him. The young Lugia skidded to a stop and gathered his wings to try and bring the wind between them. All the while, Pleo wished with all his might that he could just call on that latent, explosive power of his, just long enough to turn the tides of this battle...!

**_PLOOOSH!_ **

"GWARK!"

Pleo was sent tumbling back along the sand by a high-pressured ring of water. Groaning, he picked himself up and stumbled forward, trying desperately to maintain his balance by holding his wings out to each side. In the end, in spite of his efforts, he couldn't manage more than a few tottering steps before pitching forward face-first into the sandy ground, knocked out cold. Nida, Elty and Guardia all looked on from their respective predicaments, mouths agape, the whole brawl grinding to a halt out of shock as the seabird crashed to the ground.

"Pleo!"

The three heard the crunching of sand coming from the path on the right side, turning to see a Clawitzer in an indigo scarf with a triple leaf pattern draw her claw back to her side and hop over. The trio hastily circled tight against each other, expecting her to ambush them along with the three indigo-scarved strangers, only to see her sidle up against Pleo's unconscious body and brush his drenched plumes.

"I'll admit, you kept me waiting longer than I'd like," the shrimp said to herself. "But your flight ends here, Lugia."

"You're that Clawitzer from Orleigh!" Nida squeaked. "Wh-What do you want? What are you going to do with him?"

"That's none of your concern, Nidoran," Nagant chittered. "As for the rest of you, I suggest you surrender and come along _peacefully!_ "

"C-Come along?" Elty stammered. " _Nie ma mowy!_ "

"Yeah!" Guardia spat. "We're not going to let you just get away with this!"

Team Traveller hastily dug in for a fierce fight, trying to prepare themselves in spite of their shock. All the while, Nagant stood unmoved, doing little more to acknowledge the threat than to give a flat, unimpressed stare and an idle twitch of her big claw's barbels.

"… Well do go on," the Clawitzer snorted. "Do your worst."

Guardia grit her teeth and charged with her club ready at her side. The Cubone gave a shouting battle cry and jumped up to give an overhead smash to the shrimp, only for Nagant to slightly raise her claw and disgorge a watery pulse square into Guardia's body.

"A-AAH!"

Nida and Elty watched in shock as Guardia sailed back through the air, falling against the sandy ground with a wet thud. Barring a weak twitch of her leg, the drenched Cubone showed no signs of consciousness, prompting Elty to pull his tail between his legs at a sinking realization of how far over their heads they were.

"Spike ball," Elty whined. "I think that we need to fold 'em-"

"Here!" a whinnying voice cried. "Have some thanks for that bite you left on me!"

The canine snapped to attention, whirling around in the direction of the cry just in time to catch a hoofed kick to the side of the head, sending him sailing into the air with a shriek. The Growlithe landed squarely on his chin, skidding to a stop in a full-on faceplant, totally unconscious but for some weak twitching of his legs. Nida froze, mouth agape from witnessing the powerful blow, and although she felt the urgent need to act she was paralyzed by indecision. The frantic workings of her mind, desperate to find a solution to her team's predicament, distracted her enough that she didn't notice the presence behind her until it was already slashing at her back.

"Ngah!"

Nida flopped to the ground from the Sandslash's attack, and weakly started to pick herself up. As the Nidoran staggered to her feet and looked up, she went wide eyed at the sight of a charging Cranidos. One that was far too close to avoid.

**SMACK!**

The Nidoran pinwheeled along the ground, coming to an unconscious, thudding stop after striking a wall headfirst. The courtyard quickly simmered down, the only sounds being panting from Team Traveller's attackers and the chatter of an unimpressed Clawitzer.

"I've always hated dealing with theatrical types," Nagant grunted. "Come on, let's hurry up and get them to the ship. We can't assume safe harbor until these lot are in trusted claws."

The shrimp gave a whistling chitter and motioned behind her, prompting a Pidgeotto and a Bewear to come forward. At once the four Pokémon were hastily scooped up and divided amongst the gathered crew. Berecien dimmed his mane to a dull, cool red as Cabot slung Nida over his back. Niilo scooped up the Cubone along with her club, passing it off to his Cranidos counterpart, as the Pidgeotto scooped up Elty in his talons, giving a sour glare at his passenger. Last but not least, the Bewear picked up Pleo, carrying him along in his strong arms as the party marched on for the sea… unaware that from a street on an overlooking slope, a Samurott was watching their progress, looking ahead to follow the strangers' course to the harbor.

"They're headed for the docks," the Water-Type grunted. "We'll cut them off there and teleport out with the bird."

"… Are we _sure_ , Captain?" Graveler asked. "We don't exactly have the advantage of numbers here."

"I didn't _ask_ you for your opinion," Lyn growled. "Now get _movi-_ "

Before the Samurott could finish, he was cut off by the sight of a torrent of mud sailing through the air. The otter sprang back, leaving the Graveler to look up just in time to be struck in the face by the incoming attack.

"Agh!"

The Rock-Type staggered and slumped over limply, throwing his teammates into a panic as they looked around wildly for the attacker, only to hear a sharp call from the lanes below.

"There they are!"

Lyn whirled and watched as a Camerupt in an indigo scarf charged ahead, leading a group of fellow underlings for the steps up to their street. The otter spat out a Water Pulse, prompting his subordinates to attack likewise, drawing yelps from ahead as a cloud of dust and sand was kicked up. Satisfied, the mustelid slid his blades from their sheaths, ready to pounce, only for a torrent of beams and projectiles to come flying out of the cloud and forcing Lyn and his co-intruders to hit the ground to duck the hail of attacks.

"AAAAAH!"

The Company team's discipline frayed after the Heatmor was struck by jet of water sending him pinwheeling back. As the anteater tottered back up, the lackeys' morale sank under the hail of fire, the Xatu teleporter turning to Lyn wide-eyed and in increasing panic.

"Captain, we need to retreat!" Psychic-Type squawked

Lyn seethed and spat out another torrent into the body of guards, felling a Rhyhorn with a pained bellow. Much to his dismay, the defeated guard was quickly replaced with more compatriots. Even if he and his underlings were able to overcome them, just what sorry state would they be in by time they finally caught up with the Clawitzer? The Samurott grimaced and glowered at his derailed revenge against the Imp interloper, grudgingly coming to the realization that there was simply no positive endgame to be had by standing his ground here.

"Rrgh... fine!" the otter fumed. "Get us out of here!"

The Company underlings abandoned their positions guarding the alleyway into their vantage point, hastily coming together to interlock their limbs around their felled Graveler teammate. With the way now clear, the Camerupt and the fellow guards stormed ahead, the camel instantly noticing the Xatu deep in focus.

"Ack! They're trying to telepor-"

Before the Fire-Type could finish, the lane was filled with a bright light that stunned the gathered guards. As their eyes adjusted back to normal lighting, they saw the place where the Samurott and his underlings were was empty, the lot of them having vanished into the aether.

"Split up and _find_ them!" the Camerupt spat. "They couldn't have gotten _that_ far!"

* * *

Offshore and due south of Copperband Town, the Nektar Weide lurked in the distance, the crew keeping a keen eye out for any approaching hostiles who might interrupt their captain's infiltration. Others gathered around to watch a slapdash teleportation platform on the ship's deck thrown together from crates and spare sail at the request of the Xatu in charge of teleportation. Suddenly, a bright flash of light shone in the middle of the platform, a high-pitched whine coupled with some surprised yelps from the unexpecting crew. As the started crew members regained their composure and everyone else's eyes adjusted from the bright light, they turned to see Lyn and his underlings in a sloppy pile on the deck, having tumbled unceremoniously onto the canvas padding of the platform. Seething with barely-contained rage, Lyn pulled himself to his feet and stomped down to the deck, positively radiating an aura of unbridled fury.

"Rrgh..."

Ellsberg flitted over to his superior cautiously, eyeing the visible, seething rage reflected in the Samurott's eyes. Obviously Lyn's excursion had not gone to plan, but... perhaps there was some sort of silver lining to be reported?

"So... how did it g-"

**THUNK!**

The Mothim flinched and staggered backwards reflexively, cracking open one eye to see Lyn leaning on a seamitar he'd driven through the boards of the ship's deck... and glaring icy daggers right at him. He gulped as Lyn took a deep, rage-shaken breath in a futile attempt to put a leash on his anger long enough to deliver a coherent sentence.

"How does it _look_ like it went, Ellsberg?!" the Samurott fumed.

The Samurott watched as crewmembers gathered around cautiously watching the gathered returnees to see what was going on... and precious little else. Irked at the lack of action, Lyn gave a stomp against the deck, followed by a loud, berating bellow.

"Don't just _stand_ there!" Lyn yelled. "Call the medics!"

The crew flinched and Ellsberg's former Gligar first mate quickly raised the alarm, prompting a small team of a Wigglytuff leading a pair of Chansey to hurry over to the platform. As the medics busied themselves with treating the wounded, Ketu sidled up against his Samurott superior, shrugging and shaking his head.

"I _told_ you she was determined," he chided. "Still, that's gotta be embarrassing getting turfed out after all this time by some shrim-"

The Weavile heard a _swish_ , prompting him to tilt his gaze down and still his words. There, at the base of his throat, was the pointed tip of one of Lyn's seamitars, its owner maintaining a tight grip on the hilt and glaring daggers into the Dark-Type.

"Shut _up_ , Ketu," he growled. "I don't want to hear it!"

Ketu looked up as his expression curled into a dissatisfied frown, but even so, the Dark-Type refused to budge. Beyond moving a claw to straighten a disturbed head feather, the Weavile had given no acknowledgement of his circumstances beyond an hardened, unblinking stare.

"Fine," the Weavile harrumphed. "What do we do next then?"

Lyn lowered his seamitar and buried his head in his free paw, grumbling and growling audibly all the while. The Samurott raised his head, sighing as his mind still struggled to make sense in the huge changes to his mission that had unfolded.

"I... I just need some time to collect my thoughts," he muttered. "To figure out where that Clawitzer-"

Lyn trailed off as he noticed movement in the seas ahead from what appeared to be a vessel. The Samurott squinted, and after failing to make out the craft's sail markings from the distance, fished out his scope and raised it to his eye. There, visible now through the spyglass, was an Imperial frigate carried swiftly across the water by unfurled sails and a team of hurried-looking escorts. Clambering up a rope from the side of the ship was none other than the Clawitzer whose salty claws had pinched away his prize.

"Hrmph. Well that certainly makes things easier..."

Lyn whirled around, brandishing a seamitar and slamming the flat of its blade against the deck in one swift motion. He held it aloft, the keratinous blade cleaving sunlight from shadow along its edge, thus drawing the attention of even the most easily-distracted of his crew.

"Follow that frigate!" the Samurott barked. "Wherever it's going, I want it in my sight until it's either docked or at the bottom of the sea!"

The crew hurriedly took their places, lowering the sails and hoisting the anchor for the escorts to lurch the ship forward thanks to their efforts. The Nektar Weide began to pick up speed, tearing through the waves after the frigate in the distance. All the while, Lyn glowered after his target, his left paw still tightly clutching his seamitar as he stared after his prize's thief. He'd come this far to finally clearing his mission and ascending to the Board, and it'd be a snowy day in midsummer if he let some drowned sea bug steal it all from under his nose!

* * *

As Lyn and his ship stalked the Vasilek over the open waves, the humble Siglo Swellow quietly pulled into Copperband's port. The sloop pulled up to the dock, and the ship's Hitmontop first mate oversaw the escorts and some dutiful deckhands as they set about the process of lowering the anchor and tying down the moorings. Satisfied that everything was proceeding properly, he turned to Natrix and Philips as they spirited a wooden board over to the side.

"Lower the gangplank!"

At the Hitmontop First Mate's command, the worn, wooden gangplank was lowered to the waiting dock as Pokémon clambered down, working with sea escorts to moor the ship along the pier. After the ship was fastened, Pokémon from the crew began to disembark with emptied crates and rubbish, among them Crom, his father, and their companions.

"Gah… how can Pokémon work in this weather?" Crom whined. "It's baking hot right now!"

"Heh, much like they do at home," Pladur chuckled. "Work in the shade, and take a nice long siesta during the midday."

"Well, there's no shade anywhere on these docks," Ander sighed. "So let's hurry up and get rid of these crates."

"Agreed," Dimitri added. "Some of us need to worry about staying hydrated here!"

One by one, the group picked up damaged and worn-out crates to be disposed of, Crom following dutifully after his father and team captain onto the crowded docks. Along the way, snippets of conversations filtered around, about journeys and faraway sweethearts, pay and customs, but it was the words of the chittering voice of a Crabrawler in particular that most caught the young dragon's attention.

"What was with that scuffle that happened earlier?" the Crabrawler asked.

"Some pirate scouts got caught while that Navy captain was in town," a Muk answered. "She took off with the ones that got caught not too long ago."

"Eh? Sure seemed like an awfully big fuss over a few scouts..." the crab answered.

"Nah, the Empire doing too much is a nice change from them normally doing too little," the Poison-Type scoffed. "Besides, those bandit thugs had something coming if they thought they could just waltz around town like it's Orleigh!"

Crom and his team exchanged hesitant glances at the mention of "pirate scouts". Every town had a few bad eggs, but the presence of scouts wasn't a harbinger of something worse coming along, was it? Security didn't seem _that_ weak when they came in… but even so, just how well would this dusty town fend off a large assault?

"Pirate scouts?" Crom murmured. "Navy captain?"

The Druddigon and his companions paused and glanced around the harbor before their eyes settled off in the distance. There beyond the harbor's entrance was a three-masted frigate with indigo sails sailing off for the horizon… Was that the naval ship?

"Must've been whoever's on that ship right now," Kiran replied. "But I suppose you can't really argue with keeping some pirates in line."

Dimitri shifted uneasily a bit at the explanation, before peering out at the horizon. Even for an island relatively close to Orleigh, the timing for catching pirates here in town seemed suspiciously convenient, and the ship's shape looked vaguely familiar... had he and the _rod_ swum past it before during one of their migrations?

"I dunno, something about all of this doesn't add up for some reason..." the crab muttered. Dimitri returned to his work with his teammates, setting his crates down on a cleared space at the edge of the docks. Crom, Pladur, Kiran, and Ander quickly followed suit, the Fraxure among them dusting his claws off and looking satisfied at their work.

"Alright, that should be it for now," Pladur said. "Let's head into town so we can find some leads about the Protector… and maybe a cold drink."

The five made their way inland under the sweltering heat, passing through narrow, winding alleyways between adobe huts. Life in the town seemed quiet, if with a lingering sense of unsettledness. Crom noticed th a Camerupt in guard attire who seemed particularly cantankerous, looking here and there for someone or something; and further along, a Bibarel selling casks of water chattered uneasily about a disturbance at a local inn with a Bayleef customer. As they carried on, the group quickly learned to walk under awnings and tarps that had been hung up to provide shade, though were harder pressed to find relief from the dust and hot sand underfoot which began to cake on their toes.

"There sure is a lot of sand around here…" Crom complained.

"Well, those are deserts alright," Dimitri explained. "Sand, dryness, and very hot temperatures during the day."

Dimitri trailed off, feeling the strangest sensation of deja vu. After thinking back to the fateful journey across Spirit Trench that started this whole chase, he suddenly remembered _why_ his words felt so familiar.

"It's funny…" the Kabutops murmured. "It's actually what I explained to your other teammates as well."

"Eh? You did? Did they also ask about what do the Pokémon here _do?_ " Crom asked. "How are any plants supposed to grow like this?"

"Well, a lot of the Pokémon here, both in town and in the wilderness are adapted to living life without a lot of food and water," the Kabutops explained. "To make ends meet, they dig out copper and other metals-"

**WHUMP!**

The five of them stumbled, jolting upright as a small, nearby tremor shook the earth under their feet. The group steadied themselves as best they could and searched frantically around for the cause of the shaking.

" _Answer me!_ " a booming voice roared. "Why were those kids taken away?!"

Kiran ruffled his feathers and turned to see a Sandygast with a much-thinned sand layer towing a slouching Maractus with a bandaged stomach in a simple pull cart. The pair peered up unnervedly and when following their gazes it was hard to fault them. Directly in front and looming over the two was a glaring Tyranitar, with fangs bared and a visibly impatient demeanor.

" _R-Rauhoitu_ , Aulis !" the Maractus stammered. "They were reported as Pokémon of interest to the crown!"

"Yeah, they might not have looked the part, but the piracy charges had to have come for a reason!" the Sandygast insisted.

"What _reason?!_ " the Armor Pokémon snapped. "Just how much trouble can a Nidoran, a Growlithe, a Cubone, and a _fat Wingull_ cause?"

The group's jaws dropped at the Tyranitar's words. A Nidoran? A Growlithe? A 'Wingull'? They didn't know anything about a Cubone, but that description could only be...

"Gark!" Kiran squawked. "That's the kids!"

"Wait," Pladur murmured. "You guys never mentioned anything about a Cub-"

"Excuse me!"

Kiran and the others watched as Crom made a beeline for the three strangers, waving his arms frantically to gain their attention. The Tyranitar paused mid-sentence with a surprised grunt before glancing backward to see the energetic young dragon.

"Eh? Who are-?"

Crom's teammates hastily hurried after the young dragon, hoping that he hadn't run headfirst into a local mess. The two battered guards also turned their attention to their newfound interlopers. Sensing an opportunity to give their cantankerous interrogator the slip, the Maractus spoke up while his supporting Sandygast partner quietly inched away.

"Whelp, looks like you're busy now," the Grass-Type said, hastily clearing his throat.

"Yeah, we got more stuff to take care off anyway," the Sandygast added. "See ya!"

The Sandygast hastily slunk away with his Maractus counterpart, leaving the towering Rock-Type to glare after them. The Armor Pokémon gave an annoyed bat of his tail, before whirling around and training his attention onto the white-scarved sailors, much to their gulping unease.

"What do you want?" the Tyranitar growled.

Crom hopped back and folded his wings against his body, shrinking back from the cantankerous giant of a Rock-Type. The Dragon-Type struggled with his words, trying to work up the courage to ask the stranger the question he needed answered.

"Well... uhm…" Crom stammered. "I heard you talking about a Nidoran, a Growlithe and a Wingull and I was just wondering how you knew them…"

"They fell down a ledge at the mining pits yesterday," the Tyranitar explained. "They said they'd come from the dungeon and they certainly had the scuffs to prove it, so I took them here to town to try and rest. Next thing I know, they're gone under charges of 'piracy'."

"Did you see who took them?" Dimitri prodded.

With a curt grunt, Aulis shook his head, wearing a grimace that clearly displayed his contention towards the situation.

"I wasn't there when they were taken," Aulis sighed. "Trust me, if I was, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now."

"I see…" Crom murmured.

" _But_ , those guards did tell me a Clawitzer Navy Captain took them with her while I was still helping to open the mine."

Crom and the others froze at the mention of the Clawitzer. It could very well be a different one, but the strange Clawitzer they encountered on Boisocéan and Kenobi _did_ seem unusually interested in Pleo... The group - save for Dimitri - stood silent and shocked, Aulis carrying on without noticing their change in demeanor.

"I would have pressed for more details and found out _why_ she took them," the Rock-Type answered. "But you guys..."

The Armor Pokémon trailed off, noticing that his audience had grown wide-eyed and pallid at his words. The Tyranitar blinked, wondering if he had said something amiss.

"Eh? What's gotten into you? You look like you've seen a dead 'mon walking!"

"That ship," Ander demanded. "Where's it going?"

"I was told it was going to Giotto- Huh?!"

Without waiting to hear the rest of Aulis' explanation, Crom turned and bolted in the direction of the docks as fast as his limbs would carry him. The Tyranitar blinked before spluttering in annoyance.

"Hey!" Aulis growled. "I was in the middle of explaining something here!"

Much to the stone lizard's irritation, the Druddigon completely ignored his scolding. On top of that, the Fraxure of the group stared blankly and did a double-take towards the retreating Druddigon, alarm flashing across his face

"Crom!" Pladur cried. "Wait! Don't run off like that!"

The Dragon-Type took off running after his son, leaving behind their three companions and a befuddled and increasingly annoyed Tyranitar. Aulis' remaining audience turned to the Rock-Type to offer a sheepish explanation for their teammates' hurried exit.

"Eh... don't mind him," Ander said. "It's just that that Nidoran, Growlithe and 'Wingull' you mentioned are his teammates."

"Who _are_ you all?" Aulis demanded.

"Some friends of those children," Kiran explained. "We've been looking for them for a while now."

"We should probably get going as well now," Dimitri murmured. "If the kids are in trouble, then time is of the essence to help them."

Kiran, Ander and Dimitri each gave a small wave before turning to rush after Pladur, leaving Aulis to stare off puzzledly and give a hesitant wave to their backs as they darted off. The three wove their way through the streets of Copperband in the direction of the docks, just in time to catch Pladur in a full sprint after his son as the Druddigon darted up the gangplank back onto the deck of the Siglo Swellow.

"Hah… Hah..." Pladur panted. "Don't run off like-!"

"Captain Beatrix! Captain Beatrix!" Crom cried. "We need to leave right now!"

The Illumise looked up from a small stack of paperwork on stationery with leaf designs, twitching her antennae out of surprise.

"Eh?" the captain asked. "What are you going on about?"

"Pleo's on that ship over there on the horizon!" the Druddigon exclaimed.

"Huh?!"

At once, an outcry broke out among the gathered sailors at the mention of Pleo being on the ship in the distance. Just then, Beatrix saw Kiran, Ander, and Dimitri ran up, and immediately turned to them for an explanation.

"Kiran, Pladur," Beatrix demanded. "What is he going on about?"

"A local tipped us off that an Imperial nabbed Pleo and sailed off just before we got here," Kiran explained.

"It's the frigate off in the distance," Dimitri said, gesturing to the distant ship with a scythe. "If we hurry, we can keep it in sighting distance!"

Captain Beatrix looked off at the ship in the distance. She thought long and hard about what pursuing after the Imperial ship would entail… and what she risked by letting it sail off. After a long pause, the firefly shook her head, before turning to her Hitmontop first mate.

"… Vicente, give the order to pull the moorings up."

The Hitmontop straightened up with a start, giving an incredulous stare at the Illumise captain. Beatrix wanted them to leave _already_ without bothering to restock?

"Eh?! Captain?!" Vicente exclaimed. "We just arrived-!"

" _Ya lo sé!_ " the Illumise insisted. "Just do it!"

The Fighting-Type raised the cry to lift the anchor and set sail, throwing the Siglo Swellow into a flurry of activity. The deckhands on the dock hastily clambered back onto the sloop, the moorings were undone, and the stone anchor brought back on deck. With a whip of the air and water by the escorts, the ship lurched away from the dock, tearing away at an increasingly quick clip away from the adobe town for the deep blue of the open sea.

"Follow that frigate!" Beatrix buzzed. "Don't let it out of your sight! Our Protector is aboard it!"

And so the Siglo Swellow carried on, slicing through the waves after the indigo-sailed ship in the distance. Their task of retrieving had undoubtedly grown far more complicated, but this was the closest they had ever gotten to finally bringing their Protector and Team Traveller's missing members back home. A wave of determined vigor washed over the tired crew, one shared thought settling over the gathered faces in spite of their anxiety and fatigue...

They were not going to let those kids go without a fight.

* * *

At that moment, further south a two-masted ship with white sails bearing blue waterspout patterns bobbed along the waves. The crew was kept busy both on deck and off it, the deckhands manipulating the Mistral Marauder's purloined sails to best catch the tailwind whipped up by the aerial escorts as Hess kept a firm claw on the tiller to steer the ship along in the current the sea escorts had stirred up. All the while, the Steel-Type perched himself on the bow and kept focusing intently off in the distance, waiting for the impending arrival of Sormus over the horizon. His eagerness was lost on a good deal of his crew however, including a puzzled-looking Wimpod who scuttled up near his feet.

"Remind me why we're flying these sails we stole from those hicks again?" the Bug-Type asked.

"The mission the Council gave us could take a bit longer than one of our normal smash and grabs," Rodion explained. "We'd be better off flying colors that won't get us attacked whenever we pass some random island before finding the bird."

The Floatzel's explanation drew sour frowns from the nearby crewmembers. After everything they'd gone through in the past couple of weeks, now they couldn't even fly their own colors?

"Egh… we'd better get a big reward for giving up our pride like this," a Litten grumbled.

"Hey! Enough bellyaching!" the Aggron captain shouted. "Sormus is just coming over the horizon!"

Hess pointed to the horizon, where sure enough the sun-bleached sandy dunes of Sormus poked into view. The response among the crew was mixed, some breathing sighs of relief to have finally arrived at their destination while others grumbled bitterly amongst themselves, questioning the worth of this detour in the first place.

"So _what_ are we doing once we hit land again?" Kichiro demanded.

"Uh… well…" Hess began. The Steel-Type fumbled with words for a moment, before starting to think through the matter. The first thing to be done would be to find out where the Protector was, and that couldn't be too much different from prepping ahead for raid, right?

"We're going to need to send out some scouts, and- Huh?"

Hess trailed off as he caught movement on the horizon out of the corner of his eye. Grumbling, he reached for the scope nestled in a holster on his hip to get a better view of the unidentified vessel. Through the spyglass he was able to make out the craft's white sails printed with a waterspout pattern akin to that of the Mistral Marauder. There on the deck were some aggravatingly familiar faces, including the Illumise and Hitmontop manning the tiller, and the duo of Raichu and Servine slacking off under the crow's nest. To top it off, much to the detriment of his blood pressure, he spotted a group consisting of a young Druddigon, a Fraxure, a Swellow, and a Marked Scyther looking out along the railing.

"Grr…"

Rodion grimaced as he watched Hess' expression sour in response to whatever he'd seen through the scope. After a moment's pause, the Floatzel cleared his throat and set out to figure out the problem... _carefully._

"Something the matter, Captain?" the Water-Type asked.

"Yeah, there's been change of plans," Hess growled. "That 'Sickly Swellow' we ambushed east of Kenobi's here, and it's sailing off."

"… So? We already robbed them once already!" an Octillery protested.

"Yeah, why are we supposed to pass up the Protector for them again?" a Pawniard demanded. "Sounds like some mixed-up priorities."

"Because if that bird _was_ on Sormus, those dweebs wouldn't be sailing _away_ from the island!" the Aggron exclaimed. "So they must have found a lead to where he is right now!"

The Steel-Type's words drew skeptical mutters and traded glances among the gathered crew. Few seemed pleased about the captain's abrupt change of mind, least of all a visibly irritated Ledian flitting his wings near the rigging.

"Oh, so _now_ you don't want to go to Sormus?" Kichiro scoffed.

"Yeah, what's in it for us?" a Staravia protested.

Hess stomped the deck and scowled at the gathered Pokémon, hoping a show of force would bring them in line. The ship rocked a bit, only for the crew's skepticism to remain unmoved, prompting the Aggron to roll his eyes and attempt an appeal to their baser instincts.

"There's a case of rum under in the steerage," the Steel-Type sighed. "I'll break it out if we change course."

At once the crew's demeanor became visibly more energized. From the top of the masts to the surrounding seas, the mention of rum made the brigands' eyes light up with newfound enthusiasm.

"Works for me!" a Seadra from the water exclaimed.

"Yeah!" the Litten added. "Let's change course!"

Hess threw a palm over his face with an exasperated sigh. It was certainly _one_ way of motivating the crew, but even so… did it have to work _this_ often?

"… Really?"

"Well, on a positive note, it shouldn't be that hard to snatch a replacement case in the next port," Rodion offered.

"Yeah, yeah…" Hess muttered. "But let's get this show on the road already."

The Aggron waited a moment, only for the gathered Pokémon to remain in place watching him. Hess scowled and shook his head with a grumble before turning to the Mistral Marauder's crew, giving an impatient slap of his tail against the deck's timbers.

"Oi! Hurry up! Take us hard to port!" the Iron Armor Pokémon bellowed. "I want that sloop in my scope until we hit the next port!"

The ship lurched as the air escorts whipped up a tailwind, prompting Rodion to take the tiller and turn hard to port and after the Siglo Swellow. All the while, the Aggron made his way to the bow and watched intently after the sloop, trying to tease out why they'd come to Sormus only to leave again. Had they both already been beaten to the punch? Well, no matter, it wasn't as if he couldn't just nab the Protector from whoever had him...

Hopefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _fregatti_ \- Finnish: "frigate"  
>  \- _Hyvää iltaa_ \- Finnish: "Good evening"  
>  \- _dōmo (_ _どうも_ _)_ \- Japanese: Multipurpose Japanese interjection, meaning informal "thanks" in this context (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _Gracías_ \- Spanish: "Thank you"  
>  \- _Nie ruszaj się!_ \- Polish: "Hold it!" / "Don't move!" / "Stop right there!"  
>  \- _Nie ma mowy!_ \- Polish: "No way!"  
>  \- _Rauhoitu_ \- Finnish: "Calm down!" / "Settle down!"  
>  \- _Ya lo sé!_ \- Spanish: "I know that!"


	58. Fish Out of Water

The hours after Team Traveller's defeat at Sormus went by in a darkened, unconscious blur, bereft of even the light of dreams. When Pleo finally stirred, he awoke to a dim glow shining through his heavy eyelids, the sight of rafters above evidencing that he'd been brought into some manner of dark room. He stirred against a hard surface, gritting his beak as a renewed pain wracked his whole body out to the tip of his wings.

"Ow…"

The Lugia sat up with a start, still bleary-eyed from his slumber, as he realized that his aches had come about because of that battle that they'd lost earlier. So... just _where_ had he and his friends wound up this time?

"Huh?!"

Pleo's vision began to clear, and he noticed in the dim light that he had found himself sprawled out on a wooden floor that rocked and creaked slightly… much like the one back on Lyn's ship. The Lugia looked ahead uneasily, and to his alarm, noticed a wall of metal bars ahead of him. Pleo tried to stand at once, only to find that his legs and wings had each been bound together with rope. Worse still, his wingtips abruptly ended at a sudden edge consistent with them having been cut while asleep. The Protector craned his head around the room frantically, a quick glance revealing his friends, still unconscious, and bound up in a similar fashion.

"A-Ah!" the Lugia squawked. "Nida, Elty, Guardia! Wake up!"

The young seabird thrashed against his bindings, craning his neck out and nudging at his Nidoran teammate. The nudging and ruckus drew stirs from the other two Pokémon, who tiredly shifted their bodies.

"Nrgh… _no tan fuerte_ ," Nida muttered.

"Gah…" Guardia groaned. "Where's my bone?"

"Couldn't this wait for just a min-" Elty began, only to be cut off by a gruff snort from ahead.

"Oh, so _now_ you get up."

The three's eyes shot open at the sound of a horse's snorts, as one by one they began to notice Pleo's findings. Given their surroundings, they were below deck on a ship, in a brig given the amount of expense that had been sunk into fortifying the metal bars. The group looked ahead towards the source of the voice, where they saw a Ponyta, a Cranidos, and a Sandslash peering at them from the other side of the cell wall.

"For a while, I thought you were going to be out all the way until Tidemill!" the Fire-Type exclaimed.

"What's Tidemill and why are you taking us there?" Nida demanded.

An incredulous look splashed over the Ponyta and his cohorts' faces, the three staring blankly at the young Poison-Type. The Sandslash of the group shook his head before giving a dismissive scoff at Nida's question.

"You're joking, right?" Niilo huffed, crossing his arms. "Even Pokémon that live under rocks know what _Tidemill City_ is!"

"Well, _I've_ been living under a rock until recently and I don't have the foggiest clue," Guardia snapped. "So start talking."

The three Imperials shifted back with stunned looks, staring at their captives as if they'd suddenly grown second heads. Cabot shook his head in surprise, the Cranidos finally spluttering out a coherent if still disbelieving response.

"It's the Imperial Capital!" Cabot cried. "You and your friend are being brought there because he's the 'mon that can finally reunite the Empire."

The Cranidos' words distracted Pleo from an attempt at nudging an itchy patch of feathers with his beak, prompting him to crane his head up from his preening and blink confusedly.

"Reunite?" Pleo murmured. "You mean like helping them make up after a fight?"

The seabird's question drew frowning glances from their three captors. Clearly this lot had been living under a bigger rock than they'd all thought.

"He's going to need a bit more debriefing than I expected," Berecien sighed.

"Oi, I don't know what you're trying to pull, Ponyta," Elty growled. "But the only reuniting that's happening once I get out of here is my teeth with your butt."

Berecien briefly flicked his ears in flustered confusion, only for it to sink in that the dog had threatened him. Eager to snuff the lippy mutt's enthusiasm, the Ponyta snorted, glaring back through the bars.

"Keep talking like that, and I'll reunite my hooves with your _face_ right here and now-!"

"Enough!"

The source of the noise was none other than the scowling form of their Clawitzer captain. She came hopping down the hall towards them, glaring furiously at her subordinates. After a moment of startled surprise at the crustacean's abrupt appearance, the three Imperial underlings hastily composed themselves to more properly greet their captain.

"Ah! Captain!" Niilo exclaimed. "What are you doing down here?"

"Oh, just listening to you all get into childish arguments with the _plenniki_ ," Nagant retorted. "So are you going to keep at it, or get out of my way as I check up on things?"

The three Pokémon gulped and backed away, leaving Nagant to hop over to the bars as Pleo looked up, the Protector at once exuding desperation and deep frustration as he fought with his bindings.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Pleo demanded. "If you need help with this 'reuniting' thing, you didn't have to cut my wingtips and tie us up like this!"

"It's not as simple as you think, Protector. There will be plenty of time to explain the matter when you're in safe harbors," the shrimp harrumphed. "Until then, just sit tight, and don't struggle too much against the ropes. They scrape."

"Whatever you think you're gonna have us do, you can forget it!" Guardia spat. "We're _not_ working with you, and there's no way you can make us!"

Nagant appeared completely unmoved by the Cubone's protests, her only immediate response being an idle twitching of her barbels and a glowering scowl.

"… Good luck with that," the Clawitzer scoffed. "Get some rest whenever you decide to come to your senses, it'll still be a while before we're in port."

Nagant rapped against the cell's bars with her big claw, prompting Berecien and the others to draw up to it and resume their guarding. The elderly shrimp hopped off, Guardia struggling against her bindings shouting after her all the while.

"Oi, you can't just ignore us!" the Cubone shouted. "We've gotten through worse spots in the past, and you won't get the better of us now! We're getting _out_ of here!"

* * *

"Well, you're finally off the ship. Was this what you were expecting?"

Nagant's words reverberated under a sky whose colors were beginning their transition from the day's blue to a sunburnt orange, the sun drifting visibly further to the west all the while. The Vasilek had pulled into a dock facility amidst a group of slender islands crammed with buildings of all shapes and sizes, the stone docks littered with crates and Pokémon in indigo scarves. It was a night and day difference compared to the open sea, but for Guardia, the most important thing had failed to change as she and her teammates were dragged down a wooden gangplank.

"We're still tied up here!" the Cubone protested.

"I'll take that as a 'no'," Nagant harrumphed. " _Good._ "

Nagant glanced over to a crate with its top popped off a short ways away and gestured towards it to some indigo-scarved Pokemon who stood idly by on the wayside.

"Get the Protector in there and over to the palace," the crustacean barked. "The last thing that any of us need is for a public scene while transporting."

A Bewear nodded back and lumbered over, scooping Pleo up in his strong arms and bringing him to the crate. The Lugia squawked and flailed against the bear's grasp as he was shoved into the container, desperately trying to break free.

"No, stop!" Pleo cried. "Let me go! Let me-!"

Pleo heard a crack and felt an object strike his head. A mist enveloped him, making him cough as the substance brushed against his throat and nostrils.

"Ngah…"

The Lugia weakly flapped a wing in front of him, trying to clear the air of the sedating haze, but it was already too late. The bird tottered in a last-ditch effort to remain standing, only to feel his eyes droop and slump against the box, sleeping soundly as soon as his head hit the floor.

"Pleo!" Nida cried.

"Come on, get up!" Elty pleaded. His Cubone teammate trained her ire towards the _yajū_ in indigo scarves, struggling against her bonds and glaring with all her might.

"Let him go!"

The Bewear hastily slid a cover over the crate, and put it on a cart, and called out to the waiting Aurorus ahead. The Ice-Type carried along, tugging the cart off away from the docks as Team Traveller's members protested and pled with their captors to stop.

"Stop!" Nida cried. "You don't know what you're doing-!"

Nagant glared at the Nidoran as a small group of Pokémon in indigo scarves started approaching the uncooperative youngsters. As the underlings approached, the Clawitzer held up a claw and motioned for a stop.

"… I'll handle them myself," she muttered, drawing nervous gulps from her trio of captives.

"H-Handle us?" Elty stammered.

The shrimp began to hop over, her large claw leveled square at the remaining members of Team Traveller. Fearing the worst, a wave of panic sank into the three Pokémon, prompting them to frantically bite and thrash at their bindings. Nida and Guardia's blood ran cold as they heard Elty yelp, the dog being lifted by his bindings by the Clawitzer.

_Snip_

The ropes in between Nagant's claws gave way, sending the Growlithe flopping down, panting and wide-eyed amid a mass of severed cords. The Water-Type made her way over and repeated the same process with Nida and Guardia, leaving the three to uneasily rise to their feet and huddle together. The youngsters rubbed at their sore and chafed limbs, the lot puzzledly eyeing their captor, wondering to themselves what she hoped to accomplish by untying them.

"You're free to leave," the Clawitzer said. "The Empire doesn't have anything against a bunch of lost _deti_ like you."

"Eh?!" Guardia exclaimed. "You can't just dump us out in the middle of nowhere like this!"

"You're right," the shrimp replied. "Blythe!"

Nagant's call was answered by a Pidgeotto flying over, unceremoniously dumping a tattered bag and a Cubone's club onto the cobbles in front of Team Traveller. The Flying-Type glared a bit at Elty, before flying off with a harrumph, leaving the three behind with his superior as she clicked her claws impatiently.

"Now hurry up and get out of here before I have you arrested for trespassing," Nagant growled. "This is a naval facility, not a beach."

"B-But you took _Pleo_ from us!" Nida shouted. "How can you just turn around and tell us to get lost like this!"

The shrimp stared back in an unmoved silence, and after a little while Nagant clicked her claws and carefully began to speak up.

"You're from Tromba, aren't you, Nidoran?" the Water-Type asked. "You of all people should know what a scourge the Company has been. That Protector's help is the key to finally putting an end to them and their perfidy."

"That's what you call kicking us to the pier like this?!" Elty snapped.

"… You'll understand why this had to happen someday," Nagant grunted. "In the interim, take advantage of the slack you've been given and _go home._ "

"Aren't you going to at least offer to let us _see_ Pleo first?" Nida insisted. "We're his friends and he's all alone here."

Nagant started to respond, only to pause after hearing movement. The shrimp shifted her gaze over, and spotting Berecien, Cabot, and Niilo watching. The three underlings traded stares with their superior for a moment, the uneasy pause spurring Nagant to turn her attention back to her audience.

"I'm sure that you two will meet again someday," the Clawitzer answered. "Perhaps sooner than you think."

The Water-Type pivoted on her tail, turning to Cabot and his companions. Nagant's gaze quickly settled on the Ponyta of the group, followed by a sharp chittering order.

"Berecien!"

The Ponyta paused and looked up at the sound of his captain's voice. The Fire-Type looked up, giving a puzzled flick of his ears at the Clawitzer.

"Hrm?" the Fire-Type asked.

"I want you to-"

Nagant trailed off as she noticed Elty hunched down against the ground growling at Berecien, his eyes locked into a fierce glare. The Ponyta's demeanor similarly had taken a belligerent turn, as the fiery horse pawed at the ground and snorted challengingly back at his tubby interloper.

"… Follow after the cart with Niilo and Cabot," she hastily finished. "I'll have someone else show these whelps out."

"Hrmph," Berecien answered. "On it."

The Ponyta and his Cranidos and Sandslash companions turned to follow after the Aurorus' cart, their presence being swiftly replaced by a irritated-looking Lickitung and Parasect who sidled up to flank Team Traveller's remaining members.

"If you have some time before looking for a transport home, I'd encourage you to enjoy the sights here in the city," Nagant offered. "Most visitors don't have nearly as much freedom as you to look around."

"Alright, tourists," the Lickitung barked. "Time to get going."

The two guards brusquely shoved Team Traveller along, marching them past crates and shabby warehouses to a stone gate facing a collection of ramshackle shacks and multileveled buildings. As the three crossed the boundary, they were shoved past the gate with a yelp and tumbled onto the ground. The youngsters uneasily propped themselves up, turning back to see the passage to the naval docks blocked off by the glaring Parasect and Lickitung.

"And _don't_ get any ideas about trying to break back in!" the Parasect hissed.

The pair slammed the gates shut, leaving Team Traveller to stare ahead blankly at the strong doors ahead as the enormity of their current situation sank in. They were now strangers in an island they barely knew anything about… their friend currently being brought to gods-knew-where right now.

"… What do we do now?" Guardia murmured.

Nida stared blankly ahead at the closed gate, failing to find words or even ideas that seemed adequate to start tackling their current mess. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't think of any way that the three of them could get Pleo back. On one side was a whole Empire with ships and forts and legions of Pokémon... On theirs, a Nidoran, a Growlithe, and a Cubone, with precious little else beyond their tattered and half-emptied bag to work with...

" _Ni… Ni idea._ "

* * *

As Team Traveller despaired outside the naval docks, at the other end of the city, the form of a brigantine with white sails with blue sun designs pulled up against the docks. At its railing was its Samurott captain, clenching a seamitar in his paw as he scowled out at the sea of shacks and buildings piled onto canal-lined strips of land further inland. Had he only had his Argent Aviso, his chase would've ended hours ago just offshore of Sormus. Unfortunately, along with his lower rank, the hull of Ellsberg's Nektar Weide had been built for lower speeds, which quickly frustrated any attempts at keeping pace with the Imperial frigate. His crew had picked up on his unsettled demeanor, and murmured among themselves as the mustelid turned back to face them with an exasperated grunt.

"Listen up everyone. This is it, the bird is here," Lyn barked. "But this isn't some romp through some hick island like last time. We're in Tidemill City, the biggest city on this side of Anyilla and the Pyroar's den of the Empire. As such, we're going to need eyes on the ground before we can even _think_ of making a move here."

The otter looked around for a suitable Pokémon to entrust with the task. His instinct was to handle the matter himself, but there was no telling whether or not the Clawitzer had been informed by a late-arriving escort of the disturbances he'd caused in Copperband. So then, it made sense to pick out someone who could be trusted to be reasonably competent and maneuver easily through the canals and tight streets of Tidemill's sprawl. Someone like...

"Ellsberg, you have a mind for administrivia, and cities have no shortage of that," the Samurott said, gesturing with a seamitar. "I want you out there to scout what's waiting for us."

"Wh-What?!" Ellsberg exclaimed. "Why on earth would you need _me_ for that?!"

"Because we're in the Empire's _capital_ , Ellsberg," the Water-Type snapped. "This mission is important and I need someone I know I can trust, and your rank makes you better for it than a random grunt."

"But-!"

"Chop chop Elmer," a Weavile's voice sneered. "Time for you to get to work."

Lyn watched and narrowed his eyes as Ketu slid off a barrel and grinned smugly at the startled Mothim. Now was _not_ the time for this sort of petty bickering. Perhaps it was time Ketu was _reminded_ of that.

"And _you_ are accompanying him," the Samurott added.

The Weavile paused and blinked at his captain's words, taken aback by the sudden demand.

"I what...?"

"You've clearly been running out of meaningful tasks lately, so I think that this is just what you need to put your skills to use," Lyn insisted. "Besides, Ellsberg will need backup if he gets into a tight pinch."

Ketu frowned back sourly at the Samurott. Scouting with _Ellsberg_ of all Pokémon was right up there with cleaning the ship's heads on things he'd rather take a beating over than do. Even so, he couldn't afford to blow his cover over something like this... so for now at least, it made most sense to play along.

"Ugh, fine," the Weavile groaned. "Come on Elmer, we're going!"

Ketu shook his head and clambered down the gangplank, his assigned Mothim partner fluttering after him. The two reached the end of the docks where they sized up their surroundings, seeing that the city district they'd entered had been built on strips of land separated by canals. The buildings were a crowded collection of wooden shacks and stone buildings with clay tiles, most having three or four floors with some towering above with twice as many.

Much as things were in Canalhouse, the ground level was the life of the district, with Pokémon swimming through the canals and passing crowded ground-level shopfronts hawking trinkets and snacks to Pokémon of innumerable shapes and sizes. Along the way, a few of the more characteristic places of the settlement stood out. There was a building with a Greninja head over the entrance with barred courtyard windows crowded with gawking sailors. A cursory glance revealing the place to be a dojo built around a sea-filled courtyard with a wooden battlefield built on it, the sounds of a Horsea and Venonat sparring with each other ringing out from within.

A little further on, the pair passed a building with a Beartic being fawned over by a large crowd of admirers, the large signboards behind the Freezing Pokémon revealing him to be the main star of a overwrought play depicting action and romance on the high seas. The pair's course eventually took them past a blocky stone building emblazoned with the Merchantry's red-and-gold logo, with a suspiciously large amount of Kecleon milling about. Ellsberg's patience started to wear thin, grumbling to himself about why he hadn't insisted to Administrator Elilan that he'd work alone…

"Ugh," the Mothim complained. "Of all the 'mons to be stuck with as a partner, it just had to be you."

Ketu turned back to face the Bug-Type, giving an unamused glare all the while. After everything the little interloper has put him through, _he_ was complaining about being stuck together?

"Trust me, I hate this _way_ more than you do," Ketu growled. "Let's just hurry up and get to the district wall."

"What?"

"Tch... are you this out of it, Buzzy?" the Weavile scoffed. "Any reasonably sized settlement has a visitor's district to keep out the riff-raff, like Andaku in-"

"I _know_ that!" Ellsberg fumed. "But why are _we_ going there?"

The pair carried on down a lane which led to a dead end cut off by a solid stone wall. The blocks were weathered, with posters and scrawls splashed over their lower portions. Noticing the top seemed unguarded, Ketu quickly scanned his surroundings before bracing his feet against the ground.

"To hop it, obviously."

The Weavile jumped up and planted his feet against the wall, springing to and fro between the wall and the side of a nearby building until he reached the wall's ledge. Ellsberg buzzed startledly, flying up just as the Dark-Type had reached the top.

"What are you _doing?!_ " the Mothim cried. "Get down before someone sees you!"

Ketu rolled his eyes at the Mothim's protests and vaulted himself over, much to Ellsberg's alarm. The Bug-Type waved frantically and called after the Weavile, who gave an exasperated growl from the other side.

"So we can stay stuck in the one district we know doesn't have a frigate at the docks?" the weasel countered.

The Mothim paused, flitting in place a moment as he stared back blankly. This all felt like such a risky idea, though when Ketu put it that way, it was hard to really argue his point. The Weavile evidently had picked up on his conclusions, giving an impatient shake of his head.

"So are you just going to sit there and flap around, or are you coming?" the Dark-Type asked.

"Alright, alright!" Ellsberg replied. "Just be careful..."

Ketu waited, watching as his partner fluttered over the wall and joined him in the alleyway. The pair gave a quick glance around their surroundings, before weighing it safe to press on, continuing their progress deeper into Tidemill's sprawl in search for leads for the frigate and the Protector within.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the Pokémon on the Nektar Weide, in the harbor directly adjacent, the Siglo Swellow had similarly moored against the docks. The crew was hard at work finishing the last steps of tying the ship down and folding up the sails when Crom and his companions made their way down the gangplank. All the while, the young Druddigon stared in awe at the sea of buildings all around him, peering out onto the kaleidoscope of shops, homes, and monuments and the Pokémon who shuffled to and from them.

"It's so… big," he murmured.

"Heh heh, well that's Tidemill City for you," Pladur chuckled. "I've heard that there's actually bigger cities out there in the Cradle, but this is about as big as you'll get around here."

"You mean to say _now_ it's the biggest," Ander corrected. "It certainly wasn't in my grandfather's day."

"It wasn't?" Crom asked. "But then what was it? And what happened to it?"

Pladur clicked his tongue, mulling over the best way to present his answer to his son. Faltering somewhat, he threw an uncertain glance to Kiran, who fluffed out his feathers uncomfortably and stepped forward to answer.

"It was Middleguard City out on Conntow," Kiran explained. "When the great Great Calamity happened, Middleguard was swept up with the rest of the island."

The Druddigon gawped out at the surrounding city, wondering what Middleguard must have been like to have been even larger... and what could have laid such a place low. He heard about the great island of Conntow and how it was destroyed when he was younger, but he had never given it much thought. No one seemed to be able to agree on what had caused the Great Calamity, simply that it had come in the blink of an eye and left naught behind on Conntow but ruins and dead stone. The dragon sank deep in thought only for a loud buzz from behind to snap him back to attention.

"Hoy! Still standing around?" Beatrix called out. "You didn't forget what you all were supposed to do already, did you?"

"Nope," Dimitri said, an air of confidence in his voice. "We're finding that frigate, and then trying to pick up Pleo's tracks from there."

"Yeah, we'll get moving now," Pladur sheepishly answered. "Come on, let's move!"

Crom and his companions paced down the dock, peering around at the sea of masts and sails around them. With so many ships around them… where would they even start looking for the frigate from Sormus?

"So… I take it we should start by looking around the docks?" Crom asked.

"I don't think so," Kiran countered with a shake of his head, gesturing with a wingtip to the harbor before them. "Take a look at their sails."

The five turned and looked around the ships in the harbor. All around the docks, there was not a single ship with the indigo sails of the frigate that they spotted on the route out from Sormus.

"Didn't we see the frigate leave port with dark bluish sails?" the Swellow asked. "I don't see anything like that here."

"Then we'll just have to check the docks in another part of Tidemill, then," Ander sighed.

"Uhm… there might be a problem with that," Pladur murmured, pulling a claw up to his mouth. Sensing his father's unease, Crom blinked and tilted his head at the Fraxure. What would be the problem just going to other parts of the city?

"Huh?" Crom asked. "Why?"

"Well, in bigger ports, all Pokémon have to pass through a visitor's district," the Fraxure explained. "We were able to get past it in Kenobi since we were flying Company colors… but we don't have anything like that here."

"But there _has_ to be some way that Pokémon can get further in," Kiran murmured. "If _everything_ with the outside world had to be done here, wouldn't this district be much bigger?"

The group paused and mulled at the Swellow's words. From the monuments and towers in the distance, the city itself definitely _did_ go on a ways… Perhaps it would be big enough that they could just sneak in? Though then again, sneaking in _would_ be a major risk… and would they really be prepared to handle themselves if anything went wrong? To top it off, starting off on the wrong foot with the locals was surely a hurdle they didn't need while they were still looking for Team Traveller... Maybe it was best to see what they already knew about the place first.

"Hrm… haven't you been here before, Pladur?" Ander insisted. "Is there anything of the sort we can do?"

"Well, when I was here last time, I was told that you needed a good reason and proof of it to get through," the Fraxure said. "I suppose it's just a matter of telling the guards something that sounds convincing enough for us to go in."

"Oh, _es facíl!_ " Kiran chirped, gesturing at a tall, stony wall in the distance with a waiting Venomoth idling before it. "I've already got just the reason to get us past here!"

Crom blinked incredulously at his mentor's insistence. It _did_ seem a little over-easy, but Kiran _was_ experienced at crawling Mystery Dungeons, so perhaps it wasn't unexpected this would be his first stint in port? The dragon and his companions shrugged before following their teammate along, coming to a stop at the barrier's gate where Kiran batted out a wing in a friendly wave.

"Excuse me, ma'am," the Swellow said. "We're visiting sailors who've run into a touch of ship trouble and needed to consult a specialist. Could you let us through to find one to come and look at our ship?"

The Flying-Type ruffled his feathers expectantly, only to be met by the Poison-Type with a frown and firm shake of her head.

"No, all ship repairs have to be done at the site of berthing, or at a designated drydock," the guard answered. "Nobody gets past this barrier without the proper clearance."

The five sailors stared blankly as the Venomoth continued fluttering in place, giving an unamused stare at the strangers. The group waited awkwardly, and after realizing that the moth wasn't going to let them through, turned and carried down the street grudgingly. When he was confident they were out of earshot, Kiran gave a bothered ruffle of his feathers. Getting a ship specialist ought to have been a surefire excuse! So what were they they to do?

"... This is going to be harder than I thought," the bird murmured, before feeling a tug at his wing by his Druddigon student.

"Let's... take some time to think this one through."

* * *

Out in the waters north of Giotto, the Mistral Marauder continued on course southwest, proudly flying its pilfered white sails. As the crew guided the ship along with the wind and waves, some idle deckhands leaned out to peer ahead at the sight of great plumes of white smoke and tall buildings stretching over the horizon. Even someone who'd never been to Tidemill personally would recognize it by those landmarks, so the more experienced sailors among them knew with certainty that the sloop they'd followed all this time would be docking soon. As the curious deckhands peered out at the city, Rodion swam his way to the side of the ship, clambering back onto the Mistral Marauder from a rope ladder. Upon reaching the ship's deck, the Sea Weasel shook himself dry, and began drifting to and from crewmembers to inspect their work.

"Remember, we get the bird _first_ , and _then_ we can worry about loot," Rodion barked. "This is a big city and we can't go picking fights right off the bat!"

A little off to the side, a small clique consisting of a Yanmega, a Manetric, and a Marowak loitered against the railing, watching the Floatzel first mate going around giving out orders. After being suitably confident that the Water-Type could neither see nor hear him, Valatos gave an annoyed scowl at the yapping mustelid and buzzed irkedly.

"Pah!" Valatos hissed. "Just how new does he think we all are?"

"Wait, wait," a Hoppip's voice insisted. "But what if the bird is _with_ the loot?"

Valatos and Nori blinked and looked ahead to see Wilhelm obliviously flitting in front of Rodion, the Sea Weasel Pokémon burying his head in his paws at the Grass-Type's inane questioning. The pair traded askew glances with one another, with crewmates like that...

"I dunno," Nori murmured. "That sounded pretty new to me, Valatos."

The Yanmega frowned and turned his head out back towards land. They were passing a defensive wall made of stone now, the tops manned by stern-looking Pokémon. By chance, he spotted a large cauldron with a pair of bellows installed by them, a Magmar lazing next to it and watching ships go by. It was most likely a batch of seafire, the tool of choice for cities such as Tidemill to burn up unwanted vessels that tried to slip past its watch. The dragonfly watched as the sprawl and canals of Tidemill came into view, the sea of shacks flecked with the city's namesake tide mills and windmills further in the distance.

"Mrph, _I_ think I can handle myself just fine," the Bug-Type snorted. "I've dealt with the bustle and flow of a big city."

"Egh… it's too crowded for my taste," Nori murmured. "Needs more quiet places. But at least we'd have a leg up, right? Isn't this Alvise's old colony?"

The Marowak turned towards his Manectric partner, only to see that the Manectric's fur was standing even more on end than usual, with his claws dug into the deck's wood, and his teeth locked into a grimace. Hardly the sort of reaction he had expected.

"Uh… Alvise? What's with that look?" the Ground-Type asked. "I'd have thought you'd-"

"We agreed we weren't going back anywhere _near_ here, you lunkhead!" Alvise snapped.

"Whuh? You've got family here!" Nori insisted. "It's not like you've got any enemies here, right?"

The Marowak was met with a withering glare from his teammates. Er... now that he thought about it, Alvise did go out of his way to mark up Giotto on the maps they got as a place to be avoided. And he did vaguely remember the wolf mentioning something about his circumstances for leaving being less-than-ideal in the past...

"… Oh right."

"Oi! If you're on the docking teams, get a move on and get us tied down!" a rumbling voice bellowed. "Everyone else can either show up to the stern or kiss their share of the next raid goodbye!"

Each member of the crew dutifully shuffled toward the waiting Aggron in a flood of motion, joined shortly thereafter by Valatos and his companions, who lingered toward the back of the amassed crowd.

"Eh? Already?" a Wimpod murmured.

"Yeah, why's he want a meeting now?" a Miltank scoffed. "What's there even to do?"

The ship was quieted abruptly as a hard stomp rattled the deck and everyone on it. At the epicenter of the quake stood Hess, leering at his silenced subordinates. After waiting a moment like a stern schoolteacher to be sure the silence would continue, he gave an indignant snort at the interruption and cleared his throat to address his crew once more.

"Alright, you know the drill," the Aggron barked. "We're at a new island, so that means we're picking a scout to tip us off."

"Eh?! But that's a huge city!" a Staravia exclaimed. "How would any of us go undetected in that?!"

"It's a risk we'll have to take, like with everything else. So… any volunteers?"

_Chirp chirp chirp_

Hess blinked and hardened his face into an increasingly sour scowl as his request was answered only by the sound of a Kricketot chirping. The Steel-Type glared over at the source of the noise, where 'Chirpy' was obliviously chittering away to himself.

"Psst, Chirpy, he's asking for _volunteers_ …" a Pawniard whispered.

The Bug-Type's antennae froze to motionlessness as he hastily silenced himself, leaving Hess to rest his scowling face in one palm, seething. Couldn't his crew _ever_ show a little initiative on their own?

" _Fine_ ," the Iron Fleet's captain growled. "If no one volunteers, I'll just have to _pick_ someone."

The Aggron began to pace around, eyeing his underlings closely (with the visible exception of Nori) as he passed them. Gulps and nervous glances filtered around as the Steel-Type would linger over one pirate before moving on to the next. Hess' course took him to Kichiro where he paused noticeably and glared down, the Ledian becoming increasingly unnerved at his superior's apparent choice.

"I pick…" the Iron Armor Pokémon began, only to be interrupted by a gulping buzz.

"Uh, Captain," the beetle began. "Maybe we could talk this ov-"

"The Marowak," Hess finished. " _He's_ the scout for this island."

Kichiro raised his voice in reflexive protest, only to trail off as he noticed Nori going wide-eyed by the railing. Was he hearing things right? Hess _didn't_ want him to be the scout?

"Wait, really?" the Ledian asked. "Well, I can't really argue with-"

" _Na- Nani itterunda?!_ You walked _away_ from me!" Nori cried. "Why on earth would you pick _me_ as the scout?!"

The Aggron turned to face the indignant Marowak and after noticing that he seemed a bit riled up, the Steel-Type stammered. He hastily tried to come up with an excuse that would sound suitably convincing, lest his crew pick up on his obvious unease.

"Because… uh…" Hess began, fumbling for his words. "You're strong headed, and… imposing. Yeah, let's go with that. Anyhow, enjoy your scouting!"

"But I'm not a flier and I can't run that fast!" the Marowak protested. "How could I do anything for scouting that Valatos couldn't? He's the fastest flier on your crew!"

"Hey, _kop dicht_ , bonehead! And I wouldn't be that great of a scout since _I'm_ not that familiar with this place!" the Yanmega hissed. "At least _Alvise_ knows his way around here!"

Sparks began to dance on the Manectric's pelt and his muzzle opened to show bared, gritted fangs. Valatos _knew_ he had problems here in Giotto and how much he tried to avoid coming back, and here he was forcing him into harm's way to save his own hide?!

"You miserable _bao!_ " Alvise snapped. "So now you're going to throw _me_ under the ship to dodge scouting!? Nori got picked, so let him go!"

The conversation between the three quickly devolved into a heated whirlwind of arguments and conflicting accusations, the group adopting increasingly aggressive stances. From the side, Hess threw a claw over his face, letting out an aggravated sigh at how much of a headache he could've saved if only he'd just stuck Kichiro back on deck-swabbing duty back in Kenobi.

"… I should've waited until we were back in Orleigh to look for more deck claws," the Steel-Type grumbled.

Hess lifted his foot and brought it down onto the deck, jolting the ship and making it lurch underfoot. Nori and Alvise struggled to keep their balance as Valatos flitted up instinctively, the three's attention turning reluctantly towards the Aggron captain as the deck settled.

"I'll make things easier and settle your little spat," Hess growled. "You're _all_ on scouting duty! Now get _moving!_ "

The three Pokémon grimaced at the Steel-Type's announcement, Alvise in particular flying into a stuttering panic as the wolf began to whine in protest.

"B-B-But I _can't_ go ashore!" the Manectric protested. "Not here!"

"And why not?" Hess growled. Alvise gulped as he watched the towering Aggron glaring down at him, desperately fishing around in his mind for a suitable excuse, until he finally settled on...

"I… er… uh… have a stomachache!" the Electric-Type insisted. "Kinda took it hard from all the Jellicent stings back in port, and- AUGH!"

The Manectric's words were cut off by a hail of sopping rocks, throwing the three clear over the railing and sending them tumbling through the air.. The trio hit the dock with a thud, groaning and shuffling their aching bodies back up, just in time to catch Hess leaning over the railing and shaking his fist in their direction.

"And _don't_ come back until you have a lead!" the Aggron snapped.

The three moaned dazedly form their heap on the docks, pulling themselves up one after the other. Nori got up, dusting his scales off as he glowered up at the passing ship over his shoulder.

"Gah…" the Marowak groaned. "We didn't even get a chance to change our scarves…"

"I think he likes you, Nori," Valatos grumbled.

"Yeah, great going dragging _me_ back here thanks to your mess!" Alvise growled. The Manectric's protests were met by a harrumph from his Marowak partner, the bone lizard slinging his club over his shoulder before giving an impatient glare.

"Well, are we going to just sit here and wait for the guards to cart us off, or are you actually going to help us get around, Alvise?" the Marowak demanded.

"… Ugh, fine," the Manectric sighed, turning his face towards a dingy alleyway up ahead. "Come on, this way. I know a few places we can lie low before we look around."

The wolf shuffled off, followed by his teammates as they lurked in the shadows of the canal-straddling alleys. All the while Alvise grumbled under his breath, eager to find enough of a lead to return back to the relative safety of the ship.

* * *

After their abrupt departure from the naval docks, Nida and the remaining members of Team Traveller wandered the streets in the western neighborhoods of Tidemill. All the while, the three grudgingly came to the conclusion that there was not much that they could do other than to try to scrape together a little money and find a way back to Bluewhorl and hope that Hatteras and the others would be able to help find a solution. During the trek, the surroundings were akin to an alien planet, with towering monumental halls and pillars looming over buildings that would've reached halfway up the bluff to the guild back on Tromba. The streets were as crowded as Bluewhorl's on its the biggest market days, and stretched on as far as the eyes could see, with even the rooftops teeming with activity from Flying-Types who had settled on rented-out eaves with nests built on them. Even the local Kecleon shop was a world away from Calino's shack, the "shop" (if it could be called that) turning out to be a multi-storied stone building draped in red and gold banners that proudly advertised itself as "one of five locations".

Even so, there were also features that this overcrowded space shared with more humble towns. There were still mailboxes in front of buildings, there were still taverns that hawked drinks along with cheap and filling gummis with the same sorts of motley customers. A little further on, the three also discovered that there were also guilds in this place, as a stone building with bands of Pokémon with glinting badges on their scarves indicated. Elty paused at the sight of the guild, observing the crowded message board set out in front and the Steelix head decoration over the main entrance… only to see that his teammates were continuing on away from it.

"Spike ball, that was a _guild_ …" Elty said. "Didn't you say that we needed a job to get back to Tromba?"

The Growlithe waited expectantly for an answer, only to be met with a shake from the Nidoran's head.

"Would there be anything _left_ at this hour?" Nida countered. "With how much the missions for a Normal Rank team would pay, we'd be better off trying to help out a shopkeeper or something for a couple days."

"So then just how are we supposed to _find_ one of those shopkeepers?" Guardia asked.

"Keep your eyes peeled," the Poison-Type answered. "Shops usually put up a sign of some sort saying that they're looking for help."

"And just what would _that_ look like?" Guardia demanded.

Nida paused and blinked at her teammate's question. It… was a sign that would say 'Help Wanted' or something like that? Though then again, Guardia - like Pleo - never _did_ get the hang of reading runes yet… So how was she able to show what one would look like without an example?

"Uh… erm…"

The Nidoran looked around her surroundings where she chanced to notice a small, dingy shop next to an alleyway with some papers hung up on the outside. The Poison-Type squinted at the wall, where the headline of one of the papers caught her notice with big runes that spelled out 'Help Wanted', just as shops back home did when they needed a helping hand for the season.

"Oh, like that one!" Nida exclaimed. "That's exactly one of the signs that we're looking for!"

Elty looked at the store and frowned, sniffing skeptically in its direction. From a glance, it was hard to guess just what the shop sold. The sign outside the entrance carried a bell on it, with runes were faded to the point of illegibility, and there didn't seem much of anything for wares on the outside.

"… That little abandoned-looking _mordownia?_ " Elty scoffed. "Would they even have a job for us? That listing looks ancient!"

"Only one way to find out…" the Nidoran murmured.

Nida paced over and pulled the notice off the wall, the paper evidently searching for some Pokémon to help transport crates for a few days. Challenging for their size, but it shouldn't be _impossible_. The rabbit shook her head, leading her teammates into the store past its ajar door where she called out into it.

"Hello?" Nida asked. "We're here to talk about your help-?"

The Nidoran's words trailed off as she noticed that the floor of the store was completely barren. Indeed, were it not for the dusty notice boards hung on the walls and the idling Gothitelle sitting behind a crude counter at the end, one could be forgiven for thinking that Elty was right about the store being abandoned… but what did this place even _do?_

"Eh?! This poster said you were looking for someone to move crates!" the Poison-Type squeaked. "Just how are you supposed to do that _here?!_ "

The Gothitelle looked up with an incredulous blink. After a pause as the degree to which the youngsters before her were fish out of water sank in, the Psychic-Type sighed and shook her head in annoyance.

"You _did_ read the shop sign before coming in, right?" the Gothitelle asked. "This is the Tidemill West Trouble Center. That job listing is for a client of ours."

"Trouble… Center?" Guardia asked.

"Tch, you all really are just fresh off the boat," the Psychic-Type scoffed. "But it's a place where Pokémon can leave all their requests that are outside of the scope of the local guilds. Laundry, construction work, and that crate moving job you've got in your paws."

Nida's eyes lit up at once at the clerk's explanation. This was just the breakthrough that they all needed to solve their money issues!

"That's perfect!" Nida exclaimed. "These are exactly the jobs we need!"

"Whoa there, buster," the Gothitelle insisted. "This isn't a guild where we matchmake you to a job. It's up to our clients to decide whether or not you fit the bill."

"Even so, there's a _lot_ of jobs here…" Guardia said, eyeing the crowded bulletin boards all around the room. "Just how hard could finding one be?"

* * *

A few hours later, the sun had slipped over the horizon entirely and the moon had begun climbing into the sky, leaving the streets below to bathe in the light of the stars and the glow of lanterns hung up in the windows of nearby buildings. The door of the Trouble Center opened, as Team Traveller trudged back in tiredly. All this time, they'd gone from shop to shop in the city and had nothing but sore legs and feet to show for it.

"Just how hard could finding one be, huh?" Elty grumbled.

"Grr… don't get started on this, _Gardie_ ," Guardia glowered.

"There has to be _something_ here we can do…" Nida murmured.

"Well, what about this this circle-stick one over there?" the Cubone offered. "What's it say?"

The Nidoran looked up and followed the end of Guardia's club to a poster with a magnifying glass. The Poison-Type glanced over the listing, poring over its summary only to stop and blink puzzledly.

"… Detective's assistant?" Nida asked.

The rabbit's words drew an unimpressed frown from her Growlithe teammate. If they couldn't land something simple like pushing jobs around, what hope did they have of getting something less straightforward like this?

"Really?" the Growlithe sighed. " _That's_ the job we're pinning our hopes on?"

"Well, what's a detective do?" Guardia pressed.

"Uh… I'm _pretty_ sure that they just look around for things to help the guards with ne'er-do-wells," Nida answered. "Or at least that's what the guards at home said they did."

"That doesn't sound like anything that we can't do," the Cubone insisted. "Where's it say to meet the Pokémon who put this up?"

Elty and Nida looked down towards the bottom of the paper on the board. At once, a curious line of glyphs noting the client's location caught their attention, drawing puzzled blinks from the duo.

"… Backroom?"

"That would be over here."

The three looked up and turned to the side, where a door had been left ajar leading to a room at the back of the Trouble Center. There inside was a waiting Pikachu with a low-slung hat fashioned of brown fabric, giving an expectant gaze at Team Traveller in between nibbles at an Oran Berry. The youngsters blinked at the sight of the waiting rodent... Was _this_ the client?

"Wait, you work out of the Trouble Center?" Guardia asked.

"I am today. The name's Detective Cardino," the Pikachu insisted. "Normally, I'd insist on getting a colleague from the City Guard or at least someone a bit… older. But I'm kinda in a rush for my current case. Why don't you step into my office, and we'll talk things over a bit?"

Nida, Elty and Guardia exchanged glances, still somewhat incredulous at their client's choice of meeting place. It was hard to complain given how conveniently it worked out for the trio, but an uneasy air lingered nonetheless as they nervously padded into the room and the Pikachu slid the door shut behind them. Something about this felt a little _too_ convenient, but even so, perhaps it would make sense to figure out why the rodent needed help from some random strangers.

"So… what's this assistant thing need us to do?" Nida asked.

"Well, sharp senses, obviously," the Electric-Type murmured. "A good paw at simple forensics… You know, basic stuff."

"Forensics?" Guardia murmured.

"You know, finding traces of Pokémon that have been in the area?" Cardino replied. "Tracking?"

Each of the young explorers' eyes lit up at the Pikachu's explanation. Tracking down missing Pokemon? Why, that was practically what they'd been doing in the Mystery Dungeons all this time! Although their success had been mixed before, it would surely be easier without the shifting walls of a Mystery Dungeon conspiring against their progress!

"That's _easy!_ " the three exclaimed.

The Pikachu stammered, taken aback by the enthusiasm of the young Pokémon before him. Either they were much more experienced than they looked, or they had gravely misunderstood the job he asked of them.

"Now- Now hold on here, pal!" Cardino rebutted. "I don't know where you're getting your past experience from, but it's not _that_ straightforward in my line of work!"

"Eh?" Elty asked, raising an ear. "But it sounds like your luck's been just as bad as ours lately."

"Yeah, and you could always apprentice us in the the lore that you know," Guardia added.

"And don't you only need _temporary_ assistants in the first place?" Nida insisted. "It can't hurt, can it?"

The Pikachu paused and frowned, unsatisfied with the meager reassurance the younger Pokémon offered. Despite his skepticism, though, he found himself short on time and hard-pressed for any immediate replacement... and, if their claims were to be believed, they could handle themselves in environments of a rougher sort.

"… Well, alright then," the rodent murmured. "But you should probably get to meet the defendants before you agree to this."

"Oh?" Guardia asked. "I suppose it couldn't hurt. Lead the way."

"Well, it's a little late for that, pal," Cardino chuckled, tilting his hat with his paw. "That said, I can at least show you where you'll be meeting with the defendants before you hit the hay. Come along, and we'll meet you there tomorrow."

He hopped down and shoved the door open, bidding the young ones to follow him out. Together, they walked toward the rapidly-darkening city as the sun set behind them.

* * *

Unlike smaller settlements such as Bluewhorl Town and Seahive Square, the visitor's district and the other portions of Tidemill were less affected by the rhythms of the night. The day's visitors were replaced by night owls coming out for the evening, continuing on the day's trade and intermixing the beginnings of a vibrant nightlife anchored around taverns and theaters. Although just around the corner, the alley that Valatos and his companions lurked in was a far cry from the hubbub of the main streets: dark, dimly-lit, and seemingly devoid of life. The Marowak in particular seemed to be particularly moody at their circumstances, casting longing glances at the taverns they passed. At the same time, the solitude had done little to take the edge off of his Manectric teammate, who continued nervously darting his eyes around at his surroundings.

"Can we hurry up and get _out_ of here, already?" Alvise whined.

The wolf's complaining drew scowls from his teammates, Valatos giving an irked buzz at his partner's incessant complaining.

"Well, help us find a lead already, you simpering mutt!"

"Yeah!" Nori spat. "We've been wandering these back alleys for hours now!"

"Let's see _you_ come up with something that doesn't get us all caught!" Alvise growled.

"Hrmph!" the Marowak harrumphed. "Maybe I wi- Huh?"

The three stopped and stared as they watched a group consisting of a Fraxure, a Kabutops, a Swellow, and a Scyther approach a checkpoint at the district wall down the street where a Quagsire and Ivysaur in indigo scarves waited. The group carried a crate along and stopped before the pair of guards to chat them up, only to be turned around with annoyed scowls. The sailors faltered, before turning and sulkily making their way back up the street, the form of a young Druddigon slipping out from behind them. Valatos, Nori, and Alvise stood stunned for a moment at the party as they passed, any doubts of their identity being thoroughly dashed once they caught sight of their white scarves decked with waterspout patterns.

"Them again?" Alvise whispered. "What are _they_ doing here?!"

The dragonfly stared blankly at the Manectric, before throwing a tarsal over his face, buzzing in exasperation. After all this time, how could the mutt _not_ know what the brat and his friends would be doing here?

"Alvise, we _followed their ship_ …"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that out of everyone from their crew we would specifically encounter them!" the wolf countered.

Nori gritted his teeth, his claws pressing into the surface of his club as he gripped his club with crushing force. All the while, his eyes maintained a laser-focused glare on the Druddigon and his companions as they passed by.

"Grr… well, I think it's time we _properly_ welcomed them here," he growled.

The bone lizard stomped ahead and shoved aside a small pile of discarded barrels with a loud crash, drawing slack-jawed stares from his teammates. He was going to attack them right in the middle of a city street?!

"What are you _doing_ , you lunkhead?!" Valatos hissed.

"Giving those punks a lesson from the school of hard knocks!" the Marowak spat.

"No, you stupid dweeb," Alvise snapped. "You'll get us _caught!_ "

" _I'm_ the dweeb?!" Nori fumed "You're the one who's afraid of his own shadow out here!".

The outburst did little to soothe the unsettled wolf, who snarled back, sparks beginning to dance on his pelt.

"Why don't you tell that to my _face_ , you stupid lizard!" the Electric-Type growled.

Nori growled back, gritting his teeth and swinging his club out ready for battle.

"Maybe I will!"

"Both of you, shut up!" Valatos shouted. "You're going to get us-"

"Hey you!"

Valatos and his companions felt their blood run cold and looked back out to the street to see a glaring Araquanid and a Herdier in Imperial indigos glaring at them and making their way over. The three turned to flee down the alleyway, only for a woosh to fill the air as a Decidueye swooped down from an eave, and drew a feathery arrow and readied it to fire, bringing the lot to a skidding stop.

"A-Agh!"

The three whirled around, searching desperately for an escape, only to see that their left and right were both blocked by the walls of looming apartments. The three became light-headed and froze out of fear as the guards approached, the Decidueye keeping his arrow drawn all the while as he paced up to Nori…

… and shoved him back with a beat of his wing.

"This is a public street, not a battlefield!" the owl hissed. "Keep your little spats someplace where they _won't_ trash someone's livelihoods!"

"H-Huh?" Valatos gulped.

"Are you _deaf?_ " the Decidueye demanded. "I'm telling you to knock it off here!"

Valatos stared for a moment, incredulous that the owl was choosing to chew him out over getting aggressive over all things. Eager not to let fortune slip through his tarsi, the Yanmega flicked his wings and gave an impatient buzz back.

"Alright, alright, I get it! Nothing we can't settle in private!" Valatos insisted. "Can we go now?"

"… Hrmph, fine," the Grass-Type grumbled. "But I'll be _watching_ you."

The Decidueye moved out of the trio's way, prompting them to rush ahead and out onto a busy street. The pirates looked back, watching stunned as the guards followed after them before nonchalantly turning and slipping off into the crowd. They… just let them go? But what would compel them to do that? Unless...

"They- They didn't notice our scarves!" Nori exclaimed. "They must not know about our crew here!"

The Marowak gave a relieved wag of his tail, his enthusiasm failing to rub off on his teammates. Valatos slipped his front tarsi over his head as he realized just why the guards wouldn't recognize their pattern... the Iron Fleet were a bunch of no names here!

"That's _not_ making this any less humiliating, Nori…"

"Look, can we just get back into the shadows already?" Alvise barked. "This really isn't the place to-"

"Oi, we're seen as nobodies here!" the Yanmega snapped. "And as long as that's the case, we'd best _exploit_ it!"

"Yeah, and that thing going on with your family had to have settled down by now, right?" Nori insisted.

The Marowak's words came as cold comfort to Alvise, the Manectric scanning his surroundings uneasily, and thickening the air with tense, nervous sparks.

"Look, let's just figure out what those twerps are doing and get _out_ of here, okay?" the Electric-Type demanded. "Standing around like this is just asking for trouble."

"Uh… now that you mention it…" Nori murmured. "Where'd they go anyways?"

Nori and Alvise looked around their surroundings, scanning the passing Pokémon for any sign of the party from the Siglo Swellow. By chance, Nori happened to catch a glimpse of a Druddigon's crest and darted forward with his club drawn, only to skid to a stop after seeing the Druddigon was far too large and the scarf had the wrong pattern and color relative to the twerp.

Valatos, growing frustrated with the lack of progress, flitted up onto an overlooking signpost and perched atop it. From his perch, he managed to catch a glimpse of a Kabutops in the crowd, his gaze taking him to the sailors from earlier as they began pacing back towards the sea. Satisfied with his findings, the dragonfly flitted down, and buzzed for attention beside his companions.

"They're headed back for the docks,' the Bug-Type said. "Let's tail 'em and keep an eye on what they're up to. They couldn't have come here unless it somehow related to that overgrown Wingull."

Nori and Alvise looked at each other, before grunting and pushing off. The three carefully following after the tracks of their old foes amid the crowd. Vengeance was a dish that was best served cold, and there'd be plenty of time to work that out after figuring out whatever they were up to on Giotto.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _no tan fuerte_ \- Spanish: "keep it down", lit. "don't be loud"  
>  \- _plenniki (плeнники)_ \- Russian: "prisoners" (BGN/PCGN Romanization)  
>  \- _Ni idea_ \- Spanish: "(I have) No idea"  
>  \- _es facíl!_ \- Spanish: "it's/that's easy!"  
>  \- _Nani itterunda?! (_ _何言ってるんだ_ _?!)_ \- Japanese: "What are you saying?! / What are you talking about?!" (Hepburn romanization)  
>  \- _bao_ \- Venetian: "bug"  
>  \- _mordownia_ \- Polish: "dive", "dump". lit: "murder-hole"


	59. Signing Up

Nagant's travels from the docks took longer than normal on the night of her return. As opposed to the direct course through the canals she would normally take from the docks to her quarters in the Royal Citadel, the evening was consumed by a meandering course helping to guide the crate and the Protector within along back alleys and emptier streets to elude attention. Eventually, the Aurorus, the cart, and their defending entourage made their way to a tall stone gate, where guards dutifully watched the entrances on land and those cut into the network of canals that spilled over the wall. The Clawitzer hopped into one of the canals, waiting to be waved through by a watching Lumineon and Kingler. She swam under the wall and waited for her more terrestrial counterparts to come through their gate before continuing on into the Citadel.

The Citadel, much like the one that graced Conntow in days of old, was effectively a town built unto itself. Queen Aleria's palace was its anchor, a grand affair with its parapets and balconies for her to take to the air, and its surroundings were crowded by the quarters of nobles along with vanities such as gardens and libraries. Radiating outwards from the palace and nobles' abodes at the center were quarters belonging to servants and guards, as well as those of Pokémon such as Nagant from the nobility whose prestige had waned with the ages. The Aurorus and the rest of the crate's escorts carried on to a service entrance, where the crate was unloaded onto a push cart, and hoisted up a pull elevator that took it up to the third floor of the palace, where a small party of guards headed by a Chesnaught bade them to follow down a candlelit hallway towards a set of large doors at the end.

Nagant made her way forward with her entourage, keenly eyeing the decor on the walls. It had been lined with portraits and statues of royals from ages past. There was Aquila the Great, the Staraptor founder of Anyilla's ruling dynasty. There was King Oriel the Unifier, who had stitched the Empire back together after the royal family split into feuding wings whose squabbles brought ruin to its ports. There was King Gavin the Wise, who had chartered the Company to guard the Empire's metals and act as a means to lift the best and brightest commonfolk to the ranks of the nobility… not that he'd think much of his creation now.

The shrimp made her way up to the door, where right beside it was a portrait of Queen Aleria's father, King Alexander and of her aunt, Queen Erna. King Alexander and Aleria were the sole members of the reigning family to escape the Great Calamity. The shrimp paused in front of the portrait, her thoughts turning towards the royals depicted within.

Whether by a stroke of fortune or the cruelty of fate, Aleria's egg had an accident at Alexander's manor on Giotto that had cracked her eggshell early and kept it from heading to Conntow with the rest of the then-Prince's family for his sister's jubilee that year. By missing the anniversary of Erna's reign, Aleria had been spared from the maelstrom, a fate which Nagant's own family failed to share. In life, King Alexander had done everything possible to try and rebuild the world he knew for his child, but like many things in Anyilla since that awful day, the most that could be managed was a mere shadow of the times gone by.

_Creeeak_

The Clawitzer pushed the door open to find that the throne room before them was mostly barren, barring a small body of guards by the throne, a sleepy-looking Archeops on the ground, and an Altaria resting on an overlooking eave. The Archeops yawned, and flapped up to paw at the wing of the dozing Altaria. Upon the ancient bird's prodding, the cloudy bluebird perked up, and gave a trilling admonishment.

"Captain Nugget!" the Altaria chirped. "This is a throne room, not a loading dock!"

Nagant's frowned and twitched her barbels irkedly at the mention of 'Captain Nugget', clenching her claws tight to restrain herself as the Altaria queen fluttered down. The Humming Pokémon hopped over to her throne perch and waited for the Archeops to follow suit before turning back to Nagant, skeptically eyeing the ratty crate that had been brought in her chamber.

"If you have supplies to leave for the palace, there's a service entrance for that!" Aleria cried. "I don't need it brought straight to my throne room!"

"I can assure you, if this were mere supplies, I wouldn't have troubled you, your majesty," the Clawitzer insisted. "This is the Protector that I sent word about."

"… The Protector is that crate there?" the Altaria asked.

The cloud-bird's failure to recognize the obvious elicited wide-eyed stares from the audience, followed by a wave of paws and claws being thrown over faces.

"… Captain, would you kindly open the crate for her majesty to see?" the Archeops sighed.

"Gladly, Chancellor Osborn," Nagant chittered. "Bommel!"

The Clawitzer's cry prompted a Bewear to grunt and approach the crate, forcing his paws under the lid and tugging it up with a smooth motion to reveal its contents for Nagant to gesture at with her claw. Much to the Aleria and Osborn's astonishment, slumbering within the crate was a long-necked bird of a species that neither of the two had ever seen, bearing silvery-white feathers, a blue crest and back plates.

" _That's_ the Protector, your majesty," Nagant explained.

"Oh, how lovely! I never knew that a Protector could be such a cutie!" Aleria chirped. "They're always so big and imposing in myth."

The onlooking Pokémon murmured as they saw the creature in the box begin to stir, his silvery-white feathers rippling as his head bobbed up in a confused daze.

"Gwuh?"

The young Protector blinked, trying to clear the sleep from his eyes to make out his dimly-lit surroundings. Every bit of him ached, and he felt himself yearn for just a few more hours of sleep. Still bleary-eyed, he rolled his shoulders and spread his wings wide, giving them a few beats to get his blood flowing like he always did in the morning.

"Nida?" the Lugia murmured. "Are you still there?"

As his eyes finally adjusted to the lighting, Pleo suddenly jumped back with a start. Far from the sunset-filled sky he'd expected to see, he'd woken up in an airy, candlelit room. Nagant was still lurking near him, but the room was filled with strangers he didn't recognize, including an Altaria and an Archeops peering curiously at him from the front. The seabird whirled around in a panic, hopping out of the crate flapping his wings instinctively to find he was still grounded, the million questions swirling in his mind only managing to surface the two most pressing of all:

"H-Huh?! Where am I?! Where's everyone?!"

"You're in her highness' presence, young one," a staticy voice explained.

Pleo looked behind just as the creak of a door rang out, spotting a Magnezone in an indigo scarf and a Kecleon in a red-and-gold cravat entering the chamber. The pair seemed serious-faced, and somewhat disheveled, as if suddenly drug in from other work. Perhaps conscious of his appearance, the chameleon gave a bow in front of the Altaria, dusting his scales off as they flushed a deep, businesslike green.

"Ah, Admiral Coil, Treasurer Walpole," the Archeops greeted. "We've been waiting for you."

"Sorry for the wait, we were held up by a Snorlax dozing on the road," the Kecleon apologized.

"Eh? Where's Thalez?" Aleria asked. "He's also a candidate for prime minister alongside you two."

"Uhm, your highness…" Osborn sighed. "About this whole 'making a bard a prime minister candidate'-"

"B-But where are my friends?!" Pleo squawked. "What did you do with them?!"

"They're making their way back to their old lives," Nagant answered. "Just as they ought to."

The Lugia's beak started to quiver, his eyes watering as he thought about his missing companions. They… They were gone? But they needed him to come back! So did everyone on Tromba! He remembered hearing them before, their voices playing out even now as they begged and pleaded with the fates to let him return…

The young Protector felt a rush flow through him, the air near his tail and back beginning to brighten up and his wingtips flushing with a silvery glow as startled looks flashed over the surrounding Pokémon.

"But- But they-" the Lugia sniffled. "And I-"

"Will get to see them again!" a Cranidos' voice hastily insisted. "Isn't that right, Captain?"

The gathered Pokemon turned their attention to a Cranidos towards the rear of the chamber who flustered at the sudden attention and shrank back slightly as the glow from Pleo's feathers faded. After a moment's pause, he steeled himself and righted his posture, clearing his throat dismissively. Wide-eyed, his Sandslash partner jabbed him in the side with the flat of a claw.

"Cabot, what are you _doing?_ " Niilo whispered.

"I mean, you _did_ say that the Protector would get to see his friends one day," Cabot insisted, ignoring his Sandslash teammate. "Isn't that right, Captain?"

The Clawitzer scowled at the Cranidos, and flicked her gaze to Pleo. With a twitch of her whiskers, she mused that perhaps she should've brought someone from her crew who asked fewer questions.. That said, perhaps calming their captive's nerves with an answer wouldn't be such a bad idea...

"… I suppose that I did say that, yes," Nagant sighed. "If they followed my suggestions, they're probably enjoying themselves in the city right now."

"So… if the Protector got all of his learning and preparation out of the way," Cabot continued. "Wouldn't that be a good time for that to happen?"

" _Cabot_ ," Berecien hissed under his breath. "You're not supposed to be giving suggestions right in front of-"

"I think it sounds lovely!" Aleria cheered. "What about you, Protector?"

Pleo blinked and shifted uneasily at the Altaria's prodding. The fluffy bird genuinely seemed like she _wanted_ to make him feel welcome, but… he was all alone, and his friends were off in the middle of some island he knew nothing about…

"But I want to see them no- ow!"

The Lugia winced and reflexively folded his wings back, limping as he felt a pain shoot through his hip. The young bird craned his head down, nosing carefully at the sore joint with his beak as he felt a deep bruise under his feathers. Osborn, mindful of the little Protector's shabby state, shook his head, before appealing to the creature's evident fatigue.

"It _would_ do you well to get some rest tonight, at least," the Archeops said. "And perhaps you'd come to appreciate your new home here."

"B-But my home's in Bluewhorl…" Pleo murmured. The seabird's protest drew a shake of Walpole's head, the Kecleon sighing at the evident hurdles that would need to be resolved for this creature to truly become the Protector of the Empire. The lizard thought back upon his experiences within the Merchantry of dealing with more intractable clients in the past, before raising his claw to float a proposal.

"If _I_ may, but might I suggest something to help build the bond between Protector and protected?" Walpole offered. "Perhaps the thing needed to truly make Lugia feel at home here would be something to show him just how much he means to the denizens of the Empire."

"Oh, so like a tournament!" the Queen chirped.

"Er," the Kecleon began. "Actually I was going to propose a-"

"That's a wonderful idea! Osborn! See to it that the word is distributed at once and the stadium is booked for the next week!" the Altaria trilled. "We'll start the tournament tomorrow! Only the finest festival in honor of our new Protector!"

The Archeops Chancellor gave a flat frown back at the Altaria's prattling, only to ruffle his feathers and grudgingly nod his head back at his liege. It would be a long night's work to cobble together a tournament in _less than a day_ … Though given Aleria's penchant for pagentry, he supposed it was easier than any of the alternatives the Altaria could have thought of.

"As you wish, Your Majesty. Though be aware we will need to get... creative with where we get our entrants from," the Archeops sighed. "As for Treasurer Walpole and Admiral Coil, I believe that it is safe enough for you two to retire for the evening. It looks like this matter is done."

"That's fine," the Magnezone buzzed back. "I had some other matters to attend to anyways regarding the raid on Polderfield Town earlier today."

The admiral's nonchalant mention of a raid on Polderfield instantly made Cabot's eyes widen, and the Cranidos jumped back with a start.

"R-Raid on _Polderfield?!_ " he cried. "What happened?!"

"It's more accurately an _attempted_ raid," the Magnezone corrected. "I was given intel saying that they'd be coming around these parts in search of some rumored treasure, so I set a trap for them at the docks on the shoreline. Beyond some pier repairs and a few damaged tulip fields, there was nothing really there to note."

Cabot blinked slowly, the admiral's explanation seeming to calm him down, but even so a lingering unease clung in the air about him at the mention of his hometown going through such a scare.

"I… suppose that it worked out then," the little dinosaur murmured, as Walpole gave a shake of his head.

"I see that Coil here has his magnets full with his own matters. As for me, I need to get back to my bookkeeping at the Treasury," the Kecleon replied. "I've been running a bit behind thanks to my colleagues from the Merchantry have been coming to me more than I'd like to seek guidance."

The pair shuffled off back down the hallway, the grand doors creaking open as the two Pokémon slipped out into darkened hallways further beyond. As the Altaria queen spoke names aloud to herself for the title of her new tournament, her advisor noticed the young seabird in the room restlessly pecking around, prompting him to frown and turn back to face his liege.

"Before I retire for the night, shouldn't you choose out someone to mentor the Protector?" Osborn asked.

"Eh?" Aleria murmured. "What do you mean?"

" _Someone_ will have to instruct the Protector in the history and ways of the Empire," the Fossil Pokémon explained. "He can't protect it well if he doesn't know the first thing about it."

The Altaria paused, and moved a cloudy wingtip against her chin deep in thought at her advisor's prodding. She supposed it _would_ be a bit much for a fledgling Protector to be able to defend an entire Empire at the flick of a feather.

"I guess that's a point…" the Altaria admitted. "You wouldn't happen to know anyone of the sort, would you, Captain Nugget?"

Nagant frowned a moment at the butchery of her name, before scanning the room, with her left claw to her chin in thought. A tutor, a tutor... her gaze fell on Cabot, and it occurred to her that he might be a good choice, despite his inexperience. After all, he'd already proven capable of soothing the seabird's nerves easily enough. Perhaps the Protector would be better to start off with the guidance of an amateur.

"Cabot," the shrimp ordered. "You and your friends will carry out the queen's task."

The Cranidos sprang back out of surprise, the Rock-Type stammering to himself as he tried to process his captain's order. She wanted _him_ to tutor the Protector?!

"H-Huh?!"

"Heh heh!" Niilo cheered. "I could get used to living large for a while!"

"Don't get any ideas, this job doesn't _need_ mercenary riff-raff in order to be done," Nagant growled. "I'm only suggesting this because you all have the most familiarity with the Protector from my crew, and Cabot managed to calm him earlier. This is a _mission_ , and I expect you to act the part."

Niilo's enthusiasm hastily deflated at the realization that this 'tutoring' was going to involve more work than he expected. The Sandslash's teammates similarly seemed to have trouble getting excited about the task, after all, they had been training for conquering the high seas, not stacks of books!

"With all due respect, Captain," Berecien retorted. "But just how much are we supposed to be able to _teach_ him?"

"Yeah!" Cabot protested. "We're _sailors_ , not tutors!"

"Er…" Pleo murmured. "What do those funny squiggles over there say?"

The gathered Pokémon turned and looked as the Lugia gestured at a hung tapestry, there on it was a depiction of a sunrise at sea with 'for her majesty' embroidered at the bottom in gold thread… A moment of wordless befuddlement settled over the group, as it sunk in as to just _how much_ this young Protector had yet to learn.

"Well, 'reading' would be a good place to start," Nagant sighed.

Cabot, Berecien, and Niilo traded looks with one another before looking at Queen Aleria. The three noticed the Altaria eyeing them expectantly, evidently having made up her mind as to what she expected of them, prompting the trio reluctantly agree to go along with the plan.

"I… uh… suppose we could always start from the basics?" Cabot said.

"We'll do it," the Ponyta snorted. "But where do we even go from here?"

"Osborn will show you the way," Aleria said. "Just try and make yourselves comfortable, and let us know if you need anything."

The three shuffled off along with the Archeops Chancellor, making their way for the door as Nagant turned back to the rest of her underlings who accompanied her and shot them a stern look.

"The rest of you, head back to the ship and take that crate with you," she ordered. "I've got a few matters to tend here."

The room quickly cleared out of Pokémon, leaving behind Queen Aleria and Nagant with the royal guards. The Clawitzer captain twiched her barbels in anticipation, keenly eyeing the cloud-bird as she cleared her throat to speak.

"I suppose this is about the matter of your reward," Aleria murmured.

"It would certainly be appreciated, your majesty," Nagant replied.

"Well, no worries," the Altaria chirped. "I made sure to prepare only the finest compensation for such a task!"

The Clawitzer's eyes lit up and twitched her barbels expectantly as she watched the Altaria slip her beak under her fluffy feathers and fish out some paper articles. The Water-Type raised her claw to accept, only to realize the papers were adorned with a Rotom's silhouette with runes reading 'Thalez's Electric Opera' and 'Admit One' underneath. The shrimp's mood visibly soured, this wasn't anything to do with her noble title! Why, these were-!

"… Theater… tickets?" the Clawitzer seethed.

"Well, Osborn said that I couldn't just restore your title at the beat of a wing," the Altaria insisted. "Something about having to find an appropriate domain for you now that most of my family's realm now in the wings of ruffians. But it's better to give you _something_ to leave the room with for now, isn't it?"

Nagant paused and eased her scowl at the Altaria's response. The throne never _had_ fully regained its power even after the Empire wrested itself free of Company usurpers. With the vile libels that the Company had transmitted to the peasantry about what had happened with Queen Erna at the time of the Great Calamity, Queen Aleria's parents found it impossible to reassert the rule by decree their family enjoyed in prior times of crisis without stirring the embers of revolt. Perhaps the best route was to simply bide her time. After all, such patience had already delivered this Empire a Protector...

"… I suppose that I can't argue with that," the shrimp admitted. "Thank you, your highness."

"Well, just look at it this way," the bird offered. "Everything will be cleared up, and I'm sure after he gets the basics figured out, that Protector will surely help you get back your family's domain on Conntow!"

"… I think that it's a bit premature to start getting complacent, your highness," Nagant answered.

"What do you mean?"

"There was quite a storm brewing around the Protector when I brought him here," the Water-Type said. "I don't think we can assume that it's let up just yet."

* * *

The following morning, Team Traveller woke up bright and early from a night spent on some free mats spread on a flat rooftop overlooking an inner courtyard filled with dingy water. They had been roused at the crack of dawn by Cardino, and been led along to a four story, tiled building with arched windows that was teeming with Pokémon in indigo scarves. The group made their way through a lobby full of loitering guards, and then through a central courtyard to a wing of the building that had been built with peepholes in lieu of windows. The four came to a barred door of the wing, where they were waved along by some gruff-looking guards, and led down a series of darkened corridors. On each side, the passages lined by small cells with metal bars where various creatures peered out, the stench of musk and unwashed bodies hanging thick in the air along with an overpowering feeling of unease among the three youngsters.

"What is this place…?" Guardia murmured.

"It's like those cells back home where Osmund would keep drunks till they sobered up," Nida muttered to herself. "Except there's so many of them."

"Psst! Hey kid!"

Nida's barbs fanned out and the Nidoran went wide-eyed. The Poison-Type whirled around, where she saw a Politoed poking an arm beyond the bars of his cell.

"Wanna help a 'mon with a little delivery?" the frog said.

Nida did not allow herself a second to entertain the Politoed's offer, opting instead to duck away from the amphibian's outstretched arm and bound down the hallway. The Poison-Type charged ahead as fast as her legs could carry her, not daring to stop until she caught up with Cardino further down the cell block.

"Gah!" she squeaked. "And these 'mons are plenty sober!"

"That's holding cells for you, pal," the Detective Pikachu sighed. "Pokémon are held here until they can be given a sentence by the court and punted off to places to pay their debts to society."

Nida and Guardia took in their dreary surroundings and shrank back, each firmly aware of the dangerous-looking eyes casting glances in their direction. Elty too, appeared unnerved, his ears and tail clamped firmly against his body with a nervous whine escaping his mouth every so often. Unlike his peers, he seemed to be at relative ease around the characters in the background, though constantly gazed up at the ceiling, as if expecting it to cave in at any moment.

"… Elty?" Nida asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Let's just finish up what we need to get done and get out of here," Elty sighed. "This sort of place is a bit too familiar for me, and not in a good way."

"Oh, so the guardians of your hut-dwellers _do_ have some flashes of competence every now and then," Guardia chided.

The Growlithe gave a sour frown back at the Cubone, before giving a dismissive snort. Was this _really_ the time for banter? Besides, she'd missed the point he was trying to make entirely...

"It's not _like_ that, bone-head," the Fire-Type growled. "This is something that goes beyond-"

"Not to cut this aherm… Interesting conversation short," Nida interrupted, waving a paw to motion for silence. "But why are we here anyways, Cardino? I thought you wanted us just to help you look around for some pawprints or something."

"Yesterday, there was an attempted pirate raid on Polderfield Town, one of the fringe settlements here on Giotto," the detective explained. "Admiral Coil from the navy was leading his ship out at the time, so his crew was around to shoot out the hull from under the attackers."

"Ow! Stop pulling!" a barking voice yelped. "I'm going! I'm going!"

Nida, Elty, and Guardia turned to see a Furfrou and Mareanie in black scarves getting dragged along by a a Bastiodon and Glalie guard. Hadn't those two attacked them on the way out of Rosequartz Town? The three watched as the pair were marched off by the guards, before turning uneasily back to Cardino, wondering just what he needed them to do with these ne'er-do-wells...

"So you need us to pick up evidence about them raiding?" Nida prodded. "Or…?"

"No, most of the cases were fairly open and shut," Cardino replied. "Kinda hard to explain away loot on your person, and a lot of the pirates opted for plea deals in return for lesser sentences…"

The Pikachu trailed off before shaking his head, evidently not fully at ease with the matter himself. After all, Team Traveller's necessity was thanks to there being loose ends, which the Electric-Type dutifully explained to his hired help.

"No, I'm in charge of gathering evidence for the last few cases. For the ones that aren't just a simple matter of throwing a labor sentence and calling it a day," Cardino explained. "That's why I wanted you to meet the defendants you'll be covering before you accepted this job."

So this case wasn't a 'simple matter,' then? Team Traveller exchanged uneasy glances as an air of dread came over them, the group's minds set wandering with the possibilities of an abnormally-criminal... criminal. Just what sort of heinous act would they have to be defending here?

"Who are the defendants?" Guardia asked. "And what exactly did they do?"

"I'm telling you, we didn't _do_ it!"

Nida's ears perked up at the sound of the voice of a Scraggy. It was the same that she'd heard when being ambushed in Kenobi. And again when Guardia had been taken hostage in Orleigh… Could it be…?

"Wait," Nida murmured. "I know that-"

The Nidoran and her companions looked ahead to see a door left ajar, and made their way up to push it open. Inside, they found a simple, dimly-lit room with a wooden counter. On one end was a Fletchinder and Misdreavus who looked up as if having just been interrupted in a task… On the other, were the forms of a Scraggy, Combusken, and Grotle in black scarves chained to the other end of the counter, all of whom were taken aback with startled surprise.

" _You_ again!"

The Pikachu detective blinked incredulously as the pirates and his newfound assistants stared dumbfounded at each other. 'Again'? Then did that mean…

"Wait, you all have met before?" Cardino asked.

Team Traveller grimaced, their sour faces broadcasting their full, unabashed displeasure with these 'acquaintances' of theirs. Nida shook her head and threw a paw over her face, before grudgingly answering the Pikachu's query.

"We have a bit of a history, yes," Nida groaned.

"You wouldn't happen to have a lead in our case as part of that, would you?" the Misdreavus asked.

"Probably not unless if you want to look for _more_ stuff to charge them with," Elty muttered. "Who are you two anyways?"

"I'm Nico and this is my assistant, Rita," the Fletchinder explained. "We're the defense attorneys for this case here, and we asked Cardino here if he could help give us a hand."

"Naturally, as someone who's part of the city guard, it wouldn't do me good to come off as taking sides," the Electric-Type said. "So having you three as my assistants would work out perfectly."

The Pikachu shook his head and gave a tired sigh to the Fletchinder. The rodent's expression carried an air of flummoxed resignation, as if the robin had opted to charge a windmill for the umpteenth time.

"That said, I'm not sure why you keep picking these hopeless cases, Nico," Cardino sighed. "I mean, they were booked on charges of egg-napping, and barring that evidence adding a major swerve, it's hard to see how you'd exonerate these 'mons."

"We're not confessing that and there's no way you can prove it!" Sela snapped.

"Well, there has to be something deeper to the truth if they were willing to pass up a plea deal and risk a death sentence," the Misdreavus answered. "Taking cases that let us pursue the truth is our specialty."

The pirates froze at the Misdreavus' words, and as the meaning of the statement set in the shocked silence gave way to open panic. Each of them shuddered with a wide-eyed, horrified expression etched onto their faces, and the Grotle among them seemed to blanch especially pale as he pawed frantically at his Combusken teammate

"H-Huh?! Sela!" the Grotle squeaked. "You said they were just gonna keep us locked up for a decade or something like that!"

Team Traveller seemed just as stunned as the pirates, albeit with a decidedly more disgusted mood as they glared incredulously through the bars at the imprisoned. Desperate though they may have been to raise money for their fare home, sticking up for any Pokémon who stole unborn hatchlings away from their families was a line none of them were willing to even _think about_ crossing.

"Yeah, no. I'm out," Nida hissed.

"Hrmph. I'm not lifting a claw to help you egg-thieves," Guardia growled. "Lie down in the nest you made for yourself."

"I mean, a 'mon's gotta make a living, but they don't have to make it _that_ way. If you'd just nabbed some Poké or something…" Elty murmured, shaking his head. Noses upturned, the trio wheeled around for the door, but were stopped in their tracks as the jailed Pokemon cried out uproariously, pleading with their claws outstretched.

"H-Hey wait!" Sela pleaded. "Don't go!"

"Please!" Eric begged. "We really didn't steal those eggs!"

"We'll die if we don't get our names cleared!" Hanuna whined.

Guardia paused, her partners carrying on a way before turning back and seeing the Cubone still planted in her position. The Ground-Type scowled, deep in thought, seemingly mulling between a pair of conflicting options, only to suddenly tighten the grip on her club.

"… Then you must prove yourselves," Guardia demanded.

"Okay! Okay!" Sela insisted. "We're open to trying stuff out! What's it that you-"

The Combusken was cut off by the sound of a woosh, the chicken looking up just in time to see a bone flying directly into her face.

"ARGH!"

"Oi!" a Lurantis in the background snapped. "No foreign objects in the prisoner's quarters!"

Each of the other Pokemon in the room, goggled at Guardia in stunned silence at the spontaneous assault. What had gotten _into_ her?!

"Ack!" Rita cried. "What's the big idea attacking our clients?!"

"It's not an attack. It's a judgement by the dead!" Guardia insisted. "And while they find you to be appalling wastes of flesh on par with sea scum… they don't think that you're guilty of this."

The bone lizard threw a claw up and caught the bone as it whirled back at her. Guardia felt the momentum of her club tug her back, coming to an uneasy, stunned stop as she realized that she finally executed a proper Bonemerang. The Cubone let her enthusiasm ebb away a little before slinging the bone over her shoulder and turning her attention back to Sela as the Combusken continued to nurse her head.

"And more importantly, I needed that," the Cubone added.

Nida and Elty traded shifting glances with one another before rolling their eyes. That… was suspiciously detailed for a 'ruling from the dead'…"

"… She made that up on the spot, didn't she?" Nida sighed.

"You don't honestly believe her 'judgment of the dead' mumbo-jumbo, do you?" Elty whispered back.

"I _heard_ that," Guardia growled. "But seriously, even an unguided rube like you can surely see that things aren't adding up here."

"Yeah, we've done some stuff before as pirates, but we'd never steal eggs!" Eric insisted.

"I don't even have the paws to steal 'em with!" Hanuna cried.

The pirates' insistence made Nida fold her ears back dubiously, unsure whether or not she still could trust the lot. She turned her head, and noticed that her Growlithe teammate appeared far more satisfied with their insistence. Was it simply shared experience? Or what was she missing here?

"I think I'm with the bonehead here. I mean, these guys are from Sibich's crew, and he's no slouch," Elty explained. "If they couldn't even properly take a hostage, I can't see him trusting them to steal eggs."

As she massaged the sore spot left by Guardia's Bonemerang, the Combusken glared at the Growlithe through her parted claws, clicking her tongue in displeasure at the shoddy defense he'd offered.

"Thanks for the defense, mutt," Sela growled.

Elty rolled his eyes at the Combusken. Leave it to her to find displeasure while he and his team were in the middle of bailing them out! What kind of ingrate would find the time to whine in such dire straits?

"You're welcome."

Nida furrowed her brow and flared her ears. After all the grief that this Scraggy and his friends had given her and her teammates, they had no leg to stand on for asking for their help! Though… with them all alone and facing a terrible fate like this, was it really right to just walk away? And what would they do to raise the money for a fare home when this was the only lead they'd found so far?

"… I guess it would make sense to give them the benefit of the doubt… for now," the Nidoran admitted. "So what is it that you need us to do anyways, Cardino?"

"I need you to help me get back some misplaced evidence from Polderfield," the Pikachu answered. "Some _cuco_ from the department had it shipped to the wrong part of town."

"Oh? Where did it go?" Nida asked. "And why do you need our help there?"

* * *

The following morning in the visitor's district, the crowds had yet to appear as the local streets started to get into the swing of their daily rhythms. The shops began to open, yawning Pokémon stretched themselves at windows and doorways, and the general rhythm became more lively by the minute. Despite that, the guards at the gates seemed to be slower to liven up than their surroundings, a watching Herdier yawning audibly only for its Araquanid colleague to nudge him for attention, pointing off at a party clustered around a visibly young Druddigon carried along in a sling made from a ratty sail.

"Ngaaah…"

The two looked at each other as the young dragon and his companions made their way over, before turning their attention back to the party. Something was obviously wrong with the younger Pokémon, but why were they expecting _them_ to be able to do anything about it?

"Eh?" the Herdier asked. "What's with you?"

"Can't move… Legs jelly…" Crom groaned. "Life flashing before eyes…"

"You have to let us through!" Kiran cried. "He needs medical assistance!"

The guards traded frowning glances with each other, only for the Araquanid to turn back to the sailors and point off behind the group with a foreleg.

"You mean like assistance that would be given by the building _right there?_ " the spider asked.

Pladur and his companions followed the Araquanid's leg over to a three-story building on a corner teeming with Chanseys and adorned with red banners with white semi-circles. Uh… how _had_ they missed that one when coming up with this cover? But for now, they needed to come up with _something_ to persuade the guards...

"Er… we need _different_ assistance!" Pladur insisted, drawing skeptical frowns from the guards at the gate.

"Yeah?" the Herdier demanded. "And just _what_ are you suffering from that we shouldn't invoke quarantine protocols over to keep you _out_ of the city?"

The five Pokémon grimaced, fumbling for an excuse to give back to the guard dog. Eventually, the Druddigon among them shifted and spoke up uneasily from his sling with the best explanation he could muster.

"Uh… er… a stomachache?"

The Herdier and Araquanid rolled their eyes as a Venomoth flitted up from behind. At the sight of Crom and his companions, the moth gave an irritated buzz and flitted up to her counterparts at the gateway.

"Hey, is that those five again? What are they claiming _this_ time?" the Venomoth demanded. "That they need to listen to someone's dying wish?"

"... Why didn't we think of that again?" Ander whispered.

Much to Ander's chagrin, the Venomoth guard frowned after his hushed comments. The comments had failed to elude her hearing, and given her dismissive eye roll at the part's return, had similarly failed to impress her.

"Look, I get that you four want in, but _you don't have the right permits_ ," the Venomoth scoffed. "It'll be a snowy day in summer before you get past us!"

"Hoy! There's a new decree from the crown!" a squawking voice cried.

Crom and the guards looked back to see a drowsy Noctowl in an indigo scarf and a glinting badge fly into a nearby plaza burdened with papers. The badge caught the attention of some nearby Pokémon, which prompted them to look up from their matters and listen to the owl, much to Kiran's puzzlement.

"Huh?" the Swellow chirped. "Just what's going on here?"

"It looks like there's some sort of announcement," the Venomoth guard murmured. "That's unmistakably the badge of a Royal Messenger… Though I didn't _think_ anything noteworthy happened last night..."

The guards and the Pokémon from the Siglo Swellow watched as a small crowd started to form around the Noctowl, the messenger clearing his throat before unfurling a rolled-up sheet of paper to read off of it.

"By order of her highness, a week-long tournament will start tomorrow in _Vecioferàle Arena_ for her public's amusement," the Noctowl proclaimed. "To herald the Empire's awakening of a new Protector!"

The messenger's proclamation drew excited murmuring from the gathered Pokémon. Some posters were distributed, filtering their way around the crowd. Eventually, one turned up in the young Druddigon's claws, revealing the somewhat misshapen silhouette of a white bird with a long neck and blue plates with runes proclaiming a weeklong 'Silver Wing Cup'… Why, this Pokémon on the poster was none other than-!

"Wait a minute!" Crom exclaimed. "That's Pleo!"

"Entrance is open to anyone, both denizen and outsider may enter for this joyous festival!" the messenger proclaimed. "So come one, and come all, and prove your strength in this grand festival for our new Guardian of the Seas."

As the ruckus from the crowd settled enough for the sound of an individual's voice to carry over the area's ambient noise, Crom and his companions turned back to the stonewalling guards, wearing wide, mischievous grins.

"So… I believe that the tournament's open for _everyone_ to enter?" Dimitri asked.

The Venomoth narrowed her eyes exasperatedly as the Herdier and Araquanid put paws over their faces in frustration. The messenger _had_ said entrance was open to _anybody_ , but even so...

"Ugh… signup is _inside_ the district," the Venomoth growled. "Once you get that squared away, _then_ we'll let you through."

The guard's demands drew a tired glare from Crom and each of his companions before the sailors turned away and started setting off back into the district. They all knew that the guards were only doing their job, but even after all this, they couldn't just let them through already?

"Are they _actively_ coming up with more things to stall us?" Ander sighed.

"No matter, at least we were able to find out where Pleo is," Kiran chirped. "Once we can get through, we can try to find him and bring him back home!"

The Swellow beat his wings and took to the air, prompting his colleagues to follow off after him towards the messenger and the crowd forming around him. Unbeknownst to the five, from a nearby alleyway, Valatos, Alvise, and Nori watched, listening as the Noctowl hastily flagged down a few guards to help him enroll contestants into the tournament and spread posters on some nearby walls.

"A tournament in honor of that bird, huh?" Nori murmured.

"Guess we know who's got him right now," Alvise grumbled. "But how are we supposed to get him back from the _Empire?_ "

"... Let's bring it up with the Captain," Valatos buzzed. "He'd be bound to have something in mind, right?"

The Yanmega watched as the Druddigon and his companions melted into the crowd, a Trubbish going by to put up posters depicting a long-necked seabird in the street outside. After watching the Poison-Type pass and seeing their foes nowhere to be found, the Bug-Type pulled one of the posters off the wall with his mouth, and slunk back into the alleyway with his teammates, quietly making their way back for the docks.

* * *

Eh?! What is this place?!"

Nida, Guardia, and Elty gawped up across the canal in front of them, there on the other side was a massive, round building built of stone and layered with arches that sat next to a stone tower that stretched up to a pavillion, much like Hatteras' lighthouse at home but taller and less rounded. At the front was a large plaza, filled with Pokémon of various shapes and sizes talking with each other underneath banners bearing a wave-shaped swoosh that proudly proclaimed the name of the building...

"' _Arena Veijofaro_ '…?" Nida murmured. "Er… or, 'Old Lighthouse Arena'?"

"Well, you can certainly read the runes that way, but everyone here calls it ' _Vecioferàle Arena_ '," Cardino explained. "Before Tidemill's expansion under King Alexander, this used to be the coastline and that tower the lighthouse for the harbor. Nowadays, it's the great battlefield at the heart of Tidemill where Pokémon prove themselves on the field in front of the the whole empire."

"Yeah, but why are we _here?_ " Guardia demanded. "You said that we were looking for evidence that got misplaced."

"This is where my evidence got shipped," the Pikachu insisted. "Don't ask me how the 'mons in the evidence department managed to mix up the captain's diary with provisions for arena security."

Nida, Elty, and Guardia blinked curiously at the Electric-Type's answer. Mixing up evidence with _provisions?_ How on earth would a 'mon manage to do that?

"Isn't that just a little weird?" Nida prodded.

"Beats me, pal. These sort of things just happen," Cardino sighed. "I tried getting in earlier myself, but couldn't find it in the public areas or the lost and found, so if it's still here, it's in the normally off-limits places."

"And _we're_ supposed to find this diary how?" Elty asked.

Cardino stammered, grasping for a satisfactory answer but coming up short. The Pikachu racked his brain for ideas, mumbling half-formed thoughts aloud as he worked himself through the thought process.

"Uh… well, you'd need to be doing something that would let you get full access to the stadium…" the Pikachu began. "Something like…"

Cardino's eye turned towards a batch of posters on a nearby wall with the form of a white, long-necked bird on it. It was for a 'Silver Wing Cup', which would admit teams of up to six Pokémon for entry in a three-on-three elimination-based tournament… Hey wait a moment!

"Ah, that's it! Like entering a tournament for yourselves!" the Electric-Type insisted. "Shouldn't be an issue for a few up-and-comers like you, right?"

Nida, Elty, and Guardia crowded around the poster and gawked at the poster. Was that… Pleo?! The ink of the poster had been smudged and put on in an obvious hurry, but the form was unmistakably his. The three looked over at the stadium, the notion of 'entering a tournament' seeming to be child's play compared to trying to grab Pleo out of those naval docks… only to notice a team of a Blastoise, a Gallade, and a Goodra with glinting rescue badges pawing at a copy of their same poster… with numerous teams in the plaza looking every bit as strong and imposing as they did.

"But that's crazy!" Nida exclaimed. "You can't expect us to just go in and win a tournament on the fly with half a team like that!"

"Yeah, and even if we did, how's that supposed to help us find your evidence?" Guardia added.

"Because you only have to hang in there until the evidence is found," Cardino countered. "Whatever you do after that, whether taking a dive, or just not showing up onto the field is on you."

The three collectively breathed a sigh of relief, looking at one another and finding further reassurance in the fact that their comrades seemed to feel the same way.

"Oh, well when you put it _that_ way, that doesn't sound too impossible," Guardia murmured.

"Yeah, we'll go sign up now," Elty added. "That evidence isn't going to be any _easier_ to find by waiting around."

"That's the spirit!" the Electric-Type cheered. "Bring whatever you've found to the courthouse next to the station in a few hours for the trial, and we'll go from there. Sound good?"

"I think we can work with that," Nida nodded. "Good luck with the rest of the investigation!"

The three waved and shuffled off into a growing line at the entrance of the stadium marked by a banner noting it was for signups. Unbeknownst to the three, a Weavile and a tired-looking Mothim lurked from a nearby alleyway. There, the Dark-Type leaned against a wall, looked at one of the tournament posters in his claw as the Bug-Type of the pair kept a watchful gaze on Team Traveller's forms in the queue.

" _Those_ grubs again?" Ellsberg hissed. "What are _they_ doing here and where's the Protector?"

"Try looking around before you ask any stupid questions," Ketu grumbled.

The Weavile turned his claw out towards the Bug-Type, revealing the poster with the information about the Silver Wing Cup. Ellsberg gaped wide-eyed at the paper, before slowly and grudgingly shaking his head at the implications.

"So, the Empire _does_ have him right now…" the Mothim murmured. "But just where would we look next to find out where they're keeping him? We were up all night sneaking around those naval docks and found nothing but crates and some inebriated sailors!"

"We won't have to. According to this poster, they're going to be bringing him out in front of the whole city," the Weavile countered. "All _we_ have to do is prepare and wait."

The Weavile shook his head before rolling up the poster in his claws and stuffing it into a satchel slung over his shoulder. The Dark-Type turned, motioning impatiently with his claws for Ellsberg to follow.

"Let's go," the Dark-Type grunted. "We've found out enough for Lyn to come up with a plan for us to be able to steal that bird out from under him anyways."

The Weavile slipped off, darting down the alleyway as Ellsberg looked after him with an unamused frown before giving a sleepy buzz and fluttering off after him. They'd certainly found their lead, so hopefully it would satisfy Lyn enough to justify resting his wings for a while.

* * *

"Can you guys hurry it up already?! We're almost at the ship!"

Alvise's voice carried on down the tight confines of an alleyway in the Visitors' District, where Valatos and his companions had nearly reached the Mistral Marauder. Alvise led the group, springing out from the shadows and sprinting towards the Mistral Marauder in sight, leaving Nori and Valatos in the dust to follow along with an agitated sigh. The Manectric stamped the ground as he glanced back at his lagging teammates, impatient to finally put this trip behind them already.

"Well _that_ certainly lit a fire under your tail," Valatos buzzed. "You're zipping along almost as fast as me… _Almost._ "

"Grr…" the Manectric snarled. "Listen up, you lousy bug-"

"Oi! Who goes there!"

The three paused and looked around their surroundings before glancing up at the ship's deck. There at the railing was a Pawniard peering down at them, his blades readied as if to deal with an intruder… They hadn't been gone _that_ long, had they?

"It's us!" Nori snapped. "We found a lead out in town, let us up already!"

The pirates on the ship traded glances with one another before lowering the gangplank, allowing their crewmates to climb back aboard. When Valatos and his friends reached the deck, they found themselves surrounded by the ship's crew, all eyes on them expectantly. On one side came Hess, slowly shoving his way through the crowd while giving a generous berth to the Marowak who stood among them.

"Well, what did you find out there?" the Aggron demanded.

"Well, to start with, the Imps have that bird…" Valatos began.

Grimaces spread around as an audible collective gulp went about the gathered Pokémon and Hess' face began to flush pale. If the _Imps_ had the Protector, that meant that he was behind an entire city's worth of guards… far too many for a crew his size to try and push around directly.

"I- That's-" Hess stammered. "Do you have anything _more_ specific than that?"

"Yeah," Valatos continued. "They're holding a tournament in his honor and planning on bringing him out in front of the city for the closing ceremony with the winner."

Hess' head rose and his eyes lit up slightly at the mention of the closing ceremony, and his mood began to recover in time with his ponderings on this new information. With the Protector out there in the open, why... as long as they could somehow get in there, they could just snatch the Protector right off the stage! ...More or less. But, they'd overcome higher barriers in the past and still managed to get along well enough, right?

"So… he'll be there for the taking, then?" the Aggron prodded.

"I mean, he'll have to go on a stage, I'd presume," Alvise explained. "So-"

"Then it's settled," the Steel-Type grunted. "We're entering that tournament!"

The steel lizard's declaration at once set off a wave of chatter among the gathered pirates. Some - such as a Charmeleon flashing his claws - seemed eager to welcome the challenge of a tournament, while others - such as a Noibat shrinking behind a barrel - seemed to be far more skeptical of the idea of entering a tournament being able to help their goal. Nori for his part seemed to relish the idea of watching his teammates battle: this was just the sort of occasion he needed to unwind after such a tense reconnaissance mission!

"Heh heh… so we're gonna see you out in the ring, huh?" the Marowak chuckled. " _Sugoi!_ We'll be looking forward to watching you crush a few sods!"

"No, we're going to see _you_ in the ring, Nori ," Hess growled, pointing at the Marowak. "You three will be taking the lead for our team."

Alvise's eyes widened at the Aggron's order. He'd already tempted fate _enough_ lurking around Tidemill, and here he was going to stick him back in it for a week's worth of fighting?!

"Wh-What?!" Alvise yelped. "But we just spent an entire day crawling that lousy city, and you want us to go back?!"

"Yeah, and _you're_ the toughest mon on the crew," Nori added. "Why aren't _you_ taking part of the tournament?"

Both the battle-ready and battle-skeptical factions of the crew seemed to find the Ground-Type's argument convincing, drawing a chorus of "that's right" and drawing murmurs as to why their captain seemed so eager to get involved in a tournament he didn't want to fight in himself. Hess grimaced at his crew's chatter, as he'd already assigned the three to battle, and now they wanted _him_ to go along. Gah… keeping that Nori away on land was supposed to get that bonehead to make a mistake and get trapped, by the Travellers above he did _not_ want to be stuck around that little monster! But if he refused to fight here… or if he took Nori off the team to fight himself after just assigning him... how could either of those not obviously look weak to his underlings?

"I… er…" the Aggron stammered. "Th-That's because…"

"Because a captain helps keep the ship together," a Floatzel's voice finished.

The crowd's attention was drawn to their ship's first mate, who scowled defiantly back at the crew. The Sea Weasel Pokémon's bold statement drew incredulous murmurs of skepticism and derision from the gathered crowd. _Hess,_ of all Pokemon, keeping the crew together? Just how badly had that Clawitzer thrown him around earlier?

"Come again, Rodion?" the Miltank medic demanded

"Yeah, looks to me like the Captain there is just trying to weasel out of a fight," Kichiro scoffed.

"Grr…"

Kichiro stilled his mandibles at the sound of a low, gravelly growl, looking up to see the Aggron captain glaring down at him. The hulking lizard was clearly offended and took a more belligerent tone at the accusation… Perhaps a little _too_ belligerent to be natural.

"I'm not trying to weasel out of any-" the Steel-Type began, only to quiet at the sight of a raised paw from his first mate.

"Easy, Hess," the otter insisted. "I wasn't done explaining."

Rodion's expression softened somewhat, and the sea weasel paced around the deck, throwing a warm glance to some of his fellow pirates with a disarming smile plastered on his face.

"Look, that shrimp and her crew are obviously in town and would recognize him and anyone they captured last time. On top of that, we've obviously… had some rougher luck than normal lately, and it'll be a snowy day in Sormus before we get back anyone who gets stuck here," Rodion said. "In light of that, do you want to risk the possibility that you'd be stuck trying to sail out of port _without_ the toughest 'mon among us thanks to some ankle-biter in the Imp navy recognizing him? Or hedge your bets a little?"

Uncertain hemming and hawing drifted from the crowd as the implications of being left without their captain began to sink in. Hardheaded klutz though he was, Hess was still the toughest 'mon on the entire crew. Getting stuck in a scrap without him there to back them up left their odds of success... remote, to say the least. That in mind, the crew suddenly clamored much less to throw Hess himself into the arena.

"Whelp, couldn't have said it better myself, and looks like the crew's spoken," the metal-headed lizard sneered. "You three are out there taking the lead."

"With _what?_ " Valatos demanded. "We don't even have a full team between us right now!"

The Aggron put a claw to his mouth, realizing that regardless if his plot to be rid of the Marowak worked or not, he _did_ need to take the team to enter seriously. He glanced over at the Charmeleon from earlier, who was still fired up and pawing at the deck ready to go, an obvious enough choice. Hess' glance then turned to his escorts in the water, his eyes settling on a Sealeo among them who was chattering with a Vileplume on the railing. Actually… that seemed like a rounded enough team to work with.

"… Alfred, Pieter, and Minhwa," Hess grunted. "You all are joining these three. Rodion will give you all scarves for cover before joining the tournament, so make the most of it and stay sharp out there."

The Captain's order was met by an eager 'aye' from the Charmeleon, followed by a less-enthusiastic echo from the Sealeo, and finally a grudging grunt from the Vileplume. At once, the Sealeo swam up onto the pier the Mistral Marauder had moored at, as the Charmeleon and Vileplume began making their way for the gangplank where Rodion scampered up with a few white scarves with waterspout patterns ready in his paw. Regardless of their feelings about the matter, the team was clearly ready to accept their disguises and set off… with three very visible exceptions including a Manectric who had pulled his tail between his legs.

"B-But Captain, you don't understand," Alvise whined. "If I get run into out there-"

"Oi! Move it, you whiny dweebs!" the Charmeleon snapped.

"Yeah, you don't see _us_ trying to get out of the Captain's orders!" the Vileplume growled.

Before Alvise could do anything in protest, he felt a sharp shove at his rump, turning back to see Alfred and Minwha glaring at him. The wolf dug his paws into the deck, only to wind up fighting a losing battle at keeping himself from being unceremoniously pushed down the gangplank. After trading grudging looks with one another, Valatos and Nori followed after their flailing friend, prompting Hess to breathe out a sigh of relief, before making his way to the railing and cupping a claw to call out the stern, shared sentiments of the crew.

"Don't mess this up!"

* * *

As Hess' less-than-willing tournament entrants departed the Mistral Marauder in its disguising white-and-blue sails, off at the other end, a brigantine flying white sails with blue sun patterns hummed with activity. Under the shade of its sails, the crew of the Nektar Weide busied themselves carrying aboard supplies as others tended to ship maintenance, including a bandaged Grumpig and Krokorok who pawed lazily at the deck with damp rags next to a bucket full of sudsy water.

**SPLASH!**

The pair's rhythm was interrupted by a panicked jump up as a pressurized burst of water struck the bucket, flinging its soapy contents across the deck and depositing the bucket onto the Grumpig's head with a yelp. The pair looked back uneasily towards the source of the water, only to see the growling form of their Samurott captain staring down at them.

"Stop slacking off!" Lyn snarled. "I want you two scrubbing this deck until it's clean enough for me to eat off of it!"

The Samurott's bellowing elicited a pair of squeaks from the unfortunate deck-scrubbers, who hastily set the bucket back on the deck before hunching down and beginning to scrub with visibly affected enthusiasm. Up above, the Crobat leader of the aerial escorts stirred from the racket, sleepily spreading his wings and turning to some of his nearby subordinates perched on the rigging.

"Nrgh… when's that debriefing starting?" the Crobat groaned. "It's too late in the day for this…"

"Beats me, boss," a nearby Fearow sighed. "I haven't seen so much as a feather of those two-"

"Hoy!"

The crew's attention turned towards the dock, where Ellsberg flitted up onto the deck and settled on a railing stretching himself tiredly. Behind him, the sound of footsteps rang out as Ketu climbed the gangplank back up to the ship, fidgeting with a rolled-up paper from his shoulder bag to an impatient frown from Lyn.

"It took you that long to find anything in this district?" the Samurott demanded. "I'd have been better off just telling the crew to go out and mingle!"

"Actually, we did you one better," Ketu countered. "We snuck past the barrier into the rest of the city."

"In my defense, Lyn," Ellsberg sighed. "I _told_ him that-"

"Enough. Risks are acceptable when the payoff merits them," the Water-Type interrupted, holding up a paw for silence. The otter shifted his weight and shook his head, staring intently at the pair of Second-Ranks before him.

"So what exactly did you two discover?"

The Weavile rolled his eyes and took the poster in his claws, giving a swift motion down to unfurl it in front of Lyn and the watching crew. The Dark-Type paused for a moment for the initial surprise at the drawing of their target to sink in, before speaking up.

"That the Imps definitely have got the bird," Ketu explained. "They're holding a tournament in honor of some 'new Protector' that they 'awakened'. Last I checked the only one that looked anything like the picture on here was ours."

"We also ran into the Guardian's little friends at the local stadium-" Ellsberg began, only to be cut off with a stomp and a growl from his Samurott listener.

"And you let them go _why?_ " the Water-Type demanded. "They would be our best lead back to-"

"I hadn't finished, Lyn," the Mothim insisted. "They were without the Protector and doing some odd job for a local Pikachu. It's safe to say that they don't have any way of getting to Lugia themselves."

Lyn shot a sour frown at the Mothim's explanation. He should've known better than to expect that those Tromban whelps would get lucky with escaping a ship with their Protector a second time.

"And of course the simple solution _had_ to not be an option…" Lyn sighed. "No matter, we still have another route open. If the Imperials are letting the winner of this tournament just waltz up to the Protector, we'll be fielding a team to _enter_ it."

"Tch," Ketu scoffed. " _Someone's_ eager to get back into act-"

" _I_ won't be going, Ketu," the Samurott growled. "As loath as I am to give my blades rest, someone else will have to head our team. Specifically _you._ "

Ketu furrowed his brow before giving a surprised tilt of his head back at the Samurott. _Him?_ Since when had Lyn ever made a point of making him do his dirty work on land?

"What?" the Weavile demanded. "You're not exactly a pushover here. Why don't you just enter the tournament yourself alongside some other grunts?"

"Because my cover was _just compromised yesterday_ ," Lyn snapped. "If you have enough time to sit back while a rogue Second-Rank tries to slice me up in the middle of a peasant uprising, sleep through the Protector escaping, and _sunbathe on my deck_ , I think that it's nigh time that you had a chance to prove yourself again."

"Just what are you batting at here?" Ketu demanded.

The Weavile's ears perked up at the sound of a seamitar embedding itself into the deck with a resounding _thunk_. He glanced indignantly up at its owner, who seemed visibly irate at his back-talk, the recently-vacated throwing paw now balled into a white-knuckled fist.

"I'm saying I will need to look for another Pokémon to fill the duties of first mate if you can't demonstrate to me that you're the best 'mon for the job," the Samurott seethed. "I would encourage you to think twice about pushing back against me on this matter."

Ketu paused and grimaced at the Samurott's ultimatum. His work for Administrator Elilan _required_ him to have the sort of latitude he presently enjoyed on Lyn's crew. The Zoroark certainly wouldn't help him realize his own goals if he couldn't deliver the Protector. If it had come out that he'd botched his cover through flippant and completely avoidable behavior, life would become... unenviable, to say the least. As such, it was perhaps best to tend to his wounded pride another time and try and wait for Lyn's patience to recover a bit before returning to his relaxed status quo.

"In order to _help_ you, I'll allow you to take anything that you feel you need in order to prove yourself," Lyn offered. "Sound reasonable?"

"Hrmph, fine."

"Yeah, break a leg out there, featherhead!" a Mothim's jeering buzz rang out. "Or maybe two!"

The Weavile hissed back at the taunting Mothim, baring his teeth threateningly. After his initial reaction, the first mate's demeanor eased a bit, his naked aggression transforming into a face of smug, retributive realization.

"You know what? I know the first thing that I need," Ketu insisted. "I need Elmer's bum with me in that ring, pronto."

Ellsberg flitted up with a flustered start at the Weavile's demand. That slacker couldn't just drag him along into this, _he_ was the one who'd fallen afoul of the captain!"

"E-Eh?!" the Mothim cried. "How do you get off trying to drag me into this, you weasel!"

The Weavile stuck his tongue out at the Mothim, relishing his discomfort, much to Lyn's visible displeasure. The Samurott threw a paw over his face, muttering under his breath about whether Ketu appreciated just how thin his patience with him had worn down.

"I take it back," Lyn sighed. "Since you're picking your team based off of spite over tactical utility, I'll _give_ you the tools that you'll need to prove yourself…"

Ketu shot back a sour frown, rolling his eyes at his captain's meddlesome interference. Even so, he knew better than to challenge Lyn at this point in time. The Dark-Type folded his ears back and relented as the Samurott looked around the crew for suitable teammates, his eyes settling on a dozing Crobat dangling from the rigging.

"Kane!"

"Nrk!" the Crobat cried, beating his wings out with a start. "Wha-? Huh?"

"Get up and sleep later," Lyn barked. "I want you to accompany Ketu in the tournament."

"… What tournament?"

"… Ask Ketu for details," the otter harrumphed. "I'm not going to waste my breath on this."

The Captain then turned his attention to the crowd of subordinates, where he started looking around for suitable Pokémon to field. After a few false starts, his gaze settled on a Tauros and Electabuzz chatting with each other. The infiltrators he'd assigned to Tromba on the first day… who evidently didn't have anything better to do right now.

"Fintan, Tarmo," the Samurott snapped. "You're on the team as well."

"Huh?" the Tauros cried, pulling his head up with a start. The bull looked around puzzledly for a moment, before noticing his captain giving an expectant scowl, which prompted the creature to over-hastily agree.

"Er… right we can handle it!"

"Yeah, you can count on us to light up the field!" the Electabuzz added.

Lyn groaned under his breath at the Electric-Type's pun, bidding the two to come along before turning his attention back to his crew. The Samurott looked around keenly, playing around with possibilities in his mind that would give Ketu's team the best odds of victory, which led him to settle his gaze on a Crawdaunt loitering in the harbor water, and an orange Lycanroc on all fours pawing impatiently at the planks of the deck.

"Cray, Rudolf," the Water-Type insisted. "You two are also on the team."

"Aye, captain," the Crawdaunt answered.

"Shouldn't be anything we haven't seen before from sparring," the Lycanroc added.

The freshly-established team crowded around the glowering Weavile, shifting impatiently and glancing at the gangplank ready to leave the ship and start scouting out their battleground. Lyn glared down at his first mate, silently daring him to challenge his orders now of all times.

"And there you go, Ketu. One team that should be more than sufficient for you to win or else get through enough of the tournament to nab that bird," Lyn grunted. "Do be aware that I'll be tracking your progress."

A palpable tension hung in the air following Lyn's order. Both captain and first mate traded glares with one another, before the Weavile shook his head with a disgusted sigh.

"Wouldn't want it any other way," the Dark-Type growled.

Ketu and his new teammates took their leave down the gangplank, melting into the crowds massed in the streets in no time at all. As Lyn watched his first mate disappear into the mess of Pokémon, he looked up as Ellsberg flitted up to him with a puzzled look, waving one arm to catch his attention.

"Are we seriously hinging the hope of our entire mission on that red-headed slacker?" the Mothim buzzed.

"Hardly. He'll have accomplished his mission as long as he can determine how to get to the Protector while he's still in the running," the otter explained. "If he _wins_ , he'll speed things up for us, but as long as he finds out where the bird is, we can still pull this mission off. All that's needed for now is to give him a little motivation to take things seriously until then."

Clearing his throat, the Samurott's mouth turned down into a scowl as he shot Ellsberg a pointed glare.

"I would encourage _you_ not to get too comfortable yourself, Ellsberg," the mustelid chided. "I value loyalty from Pokémon like Ketu as much as anyone else, but I have a limited appetite for 'mons wasting my time."

Ellsberg blanched and flitted back uneasily. Working for Elilan or not, Lyn was certainly not a 'mon to be trifled with, as his dealings with Ketu illustrated. Perhaps it was best to try and make himself look busy here.

"Er… right," the Bug-Type gulped. "I'm sure there's some work to be done right now…"

The Mothim turned and flitted off, opting to track inventory below the deck and away from Lyn's prying eyes. Back above, Lyn prowled over to the railing, leaning over it as he looked off into the street where Ketu and his assigned teammates had slipped off, a small smirk settling over his muzzle.

"I'm a fan of bold plays as much as the next Pokémon, but sometimes you just have to know when to stop sitting on your cards," he said. "Let's see how this one unfolds."

* * *

The innards of the _Vecioferàle Arena_ proved to be as cavernous and disorienting as any Mystery Dungeon for Team Traveller. The stadium's ground level had been raised relative to the canals and streets, with a layered ring of stands built around a central, sunken battlefield that contained trapdoors for Pokémon and stage obstacles to be moved around, and curious apertures that looked as if they were meant to move water onto the battlefield itself. The three's initial instinct had been to check the various stands that hawked food and goods to spectators in the hallways, only to come up with dead ends again and again.

After some pointers from a few local guards, their attention shifted to the lower levels of the stadium. The lower portions of the stadium were a catacomb of chambers that served as storage areas that kept the arena's logistics in order, and more importantly housed the complex's lost and found and mailroom. Their search took them past chambers and prowling guards, including a Zweilous that spent much of his time dawdling in front of a ratty poster. A few false starts later, Team Traveller came to their current location of a chute with pull lid, Nida and Guardia waiting impatiently as Elty rooted through the chute before the Cubone gave a rap with her bone against its wooden flat.

"Do you see anything in there?" Guardia asked. The Cubone's question was answered by a shake of the Growlithe's rump, as its owner flailed to plant his feet against the wall and pull the rest of his body out of the chute, eventually poking his head out with a small collection of envelopes stuck in his fur.

"Just a bunch of letters," Elty called back. "What's a stadium need all of these for anyways?"

"Well, I'm stumped," Nida sighed. "That diary wasn't in the lockers, it wasn't in any of the rooms we could get to, and it's not in these mail chutes… Just where haven't we looked by now?"

Nida's teammates mulled their thoughts at the Nidoran's question. It _did_ seem strange that supplies for a stadium wouldn't be anywhere where one would expect to find them. Could they have been thrown out? If so, that could potentially take them anywhere in Tidemill... Perhaps it was better to make sure they weren't missing anything first?

"Maybe we should try retracing our steps?" Guardia suggested. "It could be tucked away in some corner we overlooked."

Elty shook the envelopes loose and dropped down to the floor, rejoining his teammates as they made their way down the hallway and began to look in the alcoves and corners. They found a stray copper coin, some dust bunnies, some shed feathers and hair, but no sign of anything that looked remotely like a diary. Elty shook his head, turning to check down another corridor, where saw the Zweilous guard in front of the poster looking around warily before slipping off.

"Eh?" the Growlithe asked. "The guard was still at that poster all this time?"

"So?" Guardia demanded. "What's wrong with watching the hallway from there?"

"Yeah, but wouldn't he have moved around or something?" Elty pressed "Why stay at that one specific spot?"

"… I think that you're overanalyzing things," Nida sighed.

"Maybe so, but you hut dwellers _are_ a peculiar lot," Guardia countered. "If nothing else, it would be worth inspecting for lore to relay about the habits of your guardians."

The three made their way over to the poster, and Nida pawed at it, discovering that the bottom was loose. The Nidoran blinked, before peering at it from underneath and noticing that there was a conspicuous lump sticking out in the middle.

"Huh?" Nida murmured. "There's something behind here."

"I _told_ you," Elty snorted. "Now come on, let's hurry up and make a tower to see what's there."

The Growlithe darted over to the wall, beckoning his teammates to follow after him. One by one, Guardia, and then Nida clambered onto the Fire-Type, forming a rough tower between the three resting on each other's shoulders topped by the blue Nidoran. Nida moved her paw to the bottom edge of the poster and pulled it up, revealing a crude wooden nub embedded in the wall.

"Eh?" Guardia asked. "What's that thing doing in the wall?"

"I don't know," Nida answered. "But it looks like it can move."

The Poison-Type pawed at the nub and found it to be loose and jiggle to the touch. Without thinking, she pushed down on it, only for the nub to suddenly jerk down, and the sound of a faint _click_ to reach the three's ears.

"Hu- Agh!"

Before the Nidoran or her teammates could react, the wall the three were leaning against swung inwards, sending the trio pitching forward and tumbling down a darkened set of wooden stairs with a yelp. After pinwheeling down a flight, the three came into a tumbling stop into a pile on a stony floor, bunched up against a wooden obstacle that had been left at the bottom.

"Gah, my tail…" Elty whined.

"Urgh…" Guardia groaned. "Are _these_ contraptions normally built by you hut-dwellers?"

The three pulled themselves up and off of each other as light from the opened section of wall filtered down dimly. The three waited a moment for their eyes to adjust to the light, revealing the obstacle at the bottom of the stairs to be a crate, with a partially melted candle left in a clay lantern with a wooden holder on top of it.

"Eh? There's a _świeca_ here," Elty murmured. "Let's see what we're dealing with."

The Growlithe jumped and pulled himself up to the top of the crate and nosed at the lantern, breathing a few sparks into it. The gout of fire lit up the room with a flash, before settling down into a dimmer glow as the candle's fire simmered down. The dog grabbed the holder with his mouth and carefully clambered down, revealing the room to be a small chamber riddled with wooden crates with a few tables and a closed door at the other end.

" _Qué es este lugar?_ " Nida asked. "And why's it smell like hay?"

"Well, whatever it is, someone didn't want it to be discovered," Guardia said.

"Right," Elty replied. "All the more reason to expect that we'd find that diary down here."

Flummoxed, Nida and Guardia glanced at one another, and then back to Elty in unison. What kind of leap in logic was _that?_ Had he conked his head on the way down or what? All that they could see here were just a bunch of crates!

"Come again?" Guardia asked.

"We've been looking across an entire stadium and neither us nor Cardino could find Sibich's diary," Elty explained. "If it was just sent here by accident, one of the guards would've found it and told someone about it."

The Growlithe shook his head, before lowering his snout back to the ground. The dog inhaled deeply, sniffing at the crates and finding them to be the source of the suspicious hay smell.

"No, this smells like it was done on purpose," he continued. "If that diary's not already been burnt-up already, wouldn't it be reasonable to think that it'd be hidden in some place no one was expecting?"

"Someplace… no one was expecting…" Nida murmured.

Well it was certainly hard for anywhere else they'd been in the arena so far to top this little chamber as an unexpected place. Could the diary really have been hidden here? The three began to root through the crates, finding them to be empty beyond some hay lining inside, and curiously, flakes of eggshells. The process continued on until Nida chanced to find a small wooden bin beside a crude table filled with spoiled papers. Inside, the Nidoran nosed around and felt something heavy and block-like inside pulling it out and finding it to be a book. Nida blinked and cracked it open, only to find that it was filled with page after page of runes filled with jumbled-up nonsense. The Poison-Type frowned, and was about to throw the tome of gibberish aside, only for a surprised yelp to ring out.

"Ack! What are you doing, spike ball?!" Elty yelped. "That's it! That's the diary!"

"Huh?"

Elty hurried over with the lantern, the light revealing a hand-shaped design on the book's cover, the same that had been on Eric and his friends' scarves back in the detention center. Nida looked down dumbfounded at the cover, before looking back at the Growlithe, stammering incredulously at his claim.

"But it _can't_ be his diary!" Nida insisted. "It's full of nonsense writing!"

"Technically, isn't all of your rune writing-?" Guardia began, only to be cut off by a hasty hiss from her Poison-Type teammate.

"You know what I meant!"

Nida cracked the diary open and slid the book in front of her Growlithe teammate who peered down to read it. Sure enough, the writing _did_ sound like nonsense when read aloud… but it wouldn't have been the first time he'd run into writing like this. He'd heard of pirates from the Council sending messages harboring secrets where the runes would be switched with the ones next to them… The Growlithe frowned and lowered his ears at the gibberish-riddled diary. A code would certainly explain what was happening here, but how were they supposed to figure out the proper order how to switch them _back?_

"Bah, it's written in some sort of code!" he growled. "Some sort of evidence this was!"

Elty angrily kicked the leg of the nearby table, causing it to shudder and shower the floor full of papers. Nida and Guardia bristled out of alarm at the spilled papers, shooting glares at their Fire-Type teammate.

"Gah! Elty!"

"I didn't do it!" the Growlithe exclaimed.

"Come on," Guardia snapped. "Let's just put them back before someone notices."

The three hastily began collecting the spilled papers, throwing them haphazardly back onto the table. As Elty finished shoving a mouthful of papers back onto the table, he watched as Guardia threw a stack of her own onto the table, with a curious repeating rune listed on it.

"… Eggs?" Elty murmured.

"Eh?" Guardia asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Your paper there," the dog insisted. "It has it on there over and over again."

The Cubone showed the paper off in her claws, revealing it to be entries from a ledger. On each line was a name, followed by a number, the rune for "eggs", and some notes to the side about things such as "condition" and "species".

"Head Chargers, Mud Marauders, Shadow Brigade…" he muttered. "Hold on a second, these are all crews that were into egg theft!"

The three paused as a dawning realization crept up on them. The logs here were for records of stolen eggs that were being passed onto pirates. If Sibich's diary was _here_ with these, then whatever was in it was important enough for the thieves to want to keep hidden, so then...

"It must've been that Cofagrigus who really stole those eggs!" Nida exclaimed. "Why else would whoever came down here go through so much trouble?"

Guardia stuffed the diary into the team's bag on Nida's shoulder along with some other shifty-looking papers handed to her by Elty. As she looked on, waiting for the Growlithe to scan over the rest of the papers strewn about the desk, the sound of footsteps echoing down the stairwell brought each of them to a complete halt, and the sound of the Zweilous guard's voice filtered down into the chamber.

"Hah!" the growling voice cried. "I knew that slipping off to get Thalez's autograph would be worth- Huh?!"

Team Traveller hastily hopped into one of the crates and dove under the hay as footsteps raced down the steps, a Zweilous coming into view. The dragon's heads sniffed at the air, and after noticing the scent of fresh intruders, looked around in alarm, upending papers and furniture in search of the trespassers. Team Traveller froze and held their breaths as the Dragon-Type poked its heads into the box, nosing at the hay underneath.

"All contestants, please make your way to the battlefield," a disembodied voice proclaimed. "We will be commencing with the opening ceremony in five minutes."

The guard paused and took a good whiff of the box, only detecting the scent of hay. The Zweilous looked around his surroundings uneasily, before eyeing the door. Someone had obviously been here, but if he wasn't there at the opening ceremony, it would be be bound to raise questions… Then perhaps the best thing to do would be to try and cut losses for now.

"They must be gone already," the Zweilous muttered. "I'll clear this place out after the _cerimònia_. They couldn't have gotten that much in just a few minutes…"

The door at the top of the stairs slammed shut with a loud _thud_ , followed by a long silence. One by one, the members of Team Traveller poked their heads above the hay, gasping for air and sighing loudly out of relief.

"That was too close," Nida panted.

"Uh, wasn't that voice earlier just saying that we needed to go to the arena right now?" Guardia insisted.

"Are you kidding?" Elty snapped. "That lizard said he'd be coming back to clear this place out. Whatever we don't get is gone for good!"

"Yeah, but if we get kicked out of the tournament, our ability to _find_ anything else is gone for good," Nida countered.

The three paused, looking around indecisively. Five minutes was not enough time to meaningfully scour the room for evidence… but if the Pokémon that used it had already been clumsy enough with it once, who was to say that trying to hold out at the stadium wouldn't provide other opportunities to search for clues?

"As a gentle reminder, attendance to the opening ceremony is mandatory," the telepath's voice announced. "Any teams that do not show up will have been presumed to have forfeited and removed from the running."

"… Grab anything that looks like it might be useful," Nida said. "We need to get out of here."

The team shoveled as many useful-looking papers as they could off of the table into their bag, and darted for the doorway. Having taken the lead, Elty cracked the door open and peered out carefully, ensuring they wouldn't be seen. At his go-ahead, the three of them darted out into the hallway, breaking into a full sprint as fast as their legs could carry them in the direction of the battlefield.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _cuco_ \- Venetian: "fool"  
>  \- _Vecioferàle Arena_ \- Venetian: "Old Lighthouse Arena". Irregular, conventional rendering in language would be "Arena Vecioferàle"  
>  \- _Arena Veijofaro_ \- Spanish: "Old Lighthouse Arena"  
>  \- _Sugoi! (_ _凄い_ _! /_ _すごい_ _!)_ \- Japanese: "Great!" (Hepburn Romanization)  
>  \- _świeca_ \- Polish: "candle"  
>  \- _Qué es este lugar?_ \- Spanish: "What is this place?"  
>  \- _cerimònia_ \- Venetian: "ceremony"


	60. Catching Up

As Team Traveller prowled Tidemill's arena for Cardino's evidence, things had settled down back at the Mistral Marauder. On the deck and the nearby docks, sailors from the moored ship whiled away time gawking at their surroundings and busying themselves with small games of cards and chance. Their counterparts among the sea escorts similarly passed their time amongst themselves with gossip and resting under the pier's pilings, taking advantage of their unexpected downtime.

In the midst of the languid atmosphere, Rodion made his way about the ship's deck, taking stock of the condition of the timbers and rigging as he always did after pulling into a port. The mustelid looked up from the last mast, finding nothing disagreeable from his check and turned to make his way to his Aggron superior who watched the cityscape from the ship's bow, a palpable sense of contentment hanging around him.

"Oh? You sure seem to be in a good mood, Hess," the Floatzel murmured.

"Heh, what can I say?" the Aggron captain answered back. "I'm feeling good about our odds at that tournament! Looks like we might have a shot at getting that bird after all."

"Eh? I thought you tended to be more confident about the stuff you did in person," Rodion wondered, moving a paw along his chin. "Is there something about that team you picked that I'm missing?"

"It's an _open tournament_ ," Hess scoffed. "Everyone knows those tournaments are full of common rookie dweebs trying to make a name for themselves. A few tougher-than-normal 'mons from our crew ought to mop the floor with them!"

The Aggron gave a contented grin and moved his tail along the deck, only to notice that something had caught Rodion's attention. The Sea Weasel's eyes widened out of surprise, prompting the Floatzel to twitch his whiskers uneasily.

"Er… you mean the 'mons that are coming up the gangplank _right now_?" the otter asked, pointing behind his metal-headed superior.

"Wait, what-"

Hess turned around to follow Rodion's line of sight, and the grin slipped off his face as quickly as it had come at the sight that greeted him. There before him were that blasted Marowak and his assigned teammates, waddling up the gangplank with their heads hung firmly downwards in shame, shuffling sheepishly under his shocked gaze.

"Ack! Why are you here?!" he cried. "You're supposed to be fighting in the tournament!"

"Uh… yeah, about that…" Alvise began. "We kinda had an issue while signing up."

"They said someone from our crew already entered and wouldn't let us join!" Nori exclaimed.

"We _tried_ to… _persuade_ them into letting us in anyways with some coin," Valatos explained. "But they told us to take a hike."

Hess glared at his subordinates, before eyeing their scarves more closely, and glancing up at the 'borrowed' sails the Mistral Marauder had been flying... and groaned as he put two and two together. Those sails had been taking from that Tromban ship, so if "someone from their crew" had already joined up, it couldn't have been anyone but those blasted bumpkins they ran into at Kenobi!

"Of course," Hess grumbled. "Those Tromban hicks must also be in the tournament right now."

Rodion clicked his tongue in frustration and paused, thinking over the team's plight. After a moment's thought, he shot a skeptical frown at the party as a realization came over him.

"Wait a minute," Rodion demanded. "If _they're_ in there, why didn't you just add a dot or something to distinguish your scarves?"

Valatos' mandibles hung open, grasping for an explanation and failing to find one as the Charmeleon, Sealeo, and Vileplume among his teammates shot frowning scowls at him. He trailed off awkwardly, leaving a pointed silence to hang over the ship's deck.

"… Uh…"

"That's what _I_ tried to tell them!" the Vileplume sighed, throwing a hand over her face.

The whole ship rocked forward as Hess stomped the timbers underfoot, sending some nearby pirates sprawling to the deck with a yelp as they lost their footing. As the ship settled, the Yanmega and his companions winced as they looked up and met the gaze of the livid Aggron, who snarled and bared his fangs as he glared down at them.

"So fix your scarves and get _back in line_ already!" the Steel-Type snapped.

Valatos and his fellow contestants hastily squeaked back an affirmation before bolting back down the gangplank. The Aggron captain stared blankly after the party as they slipped back into the bustle of Tidemill's streets, before turning and groping at a chest with his claw. The Steel-Type fished out a clay flask and brought it shakily to his mouth, taking a deep, anxious swig of the calming rum within before dropping it to the side with a defeated frown.

"Urgh… what did we just get ourselves into?"

* * *

Up in the higher tiers of the _Vecioferàle Arena_ , Cabot, Berecien, and Niilo led Pleo down an arcing hallway lined with open-air windows on one end and doors on the other. Every so often there would be the occasional entrance opposite of the windows blocked off by folding paper screens and strong guards letting naught through them but the sound and shadows of Pokémon inside. The three led the young Protector past a pair of guards and into a darkened room with tables and cushioned seats set out, columned walls, and flecks of light peeking through along the floor from three sides from behind heavy curtains, which prompted the seabird to crane his neck around uneasily.

"Where did you take me?"

"It's the opening ceremony for your tournament," Cabot explained. "Queen Aleria wanted you out there so you could better see the Pokémon that need you as their Protector."

"Yeah, and you won't be seeing anything fast from the air with your flight feathers the way they are," Niilo added. "So might as well let us show you arou- Ow!"

The Sandslash yelped as a hard hoof stomped onto his foot, and nursed his injured toes before shooting the Ponyta a dirty glare from his spot on the ground.

"Shut it, _najemnik!_ " Berecien snapped. "Anyhow… we wanted to show you something."

The Ponyta nosed with his snout at a curtain drawn over a set of wide windows, letting light from outside filtered in along with a great murmur. The young Protector blinked curiously and waddled over, peering through the slit Berecien opened to see that outside was a great circle-shaped courtyard filled with Pokémon of all shapes and sizes watching from terraced stands. At the center, small groups of Pokémon had gathered on a field, all expectantly looking up and seemingly in wait...

"There's a _lot_ of Pokémon in the Empire who have been waiting a long time for this moment," the fire horse explained. "For something bigger than them to take their side."

"Yeah, and they're all here to greet you!" Cabot cheered. "To make you feel welcome in your new home!"

"I… guess…"

Pleo looked out over the grand arena and its throngs, the rapt attention providing cold comfort to his own loneliness and yearnings for home. Unbeknownst to the young Protector, at that time, his teammates darted onto the field and took in their surroundings. The _Vecioferàle Arena_ was a grand space consisting of a circular pit ringed with stone stands that went up in tiers up to a canvas ring about the edge that provided stage. On the field, the contours of a battlefield had been sketched out on sandy ground, along with impressions of trapdoors and signs of movement of heavy objects. Curiously, there also seemed to be portholes in the pit's walls just below the first rows of seats, the apertures sporting fresh water stains on them. Elty looked back at his teammates and saw that the pair were gobsmacked at the sheer scale of the battlefield and its surroundings.

"I take it you haven't seen anything quite this big before, huh?" the Growlithe murmured.

"Obviously not!" Nida exclaimed. "This arena has more 'mons in it than our entire town!"

"I didn't know it was _possible_ for your colony grounds to get this populated…" Guardia murmured.

Nida looked around and saw that the teams were composed of Pokémon of every conceivable shape and size… including the Gallade, Blastoise, and Goodra they'd spotted at the signups. The three were far from the only obviously tough competitors on the field, as all throughout the gathering, taller and stronger competitors blocked out the sun with their shadows, hardly a positive omen for fighting against them.

"Yeesh," the Nidoran muttered. "If our first fight is against them, maybe we should just forfeit."

"Pah," Guardia scoffed. "Why would you be so swift to turn tail?"

"Because we have our evidence and we don't have any chance of actually being allowed to go and see Pleo?" Elty retorted, rolling his eyes.

"But there's _lore_ to be gathered!" Guardia insisted. "Strategies to learn, histories of your warriors, and-"

"All contestants, your attention please," the announcer's voice said. "The Silver Wing Cup is about to begin! Please give a warm welcome to our host, the one, the only..."

Team Traveller looked up to see a Rotom flitting out of an announcer's pavillion built into one of the upper stands, the glint of a badge shining against his crackling body. The Ghost-Type zipped around over the stands, the spectators filling the air with raucous cheers as he passed overhead.

"Good afternoon, beauties and gentlebeauties!" the Rotom crackled. "It's me, Thalez! The master of sound _and_ soul who's ringing in the first ever Silver Wing Cup!"

Nida, Guardia, and Elty furrowed their brows skeptically at the ruddy ghost zipping above the stands. For such a small Pokémon, the Rotom certainly had an outsized personality... and ego to boot from the sound of it.

"They really managed to get some characters out for this thing, huh?" Elty sighed.

"I can already tell it's going to be a great show!" Thalez cheered. "Everyone give a big hand for our wonderful contestants!"

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause for the gathered fighters in the arena pit, the assorted Pokémon basking in the attention for a moment. As the lot was collectively distracted, a small party consisting of Pokémon in white scarves that had hastily been retouched to have blue triangle designs slipped in at the edges, panting from a hasty rush into the stadium, with a particular Yanmega, Manectric, and Marowak at the head of the group.

"Gah…" Valatos buzzed. "Lousy paper pushers are such a pain to deal with even here."

"Well, at least we made it, right?" Alvise sighed.

"Yeah, it's fighting!" Nori snorted. "This oughta be a piece of cake!"

"And for all you novices out there, there's only one rule," Thalez explained. "Fight and win… or you die!"

Valatos and his teammates froze in shock at the Rotom's announcement. They hadn't signed up for a fight to the death, right? Since when was that a part of things?!

"Wh-Wha-?!"

"Tournament-wise!" the Ghost-Type cheered. "Don't worry, my dear contestants! The only things getting buried on this battlefield are losers' dreams!."

The Rotom's exclamation drew laughs and chortles from the nearby contestants, which made Alvise turn up his snout and snort out of annoyance.

"Pah… Thalez's still doing his old bait and switch routine, I see," the Manectric grumbled.

"And for the lucky winners out there in the field, we've got quite the haul for you! We've got a silver cup, a title…"

The Rotom zipped by a box high up in the stands that had been covered by indigo drapes. As he passed, the curtains parted to reveal the form of a long-necked bird with silver feathers, who shrank uneasily back as he felt the presence of thousands of eyes turning to him intently.

"And an audience with the first-ever Protector of Anyilla! Lugia, Guardian of the Seas!"

The stadium broke into a deafening cheer as the gathered spectators eagerly roared out their approval of their new Protector. From below on the arena floor, amidst the gleeful awe of their fellow competitors, Team Traveller stared up in slack-jawed surprise.

"Wait!" Nida cried. " _That's_ the prize?!"

"Rev up those wishes, beauties and gentlebeauties," the Rotom said. "I know that _I'd_ have trouble settling on what I'd want from that plucky little bird!"

The Pokémon in the stadium went wild with raucous cheers as spectators and contestants alike traded wild fantasies of what they'd do were they the lucky victor. Even so, a few more sober faces lingered on, including that of a Weavile among the contestants giving an unimpressed harrumph and folding his arms over each other.

"Hrmph. I see that _they_ didn't feel any hesitation cutting his feathers," Ketu grumbled. "Shame, he looks like he wouldn't need much of a push to convince him to take off right now."

"Well, it's nothing that we can't handle over a few fights, right?" an orange-furred Lycanroc next to him asked.

"Maybe…" the Weavile muttered. "But I'm keeping my eyes open for a way to cut to the chase and cut him loose."

"So let's get this show rolling, folks! Real action! Real drama! Real bloodshed! _Which the authorities will remind is to be avoided per rules of the Imperial Battle League_ but hey who cares?!" Thalez cried. "Go and give us a finale that'll drive this crowd wild!"

The stadium filled with a cheering roar as the contestants waved back and began to filter out of the arena pit. As the crowd of fighters visibly thinned, the party from the Siglo Swellow remained visibly fixed in their spot, staring up at the box where Pleo had revealed himself as the curtains were lowered and the Protector slipped from view.

"So he really is out there…" the Druddigon murmured. As the young Dragon-Type found himself dumbstruck over the discovery, Ander's mood had taken a far more agitated turn, the Scyther shaking his head anxiously back and forth.

"Irresponsible. It's all completely irresponsible," the Bug-Type piped. "Trotting around that- that _thing_ around like it's some toy."

The Scyther's visible unsettledness drew an audible pause from his teammates, unsure of how to respond. After a short, awkward lull, Dimitri cleared his throat, hoping to shift the team's focus back to their present options at hand.

"Where do we even _start_ on this?" the Kabutops asked. "I honestly don't know how we slice the whole 'getting Pleo' part right now."

The group fell silent as they mulled over the situation, thinking about how best to retrieve Pleo. Winning the tournament outright was a longshot, to say the least, but the odds of trying to steal him away from such a crowded, well-guarded area didn't seem much better. The five Pokémon found themselves blanking out, and after a while Kiran ruffled his feathers uncomfortably and spoke up.

"… Let's try and think this through in a quieter place," the Swellow offered.

The five turned and began to trudge off for the exit, passing by various Pokémon on the way over. Unbeknownst to the young Druddigon and his companions, at the same time, a Nidoran was passing by with her Growlithe and Cubone teammates. The rabbit and her companions were similarly not paying attention to the passing Pokémon until the Poison-Type chanced to catch the sight of a red crest high up from the corner of her eye. The blue rabbit blinked and caught herself, before looking back into the sea of Pokémon, her lack of progress catching the attention of her teammates.

"Something the matter, Nidoran?" Guardia asked.

"It's just, for a moment, I thought I saw…"

"Hey! It's this way!" a chirping voice cried.

The three looked and for a fleeting moment saw the forms of a familiar Swellow and Kabutops in the crowd in white scarves. The three blinked, and began to follow after, when much to Nida's astonishment, there at the mouth of the exit, she saw the form of a shorter Druddigon heading inside… Wasn't that-?!

" _Crom?!_ "

* * *

The five Pokémon from the Siglo Swellow followed the rest of the teams into the maze of corridors and chambers that formed the arena's underlevels. The group hung back as the teams disappeared off into different chambers and waiting rooms, before looking around and slipping down an emptied back corridor. The five went down a ways, and after growing suitably convinced they were not being overheard, began to talk amongst themselves about their next course of action.

"Er… so what do we do now?" Pladur murmured.

"We fight and win the tournament?" Dimitri replied. The crab's question drew a nervous squirm out of the Fraxure, prompting him to look around his surroundings with visible unease.

"Yeah, but we're one team out of… I don't even know how many teams were out there," the Dragon-Type muttered. "A-And a lot of them seemed really tough. There was that Gallade with the Goodra and the Blastoise... the team with the Slaking... and that one with the Metagross…"

Pladur's doubts quickly rubbed off onto his teammates, making Crom, Ander, and even Dimitri blanch a bit at how daunting their odds looked at the moment. Even so, the Swellow among their number seemed to retain some semblance of optimism, as the bird fanned out a wing and patted his Druddigon pupil's shoulder.

"It's nothing that can't be resolved with a little bit of planning ahead," Kiran reassured.

"But… do we really _know_ anything about the other Pokémon?" Crom asked. "How would we even know what to expect?"

A sinking feeling fell over the company as they realized they were more than likely hopelessly outmatched in a tournament full of career fighters who no doubt made a living fighting in tournaments just like this. To turn the tide as underdogs in _one_ battle was possible, if challenging...

But how could they possibly pull it off enough times to win an entire tournament against foes whose strategies they had no foreknowledge of? And with just the five of them to support one another?

The situation came over the sailors in a rush, and it was enough to make anyone feel small in the face of an intimidating foe, to say nothing of the fate of Pleo and the entire island of Tromba hanging in the balance on top of it.

"Crom!"

A familiar, squeaky voice brought the group to attention. Crom felt a wave of nostalgia wash over him as he heard it, harkening back to the simpler times before this whole mess began. The Dragon-Type shook himself and realized that it was none other than the voice that always came to greet him when he arrived from his family's bakery in the mornings...

"Wait a minute!" the Druddigon cried "That's-!"

The dragon whirled around towards the calling voice, and his eyes went wide. It really _was_ Nida, in the flesh! The little Poison-type ran towards him with wide, expectant eyes as she called his name again. Following her was that Growlithe pirate they'd roped into their team all that time ago on Tromba, as well as another Pokémon Crom had never met before. The Cubone seemed somewhat confused as her friends rushed off ahead of her, but she hurried after them all the same.

"Nida!"

The Nidoran and Druddigon darted ahead of their still-stunned groups, the young Poison-Type leaping into her Druddigon companion's arms as he lifted and twirled around with her. The Dragon-Type pulled the young pincushion close and gave an enthusiastic, nuzzling squeeze, little droplets forming at the edges of their eyes as their reunion sunk in and their teammates neared.

"I've missed you so much…" the Dragon-Type sniffled.

"Yeah…" Nida answered. "Same here-"

"Eh?! Just who are _these majū_?"

All eyes in the gathering turned at the sound of a raspy voice, settling down on a puzzled-looking Cubone. Ander and Pladur in particular seemed to be surprised at the bone lizard's appearance; was this the extra Pokémon Aulis had been talking about back in Copperband Village?

"Wait, you never told me you had a Cubone pupil, Kiran," Ander murmured.

"Er… I don't," the Swellow explained, before hopping over to the bone-helmeted lizard.

"Who are you, little one?"

"I'm Shugodeshi, lorekeeper-in-training of the Dungeon Colony," the Ground-Type answered. "My teammates here call me 'Guardia'."

"Bonehead also works," Elty replied. The Growlithe opened his mouth to continue, only to be promptly cut off by a conk of the Cubone's club against his head.

"Ow!"

Nida sighed as her teammates traded glares with one another, and noticed that a faint, flustered chagrin had crept up on Crom and his companions. The Nidoran waved her paws, hoping to smooth over the less-than-ideal impression.

"We recruited her in Kenobi when we explored the Mystery Dungeon there," Nida explained. "Sorry if she was a bit of a surprise, Kiran."

"Oh hardly," the Swellow chortled. "With you _recruiting_ a fresh member on your own, you've shown 100% more initiative than any of my past classes!"

Guardia wagged her tail a bit at the Swellow's greeting. Even though the stranger did seem to be a little more numbers-oriented than she'd have expected of a team leader, he didn't _seem_ particularly dangerous. The others with him seemed to have their initial reservations give way after the Flying-Type's greeting and the sight of the bone lizard's more amiable demeanor, prompting them to come up and introduce themselves to their new teammate.

"Ah, well it's nice to meet you Guardia!" Crom greeted. "I'm Crom! And the Swellow is my team captain, Kiran."

"Pleased to meet you," the Flying-Type said.

"And I'm his father, Pladur," the Fraxure in the group offered. Sensing that he was the only one left out, Ander shifted uneasily before tapping his scythes together and warily speaking up.

"And I'm Ander…" he offered. "I do business with their family. I guess."

"Well, I don't know about the other three. But I _do_ know about you, Crom," the Cubone replied. "The others kept talking about you when we first met."

The bone lizard's explanation drew a nonplussed flap of the young dragon's wings, along with a similarly flustered-looking fold of Nida's ears back along her head. Finding herself to be the center of a bit more attention than she anticipated, the Poison-Type tilted her head, and gave an awkward smile back to her Dragon-Type counterpart.

"… We missed you just a bit," Nida sheepishly answered, before pausing and blinking out of realization.

"Wait a minute, Dimitri," she murmured. "How did _you_ get sucked into all of this? The last time we saw you was when those Imperials collapsed the Subway!"

"The _rod_ ran into their ship while looking for you. When the _Ataman_ was practically _begging_ me to help look above-water for you, I couldn't say no to that sort of opportunity!" Dimitri chortled, before giving a curious tap of his scythes.

"But what about you all? What have you been doing _here?_ " he asked. "When we tracked you down to Sormus, we had heard you were dragged off by the Empire!"

"We _were_ ," Elty explained. "But they dumped us to the curb after they got Pleo and dragged him away."

"We were hoping to go home and ask Hatteras what we should do…" Nida murmured. "But when we found Pleo was right _here_ … Well..."

"We found out he's out of our reach, obviously," Guardia sighed. "It's a shame we can't just _fight_ our way to him…"

Crom and his companions looked down at the Cubone, deep in thought. If they _were_ to try to fight their way through to Pleo, their only hope would be to do so through the tournament fair and square. But with odds as daunting as they were, just how could either of them hope to discover enough about their opponents going into their matches to get an idea of their weaknesses… It's not as if they could just pool their strength together for every fight!

That said… was there really anything to stop them from doing it _outside_ each one? The sailors' eyes lit up as they realized that they'd been looking for help to find out enough about their opponents to stay a step ahead of them while still setting aside time to train and prepare. All this time, the solution was standing right in front of them!

"Wait, what's that look for?" Guardia demanded.

"Actually… Maybe we _do_ have a way of doing that after all," Kiran murmured.

"Huh?" Nida asked. "What do you have in mind?"

* * *

Back at the box where Pleo had been housed, as the tournament had gone on, even in the lulls between matches, the mood remained electrified as Berecien, Cabot, and Niilo traded excited talk amongst themselves over the results of the prior matches. The three prattled on amongst themselves, occasionally glancing out to watch the process of the field being cleared out for its next match, as was always done prior to matches to smooth out damage to the field and to try and set the rough theme for the battlefield's next match. The process of setting up for the incoming match was nearing its tail end, with Pokémon on the field moving the last few stones into place to help make the battlefield a craggy facsimile of a mountainous clearing.

Even so, there was one conspicuous exception to the shared excitement in the box, as Pleo huddled to himself in a corner. Indeed, much to their astonishment, even during the entire afternoon full of battles so far, the young Lugia with them had shown little appetite to do much other than to rest by the columns of the box and poke his head past the nearby curtains and over the balcony every now and then. Berecien, Niilo, and Cabot hoped that perhaps the thrill of battle would soothe his spirits, and decided to give the Protector space for the time being.

As the three droned on, the Lugia looked back out onto the field, where he saw that the workers had cleared the battlefield and the teams for the next battle began to take their places. At the far end was a party consisting of a Cubone, a Growlithe, a Nidoran…

Eh?! Why those were none other than his own teammates!

"Ah! They came back!" he chirped. "Hey! I'm up here!"

The young Protector sprang to his feet and moved in front of the window, waving out at the field eagerly. He heard the roar of the stadium and continued waving his wing out at his friends in the distance… Only for them to keep looking ahead, and the three youngsters to look around puzzledly at the suddenly energized stands as a sinking realization dawned on the seabird.

"Oh… they don't notice me…"

Indeed, as Pleo's enthusiasm ebbed away and the Lugia drooped his head, Team Traveller continued to look around at their surroundings in the arena pit. All the while, the three tried to make sense of the sudden spurt of excitement as thoughts fresh off of a session trading stories and tips with Crom and his teammates lingered in their minds.

"Eh? What's with this crowd?" Elty murmured. "I feel like we just missed something here…"

"Hrmph, worry about that later," his Cubone teammate countered, before pointing her bone off into the distance. "Our foes are coming out to challenge us right now."

Nida and Elty followed the tip of the Guardia's club off into the distance, where sure enough, the forms of three Pokémon with rescue badges sidled onto the field. At the front was a dark violet-blue Gligar hopping and scurrying along the ground, followed closely by… a magenta Monferno and a white Vulpix? Why, if they didn't know any better, they'd think the fox was an Ice-Type!

When Kiran had come back with his findings about the team, he hadn't mentioned at all that their opponents would be such head-turners… He hadn't miss anything _else_ in the process, had he?

"And representing the Tidemill North Guild on the left is Team Anomaly! The flashiest up-and-comers you'll see in the tournament today!" Thalez's voice crackled. "On the other side… three random kids from Company waters! 'Team Wanderer' or something like that."

Right on cue, the crowd of spectators began to boo and hiss at the young adventurers. No matter where Team Traveller looked in the crowd, all they saw were Pokémon jeering them down, seeming all to wish defeat on them right out of the gate.

"Whelp, looks like the crowd's made up its mind over who to root for," the Rotom chimed. "Can't say I don't feel for them!"

The three Pokémon wilted at their less-than-hospitable reception from the feisty locals. Couldn't they just root for their favorites like normal Pokémon?

"Was that introduction _really_ necessary?" Elty grumbled.

"Tsk," Guardia scoffed. "They certainly favor their colony's home team…"

"Hrmph, we'll make it through this," Nida grunted. "We just need to win this match, and then we'll alternate with Crom and the others to get sneak peeks at how our next foes will fight!"

Derisive laughter rang out from across the battlefield, and Nida turned to see the Gligar and his team smirking at them dismissively.

"Hate to burst your bubble, but there won't be another match for ya," the flying scorpion jeered.

"Yeah, that next round's got our names written all over it!" the white Vulpix added.

"Grr… We'll see about tha-" Guardia growled, readying her club only for Thalez's voice to once again fill the arena.

"Aaand they're already getting into it, folks. Let's not disappoint our fighters and get their match rolling! To your places!"

The two teams took their places at opposing sides of the battlefield, planting their feet and readying themselves to spring into combat. The Rotom announcer positioned himself over his announcer's booth, floating as a growing ball of static built between his arms and the stands began to pulse with excitement. The Ghost-Type raised his arms up, prompting the stands to break into a countdown in a united voice.

Three…

Two...

One...

_Boom!_

GO!

At the sound of Thalez' thunderclap, Team Traveller sprang up and bolted down the battlefield for their opponents. Nida and Elty trained their attention for the Vulpix and Monferno respectively as Guardia charged on ahead for the Gligar, bringing her club into motion for a swing as the bug-like creature planted his feet and crouched.

"Hah!" Guardia sneered. "You'll never get anywhere just _standing_ there like tha-"

"Hup!"

Guardia swung her club with all her might at the flier, only for the Gligar sprang into the air in a flash. The Cubone stumbled as her club cleaved through the air, finding purchase on nothing solid in its path, and only barely readjusted her balance in time to avoid falling over entirely. She glanced up at the scorpion incredulously, just as he dove back to the earth, smoothing his landing by catching the wind beneath his membranous wings and gliding gently down.

"Eh?!" the bone lizard exclaimed. "You can do tha-?! Ack!"

Guardia tumbled as she felt a frigid blow come from behind. She hastily righted herself and brushed some ice off her back spikes, seeing that much to her astonishment, the Vulpix really _could_ spit ice instead of fire! The Cubone hastily dove out of the way as a blast of powdery snow came at her, the Ground-Type's plight prompting Nida to hastily run after the fox in pursuit with her legs tensed for a pair of kicks…

"Not so fast, _cunìcio!_ "

Only to feel a crushing divebomb from the Gligar that sent her tumbling head over heels. A sharp yelp from the background quickly evidenced that Elty had fared little better, the Puppy Pokémon sailing facefirst into the battlefield after having been kicked into the air by his Monferno opponent. Under withering fire from all ends, the three members of Team Traveller hastily retreated for their end of the battlefield, grouping back together as their foes gave chase behind them much to the audience's roaring delight.

"And a strong opening by Team Anomaly!" Thalez cheered. "Will Team Wanderer, manage to get their act together? Or is this the end of their short career here at the Silver Wing Cup?"

"Gah! That _Gliger_ was standing around like that to lure us into a trap!" Guardia fumed.

"Trap or not, this is gonna be a short fight if we can't take care of him!" Elty growled.

"How are we supposed to do that when he keeps weaving out of the way!" the bone lizard protested.

Nida bounded towards the Gligar, spikes fanning out as she lobbed poisonous needles up into the air, but found her attempts thwarted again and again as the scorpion zig-zagged out of the path of each attack. The Nidoran dove out of the way of an incoming air-blade and countered it with a poisoned spike, only to gawk as the pin sailed clear past its target and landed harmlessly on the ground of the battlefield.

"Gah!" Gritting her teeth in frustration, Nida glared up at the blasted bug, cursing his evasive abilities. It seemed downright impossible to hit him as long as he was in the air, air, with how he was dodging every attack aimed his way in some errant direction! There was no way they could win this fight! …Unless… he could be led _into_ an attack?

"That's it! We'll just have to control where he flies!" Nida grunted. "Cover me and take a shot when he's coming into range!"

Nida lowered her head and charged ahead for the Gligar, fanning her spikes out as she ran forward. The Poison-Type twitched her hide, flicking a spike into the air at the scorpion only for the Ground-Type to weave left of it. The Nidoran's assault quickly caught the attention of the white Vulpix, prompting him to alert his Monferno teammate and dart after the Nidoran.

"Oi, heads up, Snowy!"

Before the Vulpix could turn to see the source of the voice, he was cut off by a stinging rain of embers and soot blowing into his face. His Monferno teammate skidded to a stop at the sight of the Growlithe culprit behind the attack, pivoting and readying a lunge. Before the ape could carry on, she was cut off by Guardia charging on ahead, forcing the monkey to leap back as the Cubone forcefully swung her club out at the Fire-Type.

"Agh! He got soot in my eyes and fur!" the Vulpix yelped.

" _Gardie!_ " Guardia snapped. "How much longer do we have to keep this up?!"

"Huh?" the Monferno asked, blinking. "Keep what up?"

The Monferno turned and saw that from her position there was a clear line of sight to her Gligar partner and the Nidoran pursuing him. The Fire-Type turned back and saw that a smirk had spread over her Growlithe opponent's face, before he took off in a sprint, prompting her to go wide-eyed out of realization and dash after him.

"Oh no you don't-!" the Monferno shrieked, only to be cut off with a raspy shout.

"Outta my way!"

The monkey reeled after feeling a heavy blow against the side of her head, sending her pinwheeling as Guardia came to a skidding stop in the dirt of the battlefield. The Ground-Type whirled and turned to run after her Growlithe teammate, the fire dog continuing on in his charge towards the Gligar as fire began to dance on his pelt. The Puppy Pokémon leapt and brought his legs over his head in a fiery wheel, somersaulting straight into the scorpion as he desperately tried to pull up higher into the air.

"AGH!"

Elty's blow sent the Gligar shooting up into the air, pinwheeling uncontrollably as he plummeted back down to earth with a loud _thud._ Team Traveller's three members waited a tense moment, only to see the Ground-Type starting to get back up visibly tottering, prompting Nida to flare her ears in realization that their opponent's strength was fading fast.

"This is it!" the Nidoran cried. "Make your hits count here!"

The team descended upon the Gligar with kicks and blows as Elty bit down on his wing. The scorpion screeched and thrashed under the blows, desperately flailing to get free as his movements grew increasingly labored and fatigued. With her foe pinned at her feet, Guardia growled and raised her club over her head, only to be knocked onto her stomach with a yelp by an icy jab from behind.

"Hang in there, chief!" the Vulpix shouted. "We're coming!"

The Monferno and Vulpix charged ahead, the latter limping somewhat as the battle wore on him. Elty met their rush head-on, fire erupting from his pelt as he somersaulted directly into the Vulpix. A piercing shriek rang through the arena as the Ice-type flopped backwards, faceplanting into a limp heap on the ground. The Growlithe shook off the impact of the blow, giving a contented huff as he studied his handiwork.

"One down, two to-"

Elty was swiftly broken out of his reverie by a fist curled tight around the nape of his neck, yanking him off the ground forcefully. He yelped and thrashed about, turning around in his aggressor's grasp and coming face-to-glaring-face with a Monferno, her fist already reeled back for a heavy punch.

The Growlithe flinched and screwed his eyes shut, bracing for impact, but his eyes snapped back open as the primate gave a shout and dropped him. Elty tumbled to the ground, craning his neck up to see the ape doubled over in pain clutching her stomach, and Guardia reeling back to deliver a forceful uppercut. The dog turned and fell back, just in time to see the Gligar take flight as a Poison Sting from Nida sank into his left membrane.

"Gnrk! I'm not done yet, Nidoran!" the Gligar hissed. "Better hope that-"

Before the scorpion could finish his threat, he watched as Nida turned and bolted for the direction of his Monferno teammate. The Gligar narrowed his eyes and seethed, diving after the little pincushion as he chittered under his breath.

"Hey! Get back here!"

The Gligar dove after the blue rabbit in pursuit, only to begin to feel woozy and disoriented as soon as the air billowed out under his wings. The scorpion grimaced and poked his head down to inspect the membrane of his left wing, where he found a spike lodged in it, still dribbling purple poison. He looked ahead just in time to see his Monferno teammate send his Cubone foe tumbling back with a punch under her chin, only to be caught by a tackle from the Nidoran immediately afterwards. The scorpion grimaced as his companion fell to the ground and failed to pick herself up, grudgingly realizing that the spike ball's desperate run-around on the battlefield had been far less desperate and reactive than he'd thought.

"… Well played…"

The congratulations came out slurred and trailed off as its speaker lurched forward, depleted of his strength. The scorpion went limp and tumbled out of the air, hitting the stadium floor with a dull _thud_ and kicking up a small cloud of dust. A stunned silence filled the air of the stadium, dragging on for seconds that felt like eternities before the quiet was broken by the sound of a loud thunderclap.

"Aaand I don't know how they managed it, but Team Wanderer pulls in for the win!" Thalez exclaimed. "Give it up for our winners, folks!"

Some scattered, wary clapping and cheers rose from the crowd, seemingly unsure whether or not it was appropriate. After a few bolder and braver souls took the plunge into a full applause, others joined in, until the whole arena was alive with an enthusiastic roar. For a moment, time seemed to stand still for Team Traveller, the lot glowing with pride as the whole world seemed to share in their hard-won victory.

"Heh… we did it," Guardia wheezed. "All five of us!"

Nida and Elty bit their tongues as they watched Guardia lurch and totter, leaning against her club for support. The two traded uneasy looks with each other, wondering if perhaps they'd pushed themselves a little too hard out on the field in the past match.

"Just how hard did they manage to _hit_ her?" Elty murmured.

Nida looked back in the direction of their opponents, where a Comfey, a Blissey, and a white Meowstic in the familiar red scarves of healers scooped up the felled Pokémon and loaded them onto slings to carry off. As the party departed, Nida saw the Gligar crack his eyes open, before smiling weakly with a wave. If he could start recovering so quickly from the blows he'd taken… surely Guardia's wounds wouldn't be so much harder to surmount?

"Nothing that we can't manage, I think," Nida reassured. "We'll just have to make an extra stop to patch ourselves up before meeting up with Cardino and-"

The Nidoran trailed off as she noticed the sun was much lower and further to the west than she thought it'd be. Why, it looked like it was just an hour or so before sunset, and they still needed to get to the courtroom to bring their evidence to Cardino!

"Ack! It's late in the afternoon already!" she squeaked. "We need to get going!"

"But what about bonehead's double vision here?" Elty insisted.

"We'll fix it on the way!"

The three hurried off, pulling Guardia along by the arm as they slipped back into the underlevels of the arena. They'd survived their first battle in the ring well enough, so with any luck, fortune would smile on them again in court…

Hopefully.

* * *

As Team Traveller slipped off the field, Pleo continued to hover around the column of his stadium box, his mood having failed to improve after his hopes of catching his teammates' eyes were so thoroughly thwarted. From the side, Cabot and his companions noticed that their charge continued to appear downcast, and after some conversation amongst themselves, the Cranidos stepped forward and tapped his claws uneasily as he tried to strike up a conversation with the white bird.

"So... uh... how are you liking the tournament so far, Protector?" Cabot asked. "Those Pokémon were your friends right? They did pretty good out there!"

"But they didn't notice me…"

The Lugia's head drooped further, prompting him to tuck it under a wing to hide it away much to Cabot's dismay. After seeing their companion's failure to shift the young Protector's mood, Berecien and Niilo followed along, the two thinking of ways of their own to try and lighten the mood.

"I'm sure that won't be the _last_ time you see them," Berecien reassured. "After all, you _do_ have a role serving as the Protector of Anyilla and it's only logical that you'd run into them every now and then."

"And the stadium's not quite your neighborhood juice bar," Niilo added. "It wouldn't have been too hard for them to not notice you with that battle going on and all the excitement in the stands."

"But I didn't have that problem at all when they were with me…" Pleo muttered.

An awkward silence came over the group, prompting Cabot and his companions to kick at the ground sheepishly. Try as they might, none of the three were able to think of anything that might cheer up the young Lugia, and so they remained quiet as Thalez's voice filled the silence.

"And next up we've got… 'Team Hailstorm' and 'Team Blue Sun'? Really? Who was responsible for booking two merchant teams from out east against each other?" the Rotom scoffed. "Bah, whatever, feel free to get some refreshments, folks. You're probably not missing much."

Thalez's announcement failed to register in the young Lugia's mind, much less among his caretakers as they struggled to find anything to try and lift the seabird's spirits. One after the other, the three tried to make small talk to cheer up the young Protector, only to find themselves fumbling for words until the sound of a heavy hop reached their ears.

"So how are things going with the Protector?" a chittering voice asked.

The gathered Pokémon turned to see Nagant approaching, Pleo hopping back with an audible squawk. For their part, Cabot, Berecien, and Niilo didn't seem calmed themselves by the wizened crustacean's presence, as the Cranidos among them hastily began to speak to the Water-Type.

"Eh? Captain Nugget?" Cabot wondered. "What are you doing here?"

The shrimp reflexively shifted her claw in Cabot's direction, before noticing Pleo's frightened demeanor, prompting her to ease back. Even if the Cranidos ought to have known better by now, it _was_ a bit crowded to be shooting Water Pulses around wildly...

"It's _Nagant_ , Cabot," the Clawitzer hissed. "Please do be mindful of that."

Pleo watched as the Cranidos gulped and backpedaled away from the wizened shrimp, which prompted him to similarly shrink back. The crab had already hurt him, cut his feathers, and kept him tied up for hours in a darkened ship… From the way she dealt with her dinosaur underling, it didn't look like she would treat him any nicer now. B-But why did she still want to bother him? Hadn't she already gotten whatever she wanted?

"Wh-Why are you here?" Pleo stammered.

"Because the Queen insisted that I check up on your caretakers," Nagant answered. "There's plenty of other places I'd rather be right now than this stadium stuck with that obnoxious Rotom."

"When do I get to leave, though?" the young Lugia pressed. "I want to go home."

"You _are_ home," the Water-Type retorted. "And it's a bit soon for the Empire to be talking about building visiting residences in islands that aren't under its control yet."

The full meaning of the Clawitzer´s words about Tromba returning to Imperial control eluded the young Protector, though perhaps that was for the better. From their vantage point, Niilo and his companions could see that the shrimp's attempt at comfort failed to do anything at all other than making Pleo feel even _more_ downcast about his circumstances.

"Er… not that I'm getting paid for saying this, but I don't really think that helped, Captain," Niilo sighed. "Maybe distract him with something?"

"That's _your_ job, Niilo!" Nagant snapped. "Besides, what would I even _have_ as an offhand distraction?"

Almost as if in answer, a loud roar came from the audience in the stands. Nagant initially shrugged the matter off, supposing it to merely be a more exciting moment in the tournament, only for Thalez's voice to suddenly fill the stadium.

"And the crowd goes wild after a stunning down from Team Blue Sun's captain!" the announcer crackled. "Guess there _is_ something worth watching from Company waters after all!"

"Eh? That was sure a change in attitude," Nagant murmured. "Wonder who's out there-?"

The Clawitzer turned to the field just in time to see a familiar-looking Weavile shift his glance to the corner of his eye, and spring up away from a fainted Vanillish as an Abomasnow charged at him. The Dark-Type quickly weaved out of the way as the Vanillish's teammate swiped at him with a crushing arm thrust, the Grass-Type's Hammer Arm carrying on into the floor of the arena with a loud _crash_. The sound of a piercing wind rang out, followed by a bellow as the Abomasnow was knocked back by an Air Slash from a strafing Crobat, prompting the Weavile to spring up and bring down the side of his claw in a chop at the Abomasnow's head, which made him stagger back, and topple forward unconscious to the crowd's roaring approval.

"And he does it again with an assist from his teammate!" the Rotom cheered. "Talk about your diamonds in the rough!"

The Weavile perched beside the sprawled-out Abomasnow, giving waves to the audience as the cheering continued. Even within Pleo's box, the audience's enthusiasm had rubbed off on the Pokémon present, with the visible exception of Nagant who scowled at the Dark-Type on the field, twitching her barbels in recollection.

"Heh. Not a bad choice of distraction there," Niilo said. "Take it you're impressed with the weasel, too."

"… Somewhat," she answered.

Cabot looked on curiously as the Clawitzer glowered down at the battlefield, studying the victorious team's Weavile intently. He'd never noticed her having much interest in these sport-battles in the past; the Dark-Type _did_ look a little familiar, but there couldn't have been anything too strange about him… right?

"Is something the matter, captain...?" Cabot asked.

"... Probably not," the Clawitzer grunted. "I just need to check up on something."

Nagant hopped from her place by the balcony and made for the door, catching the attention of the three other sailors and drawing puzzled tilts of their heads. Berecien opened his mouth to inquire as to her destination, but she pre-empted him before he could get a word in.

"I'll be back in a bit," the shrimp insisted. "Just stick to your duty."

Cabot and his companions traded looks with one another, but opted not to interfere with the Clawitzer's as she began to leave the viewing box. The pistol shrimp set off, hopping along the hallway deep in thought. It was far too implausible for that same Weavile to suddenly be here after running into her at Sormus. How could he have reasonably gone from joking about being a spy nearby the Protector's location at the time, to suddenly showing up at said Protector's public debut without something nefarious afoot?

So who _was_ that Weavile? And more importantly...

"Why is he really here?"

* * *

Team Traveller's mad dash across town took them to a stone, columned building set in front of a plaza with a statue of weighing scales set up before it. The three found themselves staggering up a set of marbled steps, running through a tall-ceilinged lobby and up a flight of steps at the end to a sunlit hall lined with doors before coming to a panting stop. Near one of the doors was the familiar face of Cardino - their Detective Pikachu employer - who judging from his impatient flicking of his ears had been waiting for them for a good while by now.

"Where have you all _been?_ " Cardino demanded. "The Defense has been stalling for an hour!"

"Sorry," Nida sighed. "We kinda got held up getting the evidence."

The Pikachu paused to size up his assistants. Numerous scuffs and bruises on their bodies told a tale of a tough fight, meaning that they must have taken on a round before finding their evidence...

"I see you weren't able to find it before your first match," Cardino murmured. "Well, no matter. Here. Just take these and start chewing when you get inside, the Defense staked its case on a cross-examination of whatever you found."

The Electric-Type's reaction drew blank looks from his assistants, though the expression of the Cubone was blankest off all. What exactly did the hut-dweller rat just say?

"A what now-?"

Cardino hastily fished out some Oran Berries from a shoulder bag and thrust them into Team Traveller's paws. The youngsters started to speak up, only to find themselves pushed through the door into a large chamber with two rows of seats at opposite ends behind tables. To the right was Nico and Rita, and over to the left was the form of a Serperior batting his tail impatiently against the floor. The sound of a throat clearing directed their gazes upward, prompting them to see a Slowking peering down from a raised bench overlooking the room.

"Er… hi?" Elty asked.

"Oh, it appears that the Defense's witness is finally in court," the Slowking murmured. "Be noted that making an old Pokémon wait like this doesn't help your odds of getting a favorable verdict out of me."

Nico and Rita grimaced at the Slowking's disappointed grumbling. The Fletchinder of the pair ruffled his feathers at the judge's poor first impressions. Showing up late to court was _not_ the way to start a life-or-death case like this...

"Erk… Yes, your Honor," the robin gulped. "I'm sure that they have a perfectly good explanation for this…"

"Gah hah hah! I see the Defense's inexperience is showing," the Serperior sneered. "Well no matter, all the more opportunity for Akin the Rookie Killer to cut your lucky streak back down to size!"

"We got held up at the stadium," Elty explained. "It was a bit confusing to get here in a hurry."

"Oh! The one that Thalez's announcing for?" Rita asked. "Did you manage to get an autograph?"

"Aherm!" the Slowking chided. "In the interests of moving this along in time for _everyone_ to have an opportunity to get an autograph, we should really move onto the cross-examination now."

The three members of Team Traveller looked up from their berries, juices still staining their muzzles. There was an awkward silence as the trio grew increasingly aware that they were being stared at, evidently in expectation that they'd say something back...

"Cross… examination?" Nida murmured.

"I ask you to give testimony, I review your statements and point out if there's any inconsistencies with the case?" Nico answered. "You know? Basic legal proceedings?"

"Eh? That sounds so convoluted!" Guardia protested. "Just throw a bone at the three and get the trial over with!"

Guardia's exclamation was met by the sound of exasperated groaning, a quick look revealing that Nico had buried his face in a wing, shaking his head.

"That's… not how law works here…" the Fletchinder sighed, before murmuring under his breath. "What rock did Cardino turn over to get these guys?"

"The Prosecution suggests that the Defense save the court this farce and send in the clowns already," Akin scoffed.

"Wait, didn't we win a case by doing that once?" the Rita whispered to herself, before clearing her throat to speak up. "But anyhow, you just need to talk about something we want to know. You had a question, right Nico?"

"That's right. The Defense maintains that the evidence recovered by Detective Cardino's assistants will prove the innocence of our clients!" the Fletchinder insisted. "So the Defense requests that the witnesses testify about what they recovered and how they found it!"

The robin's exclamation drew a disdainful hiss from the Serperior prosecutor from the other end of the room. The Slowking at the judge's bench didn't seem much more enthused with the matter, and shot a skeptical frown back at Nico's desk.

"… This had _better_ be worth the wait, Defense," the Judge grumbled. "Witnesses, please give your full account of the process of recovering the evidence."

"Uhh... well, Cardino hired us to go into the stadium to look for evidence that had been shipped there by accident," Nida began. "So we entered the tournament to get in."

"We looked around high and low, but couldn't find anything until we noticed a guard standing for a long time in front of a random poster," Elty chimed in.

"He snuck off, and we checked the area, where there was a switch to a secret entrance," Guardia added.

"At the bottom, we found a hidden room full of papers and crates with straw in it and a tunnel that went off to someplace we didn't check," Nida continued. "It looked like it had been used to move stuff around."

"Hold it!" Nico demanded.

The Nidoran sprang upright, flailing a moment to keep her balance at the sound of the robin's loud chirp. The Poison-Type looked over and saw that the attorney had extended a wing out, pointing intently at her with its tip.

"So that's where you found the missing evidence?" the Fletchinder asked.

"That's right!" the Nidoran exclaimed. "It's this journal here!"

Nida pawed at Sibich's journal on the podium and held it up before the court. At once, a cacophony of murmurs broke out among the audience, and the Slowking craned his neck towards the tome to get a better look.

"Well, what's it say?" the Judge asked.

"Er... we weren't able to figure it out. It looks like it's written in some sort of code," Elty explained. "But that's a sign that whoever wrote this had to be someone high-up and not just a bunch of random pirates, right?"

"Objection!"

A loud _smack_ rang through the room as Akin slapped his tail against his desk and gave an impatient hiss. The Grass-Type giving a dismissive wave, before shooting an annoyed look across the room back at Nico and his party.

"Anyone can make a coded message!" the Serperior scoffed. "Why back when I was in schooling, I'd use to pass messages to my sweetheart in law classes…"

"So we almost had little Akins crawling around…?" the robin murmured, trying his hardest to fight back a visible grimace. "Truly a horrifying thought."

The Serperior coiled behind his desk, giving a flick of his tongue. The Grass-Type's demeanor seemed strangely unmoved by Nico's barely disguised snark, the serpent shooting a smug grin across the room.

"If this is _really_ the best you can do, you really ought to give up now, attorney," the Grass-Type chided. "You've proved absolutely nothing about your clients' innocence."

"But we just demonstrated-" the Fletchinder began.

"The possibility that someone else made the diary. I know you're fond of such things," Akin corrected. "But who's to say that it can't just as easily belong to your clients? Or for that matter, that it can't just be some throwaway book for testing pens out?"

"... Agh..."

The audience began to clamor as Nico fumbled with his words, obviously having resorted to weak bluffs and wild leaps of logic to defend his clients. From their place at the docket, Eric, Sela and Hanuna deflated as they realized the gravity of this miserable turn of events.

"We're so dead," Hanuna gulped.

"I told you that we should've been our own attorney!" Sela snapped.

"H-Hey! Spike lump!" Eric pleaded. "I-Isn't there anything else at all you can say?!"

Nida paused, grasping for a defense to blurt out, only to quickly discover that everything she could think of wouldn't work and accomplished little other than stumbling over her own thoughts again and again. There really didn't seem to be anything to prove the pirates' innocence from where she stood... but perhaps she could still cast doubt on the accusations, at least?

If there are no more objections," the Slowking Judge said. "I think I'm ready to hand down a verdict-"

"Hold it!" Nida squeaked.

All commotion stopped in the courtroom, replaced by an air of expectation as Nida found every eye in the room trained right on her. The Nidoran shrank back under the attention of the courtroom, but cleared her throat and hastily continued her objection nonetheless.

"Uh… well, we did find some other stuff in the room along with the diary," the Nidoran explained. "We couldn't bring most of it, but we have at least one thing with us that I think doesn't seem like it fits with this case right now."

"Eh?" Rita asked. "And what's that?"

"We found this shipping list here."

The Nidoran pawed through her satchel and pulled out a folded-up sheet of paper, giving it to Guardia to pass over to Nico. The Ground-Type made her way over and slipped the paper over, prompting the Fletchinder attorney to unfurl it, and his eyes to light up as he scanned its contents.

"Witness, please add that statement to your testimony," the robin instructed.

"Uh… okay... We also found this shipping list with the diary," Nida began. "There's a bunch of names and numbers for eggs with it."

_Slam!_

"OBJECTION!"

All eyes turned to Nico as he pulled his wings up and pointed at the witness podium. The Fire-Type waved his feathers dramatically, before turning his gaze to his opposing prosecutor."

"You were saying earlier that I didn't have any proof of my clients' innocence, Prosecutor Akin?" Nico said. "Well, I present to you this shipping list!"

The Fletchinder snapped up the list in his beak, proudly unfurling it before the crowd of onlookers in the courtroom. Some confused murmurs went about when from his place at the Prosecutor's table, Akin eyed the paper, before giving an irritated hiss back.

"How is _that_ supposed to prove anything?" the serpent demanded.

"You'll notice that this list is filled with the names of different crews. Why, the one for the crew my defendants are from even shows up for multiple dates," the Fletchinder explained. "Would a pirate crew trust three easily overpowered flunkies with a job like that?"

"That was _so_ not necessary…" Eric growled.

"Oi, Eric," Sela snapped. "Don't undermine our case!"

"It _does_ seem a little implausible to believe…" the Judge murmured.

"But the three just as easily could have been proxies!" Akin exclaimed. "And there's no proving that without either establishing what's in that diary or who wrote up the shipping list!"

The Judge groaned as he pounded his gavel for order. The Slowking sighed as he regarded one party and then the other with a muttering grimace, evidently not finding either end of the debate wholly conclusive.

"It doesn't seem like we have enough information either way to hand down a verdict," the Slowking said. "And I have a divorce proceeding to tend to in five minutes."

"Oh, isn't that the case with the Zangoose and Seviper?" Rita asked.

"Yes. It's an… excited case, to say the least," the Slowking sighed. "But anyhow, I'll leave the Prosecution and the Defense be until tomorrow to deliver more information about the owners of the shipping list and diary."

_Whap!_

The Psychic-Type brought his gavel down one last time in dismissal of the trial, and as soon as its pound rang out, a relieved audience began to flow out of the room. Team Traveller shuffled outside after the crowd had cleared while Nico and his assistant packed up their belongings, and they too breathed a sigh of relief once they were out of the courtroom. They'd managed to avoid a crisis in their first trial… somehow.

"Gah… that should've been open and shut!" Guardia fumed. "They were obviously innocent! We even saw so!"

"Getting smacked with a bone isn't admissible evidence in most places, just saying," Elty sighed.

"Even so, just how are we supposed to get a lead on this diary and shipping list in a day?" Nida asked.

"Hey."

Team Traveller turned to see Cardino approaching them from the courtroom's door. The Pikachu's ears twitched inquisitively, their owner seeming visibly curious about some matter... involving them?

"You mentioned that there was a secret room in the stadium, right?" Cardino asked. "Mind showing me around there?"

"Eh?" Guardia asked. "Aren't you not able to get in there because of the tournament?"

"Not anymore. It's a crime scene, pal," the Pikachu corrected. "And one that might be able to determine how tomorrow's trial plays out."

"I guess that makes sense," Nida said. "Though are you _sure_ that we won't get in trouble for this?"

"Nah, not any more than usual from my end," the detective insisted, his nonchalance drawing skeptical frowns from his assistants.

"Not sure if that was really reassuring…" Guardia murmured.

"Well, we don't have any other leads right now," Nida said. "Come on, let's check it out."

Cardino paused a minute as the three youngsters bounded out of the courtroom. The Electric-Type gave a skeptical tilt of his head before following along after his assistants. After such a tumultuous trial, surely there wouldn't be anything that could surprise them from a simple checkup...

* * *

Back at the _Vecioferàle Arena_ , the tournament had continued on in a cycle of battles, the audience again roaring in approval as the current set of teams engaged each other in pitched combat. In the midst of the raucous cheers and shouts, a Weavile snuck up along the stands, keeping a keen eye on the Protector's box. For a fleeting second, the young Legendary poked his head out, leading Ketu to follow it, and to notice an entrance several tiers below just to the right. The Dark-Type set off, slipping into the hallway and coming across a stairwell, where he began slipping up the flights of stairs. He went up a first flight, then a second, a third...

"What are you doing here?"

The Weavile tensed up and flashed his claws, whirling around to see the Clawitzer from offshore Sormus standing on her tail behind him. The weasel shifted his glance from the corner of his eyes for a moment down the hallway, before looking back with an annoyed frown.

"I was out getting a stretch after my round to see the scenery," the Dark-Type scoffed. "Why? Something the matter?"

"You seem just a bit unnaturally interested in the stadium when there's an entire city outside of it," Nagant said.

Ketu flicked his feathers back and answered back with a shrug. The weasel watched a moment as the crustacean visibly fumed, before throwing a mischievous smirk at the Clawitzer captain.

"You know, if you want an autograph, you can just ask nicely," the Dark-Type teased.

The Weavile's remark was answered by a large chitinous claw being leveled at his face. The Dark-Type raised a brow skeptically before looking over to see its owner seething and wound up in an aggressive posture.

"I _want_ an explanation, and you can keep your back-sass to yourself!" the Clawitzer hissed. "You were at Sormus just the other day. Why are you _here_ and in the tournament?"

"My route just happened to take me here and entering the tournament sounded like a fun way to unwind during my crew's downtime," the Weavile insisted. "Nothing unusual."

Nagant clicked her mandibles and sneered at him incredulously. _'Nothing unusual'?_ That was a bald-faced lie if she'd ever heard one!

"Oh yeah, what are the odds of _that?_ "

"And a daring forward slash by the Druddigon from the Siglo Swanna!" Thalez's voice crackled. "That little tyke's got some fire in him!"

Nagant and Ketu turned at the sound of the Rotom announcer, looking out onto the field just in time to see a young Druddigon spring back from a Delcatty's swipe with her tail. The pair watched as the young Dragon-Type weaved around the Double Slap, and rushed the Normal-Type, tackling her to the ground to a rousing cheer from the audience.

As the roar of the audience reverberated from the audience, Nagant watched with her mandibles slackened. That Druddigon was none other than the youngling she'd run into all the way _back in Kenobi!_ He was here too?! The Water-Type's disbelief was quickly detected by the Weavile with her, who turned and gave a smug smirk back at her.

"Better than you think, Clawitzer," he answered. "It's not _that_ big of a world anymore."

Ketu's explanation drew an irritated hiss back from the Clawitzer. Even if the whole known world fit into a common sea now, there was _no way_ she could believe that the black furball or the Druddigon on the field had just shown up here by happenstance. But dragging his feathered behind in without some pretext would accomplish little more than a scolding for being hot-headed and acting on lack of evidence… Was there any way at all to make him slip up?

"Hmph, whatever. But let me ask you something else," Nagant demanded. "Back in Sormus you mentioned that you were just the acting captain. What species is the ship's _normal_ captain?"

The Weavile paused and tilted his head puzzledly at the question, which prompted Nagant to click her claws impatiently. The Water-Type spoke up to press further, only for the weasel cut her off with a dismissive shrug.

"That would be a Mothim by the name of 'Captain Elmer'," he answered. "I don't believe that either of you two have met before, so feel free to believe me or not."

Nagant blinked at the response, she was certain that the weasel would've said something that would have wound up pointing to Commissioner Lyn. Perhaps he wouldn't have been so clumsy to outright say his name, but still… _Something._ Even so, this 'Elmer' felt vaguely familiar, though she couldn't pin down why…

Bah! A hunch was far from the evidence she needed! So for now, she supposed she had no choice but to relent here.

"… That's fair enough," she grunted. "You shouldn't be keeping your captain waiting for too long. He'll put you out of a job."

"Oh trust me," Ketu replied. "I know my boundaries when it comes to my captain-"

"Another thing," the shrimp added.

"Hrm?"

Nagant glowered harshly at the Weavile, and gestured from her eyes with her little claw before pointing forcefully to his.

"I'll be _watching_ you."

The Clawitzer made her way back for Pleo's chamber as Ketu watched before turning back into the stadium. The shrimp was certainly an imposing obstacle in the way of retrieving the Protector and just as formidable a pursuer should they actually nab him back. Perhaps she was just a bit _too_ much trouble to be left alone without having to… conveniently make her disappear. Much as he'd done to displace Lyn's old Absol First Mate.

… But then again, going with that route would have its own set of headaches. She was definitely more experienced in battle than Lyn's old First Mate ever was, and there certainly wouldn't be any higher-ranking allies to easily sweep matters under the rug here in Imperial territory were the Clawitzer to abruptly leave the stage. The Weavile shook his head and made his way down the stairs, deciding that his best odds of retrieving the Protector lay in not forcing a confrontation with the shrimp…

 _For now_ , anyways.

* * *

Cardino followed Team Traveller through Tidemill's canal-side streets, and back to the lower levels of the Vecioferàle Arena. His assistants led him down one winding hallway after another, until they neared a familiar poster down one such hall, prompting Elty to gesture ahead with one paw.

"That's it over there," the Growlithe grunted, pointing at the poster.

"Eh? But this looks like just another poster," Cardino replied. "And nobody's guarding it."

"Must be our lucky day, then," Nida murmured. "Because when I do this…"

Cardino looked on with mild amusement as first Elty, then Guardia, and finally Nida formed a tower by climbing atop one another's shoulders. Although it was a sight to behold, it wasn't one totally unfamiliar to him; he'd heard now and again of rescue teams forming such towers while exploring dungeons. He watched as the Nidoran pawed around beneath the poster until the group heard the audible pressing of a switch. Team Traveller dismounted their tower as the section of wall bearing the poster swiveled wide open ahead of them and revealed the staircase leading down into the darkness below.

"It opens like a charm," the Poison-Type said. Cardino blinked incredulously for a moment, waving a paw in the newly-opened passage to confirm to himself that it was not an illusion, before mumbling in thought.

"… Huh," the Pikachu remarked. "Talk about hiding in plain sight."

The group made their way down the stairs deeper into the darkened chamber. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, the team felt around for the crate where the lantern had been, only to find naught but stone flooring. Team Traveller groped around in the dark, before a sudden, electrifying flash of light rang out and lit up the room. The three flinched and looked back to see Cardino had created a ball of lightning on the tip of his tail that lit up the room… and revealed it to be completely barren.

"Eh?!" Guardia exclaimed. "They cleaned it out already?!"

"I mean they _have_ had several hours by now," Elty countered. "Wouldn't you also clean it out?"

Cardino's nose wrinkled as he sniffed at the ground, recoiling slightly at the strong scent of wood and hay. Could this scent have been left by whoever it was his assistants had seen earlier?

"Well, they must not have covered their tracks _too_ well," Cardino murmured. "I can smell _something_ was here. Let's try to see if they missed anything-"

The Pikachu cut himself off as the sound of footsteps down the stairwell froze the Electric-type in alarm, ears and tail held straight warily. Team Traveller glanced about the room, trying to make out the intruders, but the telltale drone of buzzing wings answered the question first.

"They went this way!" a chittering voice barked.

Team Traveller froze and went wide-eyed at the sound of the voice, recognizing it to be a Yanmega's. An uncomfortably _familiar_ Yanmega…

"W-Wait a minute," Elty stammered. "That's-!"

Team Traveller watched as Cardino looked up in alarm, the three starting to whirl around, only to be summarily knocked off their feet by a cutting gust of wind.

"AGH!"

The three heard Cardino shout after them and staggered up as the detective darted over, grimacing as they looked up and saw none other than Alvise, Nori, and Valatos making their way down the stairs, grinning maliciously all the while.

" _Surprise_ , runts!" the Yanmega buzzed. "We decided to rope you into a pre-match warmup! First exercise, doing a jig on your spines!"

"Yeah, you didn't think that we were just gonna let you prance around here and show your ugly mugs without doing something about it," Nori growled "Did you?"

"Wait a minute, _why are you here?_ " Elty demanded. "You're supposed to still be with the Iron Fleet!"

"Details," Alvise scoffed. "All that matters is that _we're_ here in the same tournament, and _you're_ here in whatever this weird room is, with us."

"So why wait for a matchup?" Valatos asked. "We'll have some fun with you. Right here and now."

The three brigands fanned out at the base of the stairs, settling into aggressive postures as they crept nearer and nearer to Team Traveller. The three youngsters backpedaled uneasily, only for Cardino to step out in front and wave his paws for a stop.

"Hold it!" the Pikachu exclaimed. "I'm Detective Cardino with the City Guards! These three are my assistants! You can't just go taking a swing at them!"

For a moment, there was an audible silence as Valatos, Nori, and Alvise traded looks with one another, before turning back to the Pikachu with dismissive snorts.

"Pah, and just why are we supposed to care about that, _rodent?_ " Nori sneered.

"Yeah, I don't care if you're royalty, little rat," Valatos hissed. "Get _out_ of our way, or get beaten with them."

Cardino blinked and twitched his nose uneasily at the stranger's pointed rebuffal. Team Traveller tensed up, watching as the Electric-Type licked a paw and slicked the fur on his head back, before continuing on with the glowering pirates in front of him.

"Hey, let's not get hasty here!" the Pikachu began. "I'm sure that whatever little argument's going on between you all's something we can settle with a little-"

Team Traveller screwed their eyes shut as the room suddenly flashed a blinding white from the ball of lightning on the rodent's tail. The Electric-Type threw it at the feet of the intruders with a yelp, Nida, Elty, and Guardia cracking their eyes open to see Valatos and his companions groping around in a blinded daze as Cardino hopped back.

"Alright!" the Pikachu cried. "Time to book it!"

At the Pikachu's prompting, the three youngsters took off running down the tunnel at the end of the room, slipping down a dark, stony passage as the sounds of angry buzzing carried on from behind them.

"Grr! You're gonna regret that dirty trick, you little runts!" the dragonfly hissed. " _Kom terug hier!_ "

The four carried on as their eyes began to adjust to the darkness, revealing a dank stone tunnel that was occasionally lit by dim lanterns filled with glowmoss well past its prime. All the while, the sounds of shouting and footfalls rang out behind them, drawing closer and closer as the group charged on ahead.

"Friends of yours?" Cardino asked.

"What do _you_ think?!" Elty snapped.

The group spotted light ahead at the tunnel and dashed ahead, the stone walls melting away into a winding maze of stacks of crates. Cardino and his assistants darted out, weaving from one crate to the other and found themselves on an enclosed dock, looking around wildly until they spotted the sight of an open, watery canal up ahead and a wooden catwalk wrapping around the stadium to the side.

"Ah! There!" the Nidoran cried. "We can take that exit out of-!"

"Going somewhere?!"

Team Traveller hit the floor as a flying bone shot out in front of them, the Bonemerang arcing around and clipping Cardino in the head with a yelp before returning to a crate beside them, where Nori stepped out into the open. The trio hastily pulled up their Pikachu ally and turned to run, only to see Valatos and Alvise come up from behind, and encircle them with visible satisfaction.

"I believe we had a little _catching up_ to do from last time," the wolf sneered. "Hope you like seeing stars, twerps-"

"Hey!" a low, rumbling voice barked. "Someone's here!"

"Give it a rest already," a hissing voice groaned back. "We've been searching for the punks edging into our turf and come up with nothing but footprints."

"No, let's check it out," a hound-like voice ordered. "I think Carlo's onto something."

Both Team Traveller and their foes looked around puzzledly for the source of the voice, noticing that Alvise's fur was standing up even more than normal, and his face had flushed pale. The group's collective attention turned to see a Swampert and a Salazzle in black scarves each with a red lightning bolt making their way for them, flanking a larger and visibly stunned Manectric in the same garb who Alvise visibly recoiled from.

"Gih!"

"Wha-?!" the other Manectric spluttered, " _Alvise?!_ "

" _Alvise?_ " the Swampert asked. "Wait, isn't that your brother, Luca?"

For a moment, the different Pokémon traded incredulous stares with one another as Luca's gaze hardened into a fierce glare at the smaller Manectric. Alvise for his part was particularly attuned to his brother's mood, prompting him to trade nervous looks with his teammates before whirling around in a stammering panic.

"Yeah, forget this!" the Manectric whined. "I'm outta here!"

"Eh?!" the Yanmega demanded. "But who the he- Hey!"

Valatos and Nori winced as Alvise bolted away from the scene towards the arena. They glanced at the shifty strangers they'd met and opted to follow suit after their comrade. The Manectric among the team of strangers grit his teeth as sparks danced angrily along his hide, and the Electric-type dashed forward after them to give chase.

"Don't let that furbrain get away!" Luca shouted.

The Yanmega and Marowak hastily caught up to their fleeing companion, Nori looking over his shoulder and crying out for the group to duck. The three dove to the ground, going wide-eyed as some attacks zipped overhead, and a glance back revealing the three strangers were in hot pursuit after them.

"Gah!" Nori cried. "Get off our tail already!"

The Marowak brought his club overhead and slammed it into a wooden support beam on the side of the tunnel with visible vigor. A resounding _crack_ rang out as the beam broke and the walls sagged, much to the three strangers' alarm, prompting them to dive out of the way in opposing directions as the roof caved in with a plume of dust. As the dust settled, the trio saw that the mouth of the tunnel had been filled almost to the top with bricks and rubble, the sound of Valatos and his companions retreating reaching the three's ears. At once, Luca launched himself onto the rubble, trying to kick away enough of it to create a passage while his Swampert companion threw aside a few rocks… and his Salazzle companion rolled her eyes and threw a claw over her face.

"Well, that was quite the reunion," the Salazzle sighed.

"Understatement much there, Giusy?" the Swampert retorted.

Team Traveller blinked incredulously as the three strangers got up from the rubble pile. The Manectric evidently was Alvise's brother, but as the group watched the Electric-Type growl out of frustration, one mystery kept swirling in their minds... what on earth had gone _on_ between those two?

"Grr… lousy deadbeat thinks he can just waltz in here and show his mug like nothing happened?" Luca growled. "Well, he's got another-"

"So… this might be a bit of a bad time, but I need to pay a visit to the Don."

The Manectric and his companions blinked, before glancing down to see Cardino waiting for them. Scowls split their faces, the lot of them making no effort to hide their displeasure with the rat's intrusion.

"Yeah, and just who are you supposed to be?" Luca demanded.

"I'm Cardino, Detective with the City Guards," the Pikachu answered. "And I'm going to need the Don to answer a few questions from me."

The three strangers looked at one another for a moment, before dissolving into open, derisive laughter in unison at the detective's attempted ultimatum. Team Traveller backpedaled nervously at this. The strangers being so open about their contempt for Cardino surely didn't bode well for them, presently in the role of his assistants...

"What are you gonna do?" the Swampert sneered. " _Arrest him?_ "

"Yeah," the Salazzle added. "The guards haven't been able to prove any charges in ages!"

"That might change. We found an egg-trafficking den just here in the stadium, and last I checked, this was the Saéta Family's territory. _Your_ territory," the Electric Mouse Pokemon countered. "As such, I can't really say if he's in the clear over it or not."

All joviality left the strangers at Cardino's words, and the lot of them glowered and growled at the party. The Manectric among them paused in thought before shaking his head with a scoff, clearly none too pleased with the tone the little rat had chosen to take with him.

"Oh, you can get an audience," Luca growled. "I can't guarantee you can _leave_ afterwards, though."

Team Traveller blanched and traded uneasy looks with one another at the Manectric's comment. Going along _anywhere_ with these Pokémon just seemed like it was begging for trouble… On the other hand, the fates of Eric, Sela, and Hanuna were hanging in the balance, and it did seem unlikely they'd find any other leads this good…

"I accept," the Pikachu said. "Though I need to run it by my-"

"We'll come too," Nida answered.

"Yeah," Guardia added. "It's safer if we stick together."

The Manectric paced forward and loomed over the gathered Pokémon, the Electric-Type lingering a bit before lowering his snout to their level with a low growl and piercing scowl.

"Looks like it's your lucky day then," Luca grunted. "Let's go."

The three shifty characters quickly surrounded the other group, jostling them along down the catwalk into the crowded streets of Tidemill. All the while, Team Traveller kept a nervous eye on their surroundings, hoping to the Travellers above that they hadn't just made a terrible mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _najemnik_ \- Polish: "mercenary"  
>  \- _cunìcio_ \- Venetian: "rabbit"  
>  \- _Gliger (_ _グライガー_ _)_ \- Japanese: "Gligar" (Official Romanization)  
>  \- _Kom terug hier!_ \- Dutch: "Get back here!"


	61. Breaking Ground

As the afternoon sun began its drift westward in the sky, Team Traveller carried on along Tidemill's winding streets along with their… most unusual black-scarved escorts. Along the whole walk away from the arena, Luca and his cronies flanked them with a keen eye, seemingly ready to come to blows at a moment's notice. Even more disconcertingly, whenever the group would carry down a street, a frigid aura would settle over the area, as other Pokémon would interrupt their goings-on to give the black-scarved passersby a wide berth.

Eventually, the Manectric guide and his companions took the group to a shaded street that had its entrance partly blocked off by crates with a Machoke and Raticate in black scarves standing guard. The pair eyed the newcomers suspiciously, only for Luca to wave them through, and bring them in to a back lane completely devoid of other Pokémon, the Machoke and Raticate glaring after them all the while.

"So Cardino, who are these guys exactly?" Nida whispered.

"Yeah, I don't really like the looks they're giving us," Elty murmured. "And the streets around here are deserted."

"They're associates of Saéta, the biggest crime lord in the city," the Pikachu answered. "These parts around central Tidemill are their main turf, and they're just a little touchy about-"

"Oi! Tourist! Save your explanations for someone who cares!"

The surrounding shaded street and its canal shimmered and vanished into a darkened space. Nida, Elty, and Guardia looked around in hasty glances about the dimly-lit space, their eyes adjusting to see they were inside a warehouse with a lattice of crude wooden balconies and offices. On the wall ahead, there was a balcony patrolled by a dark taupe-furred fox with a thick mane billowing from his head, the creature visibly glowering down at his startled 'guests'.

"A-Ah! The huts and street just vanished!" Guardia cried. "And there's that black furry _yajū_ over there!"

"That would be Savio," the Swampert ahead grunted. "He handles our… cover to keep unwanted guests from poking their heads in."

"Or finding their way _out_ ," the Salazzle snarled.

Nida gulped at the lizard's enunciation, trying to not think too hard at what became of the Pokémon that failed to find their way out. Was coming here with Cardino _really_ the best idea? Though given how they'd been fooled into thinking they were in a street all this time, was turning back even an option right now?

"Up the stairs and to your right," Luca instructed. "You'd _better_ have a good reason for this meeting. The Don has less patience than me for wastes of his time."

The Manectric gestured off to the wooden flight of stairs leading up to a catwalk along the edge of the warehouse. At the end of the stairwell loomed an imposing-looking door, cracked slightly ajar to let in glimmers of light from the other end. The three ruffians marched their unwelcome guests along, shoving them along the remainder of the catwalk and through the opened door. To Team Traveller's surprise, in contrast to the shabby appearance of the rest of the warehouse, the room was remarkably well-furnished and draped with light curtains.

On one far side of the room was a set of shuttered windows, offering a glimpse of the domes and parapets of Tidemill City's center, along with a view of the ships sailing to and from the harbor. On the other wall hung portraits of various Pokemon; The sun's rays shone through the curtains of the room just enough to see that many of the pictures featured similar-looking, steely-eyed Manectric in black scarves. Finally, in the middle of the room and closer to the entryway, was a dark wooden table surrounded by silken cushions, with a wizened Manectric sitting comfortably before noticing his guests. He rose, and his muzzle turned downwards into a hard frown.

"Ah, you're back earlier than I expected, Luca," the elder Manectric murmured. "These are the little parasites that have been operating on our territory?"

The elder wolf's hostility caused Team Traveller to grimace. Elty in particular seemed noticeably unnerved, the Growlithe's fur standing on end as he yelped in their defense at the accusation.

"N-Now hold on here!" Elty stammered. "That's not-!"

Before he could finish, the Fire-Type was cut off with a sharp bite at his shoulder, drawing a pained yelp. The Puppy Pokémon shrank back, lowering his ears and pulling his tail between his legs as the Manectric beside him spat up a few stray hairs with a growl.

"Quiet," Luca snapped, before turning to his elder counterpart. "They're associates with this rat here. Thinks he's some sorta hotshot detective."

"I _am_ a detective," the Pikachu corrected. "The name's Cardino, and this is a team that I contracted to help me out with my current case. We're here since we had a few questions for you about it."

A tense silence hung over the room as Don Saéta glowered down at Cardino, one brow raised skeptically. The elderly Manectric trained a withering glare on the unflappable detective for a while, before shifting his gaze to his son's companions.

"… Carlo. Giusy. Take five at the door," the elderly wolf instructed. "I'd like to hear what my son and his guests have to say."

The Swampert and Salazzle nodded and withdrew to the doorway, though they didn't leave the room. Instead, the two settled themselves at opposing sides of the exit, keeping a keen eye on their superior as he neared, and on the three youngsters as well.

"Hrmph, you _are_ here to do something other than trying to tie me to some trouble an associate got into, right?" Saéta demanded. "The City Guard haven't been able to any time they tried in the past, and they sent more than a rat and some pups fresh out of a guild for that."

"That's entirely dependent on where the facts of my case lead," Cardino answered, shooting a determined glare back. "I came to ask you about it since I thought you might know a thing or two about it."

"Oh?" the Manectric scoffed. "And just what would that be?"

"Earlier this afternoon, my associates discovered an egg-smuggling operation in the tunnels underneath the _Vecioferàle Arena_ ," the Pikachu explained. "The City Guard already know that your 'mons operate around there, so that begs the question… Who was there and why were they on your turf?"

_THUNK_

The elderly Manectric slammed a paw down on the floor, forcefully enough to kick up a small swirl of dust underfoot. A low, dangerous growl rumbled from his throat, and he glared down at the lot of them, sparks dancing angrily off of his pelt.

"I'm not sure what your guests are trying to imply here, Luca," the elderly Electric-Type snapped. "But I don't think that I _like_ it."

"Our organization doesn't _do_ theft, much less _egg_ theft. We stick to reselling from free traders and selling protective services," the younger Manectric growled. "If you don't want an abrupt swim in the canal outside the window, I'd suggest that you not bring that up again."

"But we know what we saw in there!" Guardia insisted. "If it's _your_ territory and you didn't do it, then who would?"

"Some common _mànega_ that doesn't know their place," Luca answered. "Every now and then, the Guard breaks one up for crossing a bridge too far and another band of chuckleheads comes along to fill their role."

"That's what I'd assigned Luca here to do," Saéta explained. "To find out who's been encroaching on our turf so we could… _retire_ them."

A cloud of unease fell over the room as Cardino and his assistants shifted uncomfortably. Given the Manectric's enunciation and their treatment so far, having a career ended by him and his lackeys didn't sound like the sort of experience anyone would look forward to… or live to talk about afterwards. That said, something wasn't adding up here. If Saéta and his pals were so slippery to the guards...

"Eh? But then why has it taken so long for you to handle this?" Nida demanded. "I thought you said that the Guards didn't have anything to get you in trouble with."

"Because as much as I'd _like_ to make some goons sleep with the fishes, we'd need to make sure that settling this business wouldn't fall afoul of the Coordinator."

The elder Manectric's words at once drew some hushed chatter from the doorway, the Swampert underling trading a blank glance with his Salazzle counterpart.

"Never did get why that was supposed to be threatening," Carlo whispered. "I sleep with the fishes every night."

"It's idiomatic, you dunce," Giusy countered.

"Wait," Elty murmured. "The… Coordinator?"

A dismissive scoff came from across the table. Team Traveller looked back to meet Saéta's eyes as he shook out his mane, before idly sliding a paw onto the desk before him.

"I suppose that some prim and proper types like you wouldn't know, but he's the main fixer for our line of work here in Tidemill," the elder wolf sighed. "Whether you're a street gang, a free trader, or a proper organization like us, if you plan on staying in business for any length of time, you've got to go through him."

"Eh? But Cardino said that _you_ were the biggest crime lord here in Tidemill," Guardia said. "You mean there's someone even bigger?"

"Please, 'crime' is so rude. But no, if we didn't get our more… sensitive operations cleared with the Coordinator and send him a cut every month, the guards would've made up a lead to bust _pàre_ here and we'd have gotten turfed out years ago," Luca explained. "It happens to anyone who either stays in the business too long without going through the Coordinator... or else causes too much trouble for him to smooth over."

"Eh? But according to the logs we found, the egg thieves have been operating for quite a while," Cardino insisted. "Just what we've found would point to them being active for at least over a year, if not more."

A long, pregnant silence hung in the air. After shooting the others a cold, hard glare, the elderly Manectric spoke up, his response carrying with it an audible venom.

"We haven't been dealing with this turf issue for more than a couple weeks," the Don murmured. "There's no way a common pack of street thugs could pull off an operation like that."

"Sounds to me like this gang's a bunch of fall guys to be hung out to dry later," Luca added. "They wouldn't be the first one to be burned through either if this has really been going on for more than a year."

The Don paused a moment, before furrowing his brow in realization. Any Pokémon in their business _had_ to maintain some relationships to stay viable... Unless the 'mon with all the fall guys _wasn't_ playing on their same level, who would be none other than...

"The only 'mon who could make so many enemies in this town so quickly while still staying in business would be the Coordinator himself," Saéta said. "Anyone else would've either gotten bumped off, or run out of partners ages ago."

Team Traveller murmured uneasily among themselves. On one level, given Saéta's lead, they knew exactly the _sort_ of Pokémon they'd be looking for... But without any inkling to an identity or even a species, just how were they to narrow things down in a giant city like Tidemill?

"Okay, and just where are we supposed to _find_ this Coordinator?" Cardino demanded. "This 'fixer' of yours doesn't sound like he'd be operating out of some hole in the wall."

"Start by looking in your own ranks, _Detective_ ," the elder Manectric sneered.

Saéta's words hung in the air with a stunned quiet. After a spluttering moment to put things together, an awful thought crossed Cardino's mind. Could the wolf really have meant…

"Wait. You mean he's in the _guards?!_ " the Pikachu exclaimed.

"Congratulations for realizing what everyone in the underworld's known for years," Luca sighed. "Now hurry up and get out."

"Huh?!" Nida squeaked. "But we just-"

" _Rrrr…_ "

The Nidoran flinched at the sound of a low growl, looking up to see Luca glaring at her with bared fangs, sparks dancing on his pelt. Whatever questions that the spike lump or her friends had, it was evident they weren't going to get an answer to them right now.

"Question time's _over_ ," the younger Manectric snapped. "Get _out_ before we change our minds."

Team Traveller and their detective companion hastily ducked out of the office, coming out to see that the catwalk outside now opened to the outside of a building at late dusk overlooking a winding alleyway. The four traded uneasy looks with one another. This _had_ to be the work of that Zoroark from earlier... but by the same token, it didn't make sense to try and tease out an exit beyond the 'alley' they were provided.

The four carried on, making their way down the winding and deserted alley until they reached a noticeably-brighter archway guarded by the Machoke and Raticate from earlier. The group stepped through it, only to hear a loud slam behind them, turning back only to find that the sky above was still bright with the orange-ish hue of the early evening. The four looked behind them to see the arch they'd passed through had been replaced with a barred gateway behind the glaring guards, giving looks that all but screamed their impatience to be rid of the group.

"… Hope we didn't forget anything back there," Elty muttered. "I'm not sure if I could find our track back through that."

"Well, at least we got a lead for where to look next," Nida sighed. "So… we'd just need to start by checking the guards?"

"But there's tons of guards in this city!" Guardia protested. "How are we supposed to narrow down which one's this 'Coordinator'?"

Cardino shook his head, before casting his gaze out to the harbor. There, just inland from the sea along a canal, sat the squared-off headquarters of the City Guard. If they had to try and smoke out a bad apple from the ranks, there was only one reasonable way to go about it.

"Simple," the Pikachu said. "We start from the top."

The four of them set off on their journey back to the headquarters of the Guard. A thick tension hung over the air around the group as their minds drifted to the possibilities; just what kind of sordid matter would they uncover here...?

* * *

"Come on…" Elty muttered. "There's gotta be something here."

After their visit to Don Saéta's compound, Team Traveller and Cardino had made their way back to the Guards' Headquarters, their search taking them into the dimly lit inner rooms where personnel files were kept. The four rooted around, skimming through one packet of aged and dusty papers by the faint light of glow-moss for any hints as to what Pokémon among the guards could be the Coordinator. Amidst all their effort, so far they'd accomplished nothing other than to create a small pile of loose records on the floor, making Nida, Elty, and Guardia increasingly antsy about their lack of progress.

"Cardino, we've been looking through these records for hours now and we _still_ haven´t found anything," Nida sighed. "Are you sure we're going about this the right way?"

"Yes. If the Coordinator is indeed someone highly ranked among the guards, there has to be a clue here in these records!" the Detective Pikachu insisted. "An unexplained absence, a suspicious numbers of sick days, _anything_ that looks shifty or strange…"

"But we haven't found anything!" Guardia exclaimed. "So does this mean the Coordinator is _not_ in the guards?"

"We shouldn't jump to conclusions like that so soon before searching everything thoroughly," the Electric-Type countered. "Like... aha!"

Cardino's eyes lit up as he yanked a paper folder from a box, proudly spreading it out on the ground and beckoning his assistants to come and inspect it. The three members of Team Traveller darted over, coming to see their employer excitedly pointing at some runes under a chart laid out in even square rows.

"Here we go! One of the Sergeants was apparently gone for a full month!" he cried. "That's something that stands out!"

"… The writing in the margins says 'parental leave'," Elty said.

The Pikachu blinked, squinting back at the scrawling in question. He stared blankly at it before reeling back, ears lowered and one paw behind his head accompanied by a sheepish grin.

"Er… that would actually be a good reason, yes," Cardino chuckled. "Should've noticed that there was only one absence! Heh heh…"

The detective's announcement drew an audible chorus of groans as Nida, Elty, and Guardia each slid paws over their faces in exasperation. Did they even _have_ anything to show for their efforts right now?

"Bah… so we learned nothing at all from this search!" Guardia grumbled.

"Well, the Coordinator's obviously good at covering his tracks," Nida murmured. "So it'd have to be someone with a lot of power in order to do that…"

"Oh yeah, that's _totally_ gonna get a 'Not Guilty' verdict," Elty sighed. "We need to have _someone_ to point our paws to! Not some hazy 'mon of mystery'!"

Cardino flicked his ears uneasily before rubbing his chin in thought. The records room _was_ probably their best bet for a lead... but after all this time spent cooped up in here, maybe it was worth switching up their tactics a bit.

"Maybe we need to try tackling this from a different angle," the rodent mulled. "Come on, let's step outside and get some air."

The Pikachu bade his assistants to follow him out of the records room, leading them past a drowsy Hoothoot at the front desk and out into the hallway. The four walked down a few flights of stairs to the central courtyard of the headquarters of the City Guard, pausing for a moment under the sun to breathe in the fresh air from the sea, only for their peace to suddenly be interrupted by the abrupt sound of a barking order.

"Hey you, hurry up!" a trio of squawking voices snapped. "You've got rocks to be lugging and a busted-up wall with your name all over it!"

"Alright! Alright!"

The four Pokémon paused and did a double-take to their left, where they noticed a Furfrou in an bright orange scarf getting dragged along by a scowling Lurantis and Dodrio. As the pair and their moody companion passed along, Guardia blinked realizing that the Furfrou seemed just a little _too_ familiar.

"Eh?" the Cubone asked. "Didn't we just see that _Trimmien_ the other day in a different scarf?"

"Hrmph. Means that he's already been sentenced to a punishment," Elty said. "It's unlikely we'll be seeing him around this compound again."

"And your wall would be fixed faster if _you_ lazy bums did the work yourself!" the Furfrou snapped.

"… Never say never," Nida sighed. "Especially with _that_ attitude."

Cardino paused to watch the guards escort the Furfrou away. The Electric-Type moved a paw thoughtfully to his chin, when he suddenly perked up, his eyes alight with a sudden realization.

"Wait a minute… the big shots from that ship!" the Pikachu exclaimed. "One of them _had_ to have met the Coordinator to set up that trade!"

"Yeah, but how do we know that any of them are still here?" Nida demanded.

The rodent paused to paw at his chin in thought a moment to mull his options. To talk with the any of Sibich's leading underlings, he'd need to go through the guards that worked around the prison. But he never _did_ get a chance to memorize their daily beats, and they always seemed to be loath to talk while on the job… why, he'd have to go and flag one down in person off-duty to get an idea of what was going on!

_Tromp tromp tromp_

The Pikachu looked up at the sound of heavy footfalls, looking to see a Bastiodon in guard's attire passing down the hall with a small rucksack of food. Hold on a minute, he'd _seen_ this 'mon before! He was pushing that Furfrou from earlier around just yesterday!

"Only one way to find out…" Cardino murmured. "Hey, Bastiodon!"

The Steel-Type paused and blinked a moment, before giving a curious glance back. The dinosaur shook his head and carefully turned around in the corridor, lowering his head with a quizzical tilt to address his rodent inquirer.

"Hrm?"

"Are any of the high-value prisoners from that captured ship still imprisoned here?" the Electric-Type asked. "The first mate? A escort captain, maybe?"

"As far as I know, all of those 'mons have been already sentenced except for the captain," the Bastiodon answered. "Can't imagine why with the plea deal he took, though."

"Plea deal?" Guardia asked. "What's going to happen to him?"

"Six months of trash collection," the dinosaur explained. "With a sentence like that, they might as well have let him walk out the detention center on the first day!"

Nida, Elty, and Guardia blinked and traded blank looks with one another at the Bastiodon's reply. Cardino similarly wrinkled his nose in skepticism; what sort of pirate captain got sentenced for anything for _six months?_ The only plausible explanation was that someone had interfered in Sibich's sentencing, but just who could the Coordinator have been in the guards to have _that_ sort of power?

"… How long did you say the Captain would still be in here again?" Cardino asked.

" _Pretty_ sure his sentencing's tomorrow," the Bastiodon mulled. "Why?"

"My associates and I have some questions for him."

"Well, you know where the visitor's room is," the guard replied. "Make your way over there, and I'll have him brought out to chat up."

The four bade farewell to the Bastiodon and made their way across the courtyard. The guards at the doorway let them through into the detention center, after which Cardino and his assistants retraced their steps through the facility's corridors in the direction of the interrogation room. The journey there was quite familiar; just as before, the cell block remained dimly lit, the same fetid smell hung in the air, and the same metal bars divided the hall's cells from the main walkway... but something _was_ different, this time. The cells were sparsely-populated compared to before, and everyone left seemed to be bear the patterns of the Marked. Their journey concluded as the four reached their destination of the interrogation room and sat waiting, the idle time allowing them to mull over this revelation. How could it be that _every_ Pokemon remaining was Marked? There had certainly been more Marked than normal in the cells the other day, but surely a few of the remaining prisoners ought to have been unmarked, right?

They considered the situation of the Marked as a thoughtful silence hung over the room, broken only by a loud clank from outside the door on the opposite side of the room. The door swung open, and the form of a Cofagrigus made itself apparent. He floated into the room, and the gathered Pokemon made note of his unusual bindings, dotted with attached bells that jingled after every movement. The Ghost-type glowered across the interrogation table as the guards secured him further, sliding his arms into metallic shackles and attaching some sounding bells around the lot. Satisfied with their work, the guards nodded at the Pokemon across the table and moved to clear out of the room, slamming the door behind them and leaving a solitary Pinsir on watch. Sibich rolled his eyes at the indignity of his treatment, before turning his attention to the youngsters before him.

"Ah, the Guardian's friends," the Ghost-Type sneered. "I didn't expect to see _you_ here."

Nida, Elty, and Guardia reflexively gulped and tensed up at the sight of the Cofagrigus as he radiated an aura of outward hostility. Cardino puzzled at the spectacle for a moment, before turning back to the Ghost-Type prisoner with a dismissive shake of his head.

"I see you all have met before," Cardino grunted. "But let's skip the pleasantries and get down to business: we've got some questions for you."

"And just what would those be?" Sibich demanded.

"What was your crew doing trying to get those eggs, and what do you know about the Coordinator?"

The Cofagrigus scoffed at the Pikachu's question, flashing his teeth menacingly from across the table.

"I have no idea what you're talking about or who this 'Coordinator' is. As for the eggs, I merely instructed my crew to grab the most valuable things they could find," the Ghost-Type answered. "Some of them obviously interpreted it in a much more unseemly way than I intended. If I knew about it, I can assure you, they'd have walked the plank ages ago."

Elty narrowed his eyes and growled back at Sibich. Was he even trying to be convincing here?

"What kind of lame excuse is that?" the Growlithe snorted. "Even the captain on my old crew knew what was going on with the Pokémon under his command, so how's one of the captains of the council supposed to be that oblivious?"

The Cofagrigus slipped his arms further through his shackles, bringing his inky black hands together to tent his fingers, shifting his gaze to the Fire-Type.

"As you know, I deal a bit more extensively with Marked in my crews," Sibich explained. "I'd thought their more insular tendencies could be worked around given past experience; clearly, I was wrong."

The Ghost-Type's mouth curled into the faintest of smiles, the Cofagrigus sinking down low to the floor as he trained a taunting gaze on his interrogators.

"That's why the court accepted my offer of a plea deal for helping to find the _real_ bad eggs in my crew," the wraith sneered. "Really, you should talk more to some of the Marked. When I heard of all the... _interesting_ affairs they were up to, I was shocked that the court even extended them plea deals instead of banishing the lot!"

"And that's why all of them are still in detention?" the Pikachu prodded.

"Of course. The courts in the Empire prefer to process the more serious offenders towards the end," Sibich replied. "It's a shame the Marked in my crew would choose to dabble in such affairs, but it's not like they could count on the judge's sympathy either way."

"Then why were Eric, Sela, and Hanuna so adamant that they didn't steal the eggs?" Nida demanded. "We've found evidence they could be telling the truth, too."

A smug grin split the Cofagrigus' face. His four arms came together, tenting the fingers on each set of hands innocuously. He played with his fingers for a moment, letting Nida's allegation hang in the air awhile before responding.

"Ah, but you've established a _possibility,_ not a proof. My crew understands that we stand together, or fall divided. And those Pokémon you brought up have chosen to fall," Sibich retorted. "Even if they _did_ get found innocent, I'm sure one of their more clear-headed peers wouldn't see it that way and want to... rectify the situation."

"So basically, you're threatening 'mons like them to stay in line or pay the price," Elty growled.

"My, those are some serious allegations, pup," the Cofagrigus scoffed. "Do you have any proof of such claims?"

In unison, Team Traveller glared across the table at the Ghost-Type. Here they had the _real_ culprit backed against the wall, and he was just bragging to them that they couldn't prove a thing! But... was that really the case, they wondered? Surely, of all things, their prized evidence from the previous trial ought to get _some_ kind of reaction from him...

"How's this for proof, then?" Cardino snapped.

Sibich was answered by a loud _thud_ , looking to see that the Pikachu had thrown a tome with the hand-shaped sigil of the Shadow Brigade onto the table. The wraith reflexively reached for the book, only to find his bindings keeping the diary just out of his reach. The Cofagrigus had a fierce flash of frustration cross his eyes, before turning his attention back across the table with an irritated scowl.

"It is, yes," Sibich replied. "And what of it?"

"Then why don't you help decode it for us?" Cardino asked. "If you're really looking to help flush out the 'bad eggs' in your crew, your diary should be able to help while backing up your story, right?"

The Ghost-Type paused, a dangerous look flashing across his eyes. He scowled fiercely, a low hiss emanating from within him.

"I have a right to my own privacy," the Cofagrigus snapped. "Though good luck finding anything of note from it. As I'm sure you've already discovered, it's not easy reading without knowing how to interpret it properly."

"But you-" Nida began. Before the Nidoran could finish, Sibich raised a hand for silence and held it up to the gathered Pokémon.'

"I'm done talking here," the wraith growled. "I've got a sentencing tomorrow to attend, and I don't need you giving me even more stress over it."

The door swung open as the guards returned to the room, undoing the Cofagrigus' shackles and marching him off as he looked back with a taunting glance. As the door slammed back shut, Cardino pounded a paw against the table and buried his head in his other paw, his cheeks flashing sparks. The mood among his assistants was little improved, the lot still glaring after the door where the Ghost-Type exited.

"Grr... we oughta get _that_ fiend at the other end of a _Honebūmeran!_ " Guardia growled. "I just know the dead would find him guilty in a heartbeat!"

"Well they don't allow that in court, so what do we do now?" Elty sighed. "We still don't have anything to work with to make the case that Eric and his friends are being set up."

"... Maybe we overlooked something," Cardino murmured.

"Huh?!" Nida exclaimed. "What do you mean?!"

"Sibich was very confident we wouldn't find the decoder," the Pikachu explained. "The evidence room's a giant mess, so it could very well be hidden among other evidence the guards have already collected and we wouldn't know any better about it."

"Egh… I suppose we don't have many leads," Guardia admitted. "But I'm not confident about our odds here."

"It's worth a shot, isn't it?" the Electric-Type asked. "Come on, let's go take a look."

Cardino got to his feet and began walking for the door, prompting Team Traveller to fish the journal off the table and follow grudgingly. All the while, Nida kept a vacant stare on her face, dreading what was sure to be a long night trying to find any lead at all for decrypting Sibich's diary.

* * *

"Alright, how about _this_ one Protector?"

Berecien nosed at a page of a book with large, bold runes scattered about it under the silvery glow of moonlight. The Ponyta had enthusiastically taken the lead after Queen Aleria had assigned him and his companions to be tutors, which had inspired him to the palace's library in order to start with a simple primer.

Unfortunately for the Fire-Type and his companions, their progress had been… lacking, to say the least. Almost immediately into the lecture, Berecien discovered that the young Protector knew naught but a handful of runes, scrapping the original plans for literature. Mathematics all but put him (and Niilo as well) to sleep just with simple exercises, even after Cabot took over the lecturing. Their current attempt at basic vocabulary was also going far from swimmingly, no matter who attempted to take the lead. Time and time again, Berecien and his companions would nose or paw at a rune on the pages of 'The Imperial Lexicon', just as he did with the jagged squiggle he currently was on. Much as the last times, the seabird stared blankly at it for a moment, before turning unsurely to the Ponyta.

"Uh… 'Snake' ?" Pleo replied, only to be answered by a trio of exasperated groans.

"No, it's 'Thunder'" the Ponyta sighed. "See? Doesn't it look kinda like a thunderbolt when you squint at it?"

"I… guess?" the Lugia answered.

"Well... at least it's going better than when we tried to teach him to write…" Niilo sighed. "But maybe we should try moving on to another subject for now?"

"But how's he supposed to _study_ anything without being able to read?" Berecien protested. "He can't do math without it, he can't do literature…"

Cabot audibly mulled a bit as he turned his eyes about the library. There were certainly plenty of _books_ to work with here, but none of their subjects would be worth anything if the Protector couldn't read them. Plus with all of the older tomes around, and the old paintings and sculptures, would they really hold up to the stresses of a younger student?

Wait a minute… why not use the paintings and sculptures themselves to make a lesson around them? It would be a little tricky since he'd never gotten the hang of all the fine details on his own, but...

"What about history?" Cabot offered. "I think we've got enough stuff to do a simple primer on the Empire's history here."

The seabird craned his head up, giving a blank blinking stare. What… exactly did the Cranidos want him to do here, and what was...?

"… 'The Empire's history'? Why is that important?"

"Because it'll help you as our new Protector to learn about things that have happened in the past," Niilo explained. "In our case, how the Empire came to be through King Aquila's endeavors."

"King… Who?"

"Look over there," Cabot said, moving his claw up to a large portrait of a Staraptor with a crown, spreading his wings with a leftward gaze.

" _That's_ King Aquilla," the Cranidos explained. "The legendary hero and first King of all Anyilla."

"Eh? But why was he made king?" Pleo asked.

"Because of his exploits as a hero who brought peace between the Marked and other Pokémon here in Anyilla," Berecien explained. "It all started when he was discovered from a metal cocoon that fell from the sky above, a dazed Starly who remembered naught but his name…"

The Ponyta carried on with a peculiar tale about the Starly drifting from village to village and becoming renowned for strength and wisdom after joining the company of a Chespin that he formed a Rescue Team with. The rest of the tale went by in an increasingly hazy blur as Pleo settled against the ground struggling to keep his eyes open. He looked around, and while looking at the bookshelves, noticed a faint spark of electricity, following them to see a large, metal saucer of a Pokémon with an indigo scarf float cautiously out from behind it.

"Huh? Wasn't that that flying... saucer thingy from last night?" Pleo murmured.

"Eh?"

Cabot and his companions turned to the shelves where Pleo gestured off to, only to notice the Magnezone and jolted up with a surprise. Why, this was none other than the famed...

"Admiral Coil?" Cabot murmured. "What are you doing here at this hour?"

Startled, the Magnezone bobbed upwards, his magnets twirling out of surprise. After a tense pause, the Electric-Type returned to his normal level and stilled his magnetic limbs, recomposing himself as he tilted his body downwards to better face his questioners.

"Ah, I was just coming by to grab a book before sleep," the Magnezone answered. "You're the Pokémon assigned to tutor the Protector, I presume. Smooth progress, I trust?"

The Magnet Area Pokémon's question was met by tired, unamused looks back. Cabot and Berecien struggled to find the right words to describe their trials to the admiral, only for Niilo to beat them to the punch with his normal, blunt phrasing.

"I'm pretty sure that I'm _not_ getting paid enough in my contract to do this," the pangolin sighed.

The Sandslash's explanation was met by a swat from a fiery tail, followed by a glare from his Ponyta teammate. Berecien turned his attention back to the Magnezone, giving a shake of his head and hasty clearing of his throat.

"What he _meant_ to say is that we're working through a few unexpected complications," the Fire-Type corrected. "But I'm sure that things will be fine, Admiral. The Protector just needs a chance to warm up."

Ah... well I'll just clear the way for you then," Coil said. "Good luck with your efforts."

The Magnezone began to turn and float off, drifting away from Pleo and his three tutors. Before he could slip off entirely, a loud voice called out from behind.

"Wait!"

Coil looked back and saw Cabot having darted up behind him. The Cranidos tapped his claws together, fumbling with his tongue as he tried to speak up to the Electric-Type.

"I… just wanted to say, thank you," the Cranidos said. "For coming to my hometown's help earlier."

The Magnezone bobbed and spun his magnets at the dinosaur's thanks. After a moment's quiet, the admiral floated down to the Cranidos' eye level, before giving a smiling answer back.

"It was nothing," the Electric-Type replied. "I was merely doing what needed to be done for the sake of Her Majesty's realm."

Cabot nodded, before starting to make his way back to the group, grateful that Admiral Coil had waited on him before leaving. As the Magnezone slipped away out of earshot, the Cranidos returned to the table, just in time to see Berecien drop his forced smile and turn his attention back to Niilo with a fierce glare.

"Mind your tongue around your superiors next time, sand rat," Berecien snorted. "You're lucky the Admiral didn't have you discharged on the spot right then and there."

"Meh, he seemed pretty chill with it to me," Niilo scoffed. "Besides, we've got teaching to get back to-"

" _Yaaaaaaah_ "

The Sandslash and his companions blinked at the sight of Pleo opening his beak with a loud yawn, trying to shake himself awake with uneasy beats of his wings. Niilo looked at the drowsy seabird, and then up at the sky, noticing that the moon had already slipped past its midpoint, with Time Lord's Traveller already well to the east of it, a sign as clear as day that it was just past midnight.

"Err... now that he mentions it, it _is_ getting a little late," the Ground-Type murmured.

"I suppose it's as good a time as any to call it a night…" Cabot yawned. "I'll lead him over to his chambers."

"Right, we'll catch up again tomorrow," Berecien said.

The Ponyta and Sandslash set off, slipping off into the library as Cabot beckoned Pleo to follow him. The young Protector followed after his Cranidos guide, only to deliberately slow his pace before ducking off into a row of bookshelves along the wall. The young Protector made his way along the shelves, wondering to himself what caught that saucer Pokémon's eyes around here. Each of the bookshelves were packed with dusty tomes with labels he couldn't read, and there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary... By chance, the Protector opted to look upward, where he noticed a tapestry above him.

It was of a village burning with blotched Pokémon fighting with a Staraptor and other Pokémon in indigo scarves. A little further down was another, depicting the Staraptor at the center of a group of Pokémon sternly looking at each other at a desk full of papers, the left side filled with Pokémon with blotches on their heads that had a visible reluctance about them. From there, there was a picture of the Staraptor with a Starly perched on a branch overlooking a town with a castle built on seaside bluffs, followed by one with the Staraptor and a Staravia flying at sea with ships following after them.

"Huh? Was that the next king?" Pleo murmured to himself.

The young Lugia carried on, moving onto a portrait of two Staraptor, one visibly aged and the other young and lively. The next one showed the young Staraptor full of sorrow, standing before a glinting statue of the elder hawk with him nowhere to be seen. From there, the paintings seemed to grow more somber in color and tone. There was one with the seas churning showing the Staraptor fighting with a Milotic, one showing ships and Pokémon fighting at sea, and another depicting the blotched Pokémon being chased into a mountain full of fog.

Pleo paused and ruffled his feathers uncomfortably, having an uneasy feeling about the contents of the paintings and decided that perhaps it was better to turn his attention to the books on the shelf. He stopped in front of a book with a silvery-white binding and a paper jutting out the top, opening it and leafing through its pages only to discover...

"Aw... there's no pictures."

The young Lugia took the book with his beak and began to slide it back, when an envelope with a design depicting a five-pointed star made of leaves fell out onto the ground. The seabird blinked incredulously, before setting the book aside and eying the paper container curiously.

"Huh?"

Pleo craned his neck down at the envelope, nosing it open with his beak to see a paper filled with colored runes in a strange, squarish chart. The Lugia blinked a moment at the strange letter, before looking back at the envelope as a dawning realization came upon him.

"Wait a minute," Pleo murmured. "We used one of these to send my feather back to Tromba!"

It really was one of those paper carrier thingies! And if it had been able to get a feather out to let his friends know he was okay back _then_... maybe he could do it again here! Maybe he'd even get a response again! ... Assuming he figured out a way to get his companions the envelope in the first place. But it seemed as good of a shot as any to try and hear from his friends once more, which prompted the bird to shake some feathers loose and scoop up the envelope with his beak.

"Protector?"

The young Lugia jumped up with a start and whirled around, hearing the sound of approaching footsteps. Not seeing anywhere to dispose of the envelope to find it later, the seabird hastily stuffed a beakful of feathers into the envelope and dabbed a little saliva on the edge and sealed it, stuffing it under his wings just as Cabot rounded the corner with a sleepy shake of his head.

"You shouldn't wander off like that," the Cranidos sighed. "It's a big world full of mean 'mons who would want to hurt you."

"But I wanted to look at the books!" Pleo protested, beating his wings out for emphasis. The Lugia's insistence drew a sigh and shake of the Fossil Pokémon's head, before opting to motion for the seabird to follow him and not give him too hard of a time over wandering off. Just what sort of trouble could he have gotten into just a few bookshelves away?

"Alright… I'll get one to read to you tonight, okay?" the Rock-Type insisted. "But it's time for you to get some rest. Tomorrow's a big day."

Cabot began to pace off, prompting the Lugia to look around before truding off after the Cranidos. As he followed along, Pleo shifted his wing over the envelope he discovered, pinning it tight against his body as he waddled onward. The young Lugia made his way out of the library, his thoughts drifting towards what he could say to his friends as the dinosaur led him off deeper through the darkened palace.

* * *

"Well... this is it."

Cabot motioned ahead from the doorway, pointing out a well-furnished room lit by the warm light of an oil lamp. In it, there was a set of furniture with a well-stocked bookshelf, a low table with seat-cushions, and a storage chest. The centerpiece of the set was a canopied bed made of rich, dark wood, with silken curtains framing a window that stared out into a collection of lights from the skies above and the lanterns from the rest of Tidemill below. In front of the bed, a small hoard of toys and amusements had been spread out in anticipation of the Protector's arrival, including a collection of Substitutes, some toy ships, a small pile of wooden blocks, and a silver looking-glass. The Cranidos smiled, giving a proud wag of his tail before turning back to the young Lugia full of enthusiastic cheer.

"I know it wasn't ready yet your first night since you came kind of unexpectedly," the dinosaur said. "But this is where you'll be sleeping for a while."

"I see…"

Cabot pointed around the room with a smile, giving a contented nod of his head, only to notice that things were uncomfortably quiet. The Cranidos looked back and discovered that much to his dismay, Pleo seemed wholly uninterested in the room, giving a lethargic, unhappy peck at his wing feathers. Hasty to try and liven the mood, the Rock-Type waved his paws, and tried to draw the young Protector's attention back to his surroundings.

"I mean it's not _all_ bad, it's a nicer room than mine and there's tons of fun stuff here!" Cabot offered. "Maybe you could play pretend with those Substitute Dolls over there, and I _think_ these model ships can float if you wanted to bring them to swim in a fountain or something…"

The Cranidos trailed off as he noticed that his young charge was still staring off into space, seemingly unfazed by any of the toys in the room. The little Protector evidently wasn't much in the mood to play, but there had to be _something_ that would lift his spirits...

"Uh… er… there's even some books on the shelf you might like once you learn how to read," the dinosaur offered. "Since you're not there yet, I can read one for you before you go to sleep."

"But... where do I sleep?" Pleo asked.

"Oh? Right there of course," Cabot answered.

The Cranidos pointed off at the large, silken mattress on the bed. On it, the bedding was adorned with silk cloth spread over it and smaller cushions set on the edges underneath a curtained canopy. The dinosaur watched as the young Lugia blinked confusedly, before the seabird turned back to him with a puzzled tilt of his head.

"But there's no straw."

The Lugia's answer made Cabot splutter in confusion and consternation. He'd expected the Protector to be over the moon after seeing the sumptuous bed, not to treat it as if there was something wrong with it!

"But- But this is how really important and powerful Pokémon sleep!" the Cranidos exclaimed. "This is an improvement over those straw clumps you've been sleeping on!"

"But it doesn't look like any bed I've ever seen!" the young Protector squawked back.

"Just try it?" Cabot pleaded. "I promise that it'll feel better than any straw bed you've slept on so far."

Pleo looked at the bed and then at Cabot before warily waddling up to it and climbing onto the mattress. The young Protector settled atop it, and after finding it surprisingly soft and comfortable, settled in, curiously poking his body under the sheets as Cabot walked over.

"See?" the Rock-Type asked. "Perfect place to listen to a bedtime story, isn't it?"

The young seabird gave a wag of his tail and chirped contently as he sank into the bedding. Relieved, Cabot breathed out a thankful sigh, his own tail beginning to move back and forth from the happier turn of events.

"Alright," Cabot murmured. "Now let's see if there's anything good on that shelf…"

The Cranidos got up and began to thumb through the books on the shelf, quickly realizing that they were all written in mind for young Pokémon. The Rock-Type leafed through titles such as _The Three Little Trial-Goers_ and _Brave Prince Goldenrod_ only to suddenly hear a voice from behind.

"… It's 'Cabot,' right?"

Cabot stopped his claws abruptly and blinked a moment out of surprise at hearing his name, starting to look over his shoulder.

"Huh?"

The Cranidos turned back and saw the Protector sitting up, craning his head high to look after him with a curious tilt of his head.

"Your name, it's 'Cabot,' isn't it?" Pleo asked. "That was what your friends were calling you."

"That's right, has a good ring to it, don't you think?" the Fossil Pokémon chuckled. "Why do you ask?"

"Well…" Pleo murmured. "I was wondering if you could give a message to my friends."

The young Lugia batted his wings, shaking loose an envelope with a leaf sigil onto the the bed. At once, his Cranidos caretaker jumped up with a start, darting over to the bed in a flustered rush.

"E-Eh?! Where'd you get that?!" Cabot stammered. "We didn't give you any envelopes!"

"I found it in the library and I was thinking that maybe it would help send a message to my friends. To tell them that I'm okay?" the young Lugia explained. "You'd help with that, wouldn't you?"

The dinosaur hemmed and hawed at the Lugia's request, keenly noting that the envelope bore the stationery of a high-ranking member of the Empire. Had the Protector snuck off and taken it for himself while he wasn't looking? If so, he couldn't just let him send off a letter in that envelope! If he wrote something incendiary on it, Nagant would have his hide over that!

"I- I mean, you already are visible at the stadium every day…" Cabot began. "And I really shouldn't be-"

"Pleeease?"

Cabot looked up and saw Pleo craning his head down, his eyes glistening and his lower beak quivering. The Cranidos blinked and paused uneasily a moment. This certainly _was_ something that could get him into trouble… But when the Protector had trouble recognizing anything beyond a small clawful of runes, wouldn't it be more likely he just wanted to send something like a drawing?

"I'll try and slip it into their fan mail," the dinosaur offered, as he lowered a claw over the envelope. "But you need to _promise_ to keep quiet about this, okay?"

"Alright," Pleo replied. "But there was one more thing that I wanted…"

The Cranidos blinked, before looking up puzzledly at the young Lugia. He hadn't snuck off with a _second_ envelope, had he?

"Hrm?"

"Did you pick a story yet?" the bird asked.

"Yeah, I think I'll tell you about the tale of _The Summoner's Journey,_ " the Rock-Type offered. "Doesn't that sound fun, Protector?"

"Eh? But my name's Pleo," Pleo insisted.

The young bird's insistence made Cabot blink out of surprise for a moment, the dinosaur pausing as a small smile spread over his face.

"Right. But I'm sure you'll like it, Pleo," the Cranidos insisted. "I picked this one out since there were lots of pictures, which I'm sure you'll love."

"Oh!" the bird cried. "Can you show me, Cabot?"

"Of course!" the little dinosaur cheered.

The Cranidos clambered atop the bed and sat next to Pleo, cracking open the book to begin reading passages of a fairy tale about a spiral-like land where the Spirit World interacted more regularly with the world of the living. All the while, Pleo sank into his bedding, his eyelids growing heavy as Cabot's tale continued on as a faint homliness settled upon him. Even if Cabot wasn't Nida, Pleo realized that he hadn't felt as at peace since the night he and his teammates entered Copperband, wondering if they were doing alright themselves.

* * *

Before either of them knew it, Team Traveller and their peers from the Siglo Swellow found themselves back at the lower ring of the stands of the _Vecioferàle Arena_ on the following morning. In contrast to Crom and his teammates' focused and ready demeanor, Nida and her companions spent the entire morning in a shambolic state. The three had spent most of the night scouring the Guards' Headquarters for any lead at all before finally returning to the Siglo Swellow to sleep for the night. There in the stands, the effects from the lack of rest were made evident by a loud yawn from the Nidoran captain, which drew concerned glances from her Druddigon teammate.

"You feeling okay, Nida?" Crom murmured. "You guys seem so tired even though we all went to bed at the same time at the ship."

"Well, we _did_ spend the entire evening searching for evidence only to come up empty handed…" the Nidoran sighed.

"I'm sure you'll find something, Nida," Kiran offered. "From what you've told me, it sounds like that captain wasn't expecting to be caught and had to improvise. If he really is trying to set up his subordinates, he's bound to have slipped up and left some proof behind."

"Yeah, that's great," Elty grumbled. "But how do we _find_ it in the next hour and a half without forfeiting our next match?"

Nida opened her mouth to answer, only for a loud electric crackle to make her spring back with a start.

"Good morning beauties and gentlebeauties!" Thalez greeted. "Hope you got some rest last night since this festival of mayhem's got no breaks on it!"

The Nidoran looked up just in time to see Thalez zip by, circling in the air around the stands much to the crowd's cheering pleasure. Team Traveller's members stared as the Plasma Pokémon continued soaking up the audience's adulation, an annoyed scowl settling on Elty's face at the Ghost-Type's showboating.

" _Świetnie_ , just what we needed."

"There's just 32 contenders left standing before the eighth-finals, so these matches will be flying by faster than you know it!" the Rotom cheered. "First up, is Team Swanna of Tromba versus Team Mirage from our very own Tidemill West!"

"Oh that's us!" Crom exclaimed. "Looks like we're kicking off this round!"

The Druddigon's enthusiasm failed to be mirrored by the rest of "Team Swanna", Ander in particular seemed to be unimpressed with the Rotom's announcement, giving an annoyed shake of his head.

"Though he got our team name wrong... again." the Scyther sighed. "Though wasn't Team Mirage the one with that strange Pikachu we spotted in the evening matches? I don't _think_ they'd be too hard for you to handle."

Thalez continued on, moving on to a match between Team Wrecker along with one with 'Team Glyph'... Certainly a balanced-sounding matchup as Team Traveller looked over to see the sight of a group of Unown celebrating the announcement as a disinterested Rhyperior glanced over, evidently one of their opponents. Team Traveller was called up next, their next match pitting them against a 'Team Bedtime' which prompted the three to peer over and look at a group of visibly dozing Pokémon headed by a Munchlax… Nothing that they couldn't handle given that they couldn't stay awake through their own match assignment.

The trio's thoughts turned back to the impending trial, and how little they had to show for their efforts. One after the other, Nida, Guardia, and Elty tried to tease out some potential angle they could still try, only to come up short until a loud buzz from Thalez's booth drew their attention back to the Rotom.

"And there you have it folks!" the Ghost-Type crackled. "Those are all the matchups of the second round!"

"Well at least it doesn't seem like we're matched up against anyone _too_ tough…" Elty murmured. "Or Valatos and his buddies for that matter."

"Don't tempt fate, _Gardie_ ," Guardia grumbled, only for her admonishment to be swiftly drowned out by Thalez's voice.

"So without wasting any time, let's get the three sailors of the Siglo Swanna and Team Mirage onto the field so we can get the first battle started!" the Rotom cried, prompting a wave of cheers and applause to break forth from the stands.

"Crom, Kiran, Dimitri," Pladur grunted. "That's your cue."

"Yeah, stay sharp out there," Ander added.

The Druddigon and his teammates strode onto the field, the beaming sunlight revealing a battlefield which had been rearranged to form a grassy, open field with a few stones in the center. All around them were the spectators' stands, packed to the rafters with Pokemon of every conceivable shape, size and type, the whole lot of them in an uproarious cheer as the teams made their way out. Crom scanned the lower portions of the audience and smiled as he caught sight of Nida, leaning over the edge as she waved eagerly to her teammate.

" _Buena suerte!_ " the Nidoran cheered. "We'll be rooting for you!"

"Right!" Crom grunted. "Time to show off what we've been learning!"

The three watched warily as their opponents trotted out to the field, the team consisting of a ghostly, Pikachu-looking Pokémon up front flanked by a Masquerain and an Amoonguss. Crom and his teammates assumed their fighting stance as Thalez began his usual routine to hype the crowd up for the countdown, but their concentration was broken by a dismissive scoff from the other side of the field.

"Ah, a team of sailors, huh?" the ghostly Pokémon sneered. "Be warned, it'll take more than a good eye for stars to see through our web of illusions!"

"Wait, what was that supposed to mean-?" Dimitri began, only to be cut off by a deafening cry from the audience.

"GO!"

Caught off-guard by the sudden beginning of the match, Crom and his teammates jumped into battling stances with a start. The three glared ahead, seeing that the strange Pikachu and his team had already taken formation much more gracefully than they had. Kiran jumped to lead his own team with a sharp squawk in response.

"Alright, like we drilled!" Kiran cried. "Stay sharp and focus on the foe that suits your fighting style best!"

The trio charged ahead, Crom and Dimitri running along the battlefield in parallel with each other, as Kiran led the way from above. As the two teams neared each other, Kiran noticed the Amoonguss slowly trudging along the side, prompting him to dive at the Mushroom Pokémon in a swooping attack.

"Gotcha- Gwark?!"

A stream of hot, sticky bubbles sent Kiran stumbling back through the air and crashing down onto the arena floor unceremoniously. The bird hastily flicked the suds off of his plumage, kicking off the ground just in time to avoid another such assault from its culprit: the Masquerain who hovered over Kiran with a taunting sneer.

"Hah! You'll need to try harder than that, Swellow," the Eyeball Pokémon jeered.

As Kiran hastily darted off, Crom ran for the peculiar Pikachu, his maws opened for a crushing bite. The Dragon-Type noticed that the rat wasn't moving at all out of his way, filling him with a fiery confidence.

"Heh, should have run while you could've!"

"Oh trust me, I have _nothing_ to fear," his opponent hissed back.

Crom gave a guttural shout, only to feel a warm sensation at the back of his throat. The Dragon-Type went wide-eyed and reflexively spat up a bluish ball of light at the strange Pikachu, looking out stunned as the orb sailed along. Why, that was a _Dragon Rage!_ Had he really grown that much in his journey? The Dragon-Type watched with excitement as the orb of fiery light barrelled into the Pikachu, surely enough to put him on the ropes… And watched as to his horror, the light orb dissipated with little effect other than to make the Pokémon backpedal with a light sting.

"H-Huh?!" Crom exclaimed. "B-But you're a Pikachu!"

"Correction, I'm a _Mimikyu_ ," the Pokémon hissed. "Could a Pikachu do _this?_ "

The Mimikyu abruptly whipped up a cloud of pinkish dust and lunged for the Druddigon. Much to Crom's astonishment, the creature shot out an inky, ribbon-like tentacle tipped with claws and swung it through the pinkish haze into his chin.

"Agh!"

Crom flew back and landed on his back stunned, the dust cloud moving over as the Druddigon felt a blow to his stomach and his arm. The Dragon-Type hastily righted himself and took off in a blind panic, the "Pikachu" giving chase with a hopping pursuit around the arena.

"Oh no you don't!" Dimitri chittered.

The Kabutops ran up as black wisps ran along his scythe, the vampire crab bringing his blade-like arm down with a slash at the Disguise Pokémon. The Mimikyu's head jerked back, sending the Ghost-Type tumbling away, only to rise up with its head hanging limply off, glaring back. As the Mimikyu shifted back into a battle-ready stance, Dimitri ran in to try and deliver another blow, sprinting for the Ghost-Type.

"Hah!" the crab jeered. "Your evasion's lacking-"

Dimitri shrieked in pain as he suddenly felt a large weight on his back along with a piercing sensation. The Kabutops thrashed wildly, throwing off the Amoonguss from his back just as the Grass-Type withdrew some vine-like protrusions behind his shield-like arms, their tips dyed a noticeably bluish tinge.

"Oi!" the Mushroom Pokémon snapped. "You'll have to deal with me before you hack your way through our team!"

"Dimitri! Tactical retreat!"

The Amoongus whirled around at the sound of a loud squawk, only to be struck by a flying tackle from a speeding Swellow. The Grass-Type tumbled back from the impact, weakly propping himself from the arena floor. Groaning, he looked up, just in time to see Dimitri cut a wide arc across the air, leaving in its wake a blade of air that slashed him across the chest.

"Nrk…"

The Grass-Type lurched forward and limply toppled onto the ground, shaking loose a cloud of golden spores from his cap which billowed out to envelop his foe. Dimitri gasped with alarm, and accidentally inhaled the spores in the process. The crab quickly broke into a fit of wheezing as he felt every muscle in his body grow heavy and numb.

"Agh!"

From his vantage point high above, Kiran watched Dimitri stagger forward, struggling with all his might against the weight of paralysis. The Swellow turned to circle around the battle below, but his concentration was broken by a sharp yelp coming from somewhere behind him.

"A-Aah! H-Help!"

Kiran turned his attention backwards, where he spotted Crom tearing along the battlefield for dear life as the opposing team's Mimikyu chased after him closely, swiping just out of reach of the Druddigon's tail. The Swellow threw a hasty glance to each of his teammates before committing to a decision, turning to dive for his younger teammate.

"Hang in the- Argh!"

Before he could cover any meaningful distance, the Swellow was blown away and into the ground by a sudden Whirlwind. His place was quickly taken by Team Mirage's Masquerain, who flashed a glimmering light on her wingtips that lit up the arena floor and prompted the Mimikyu to shift his gaze to the Bug-Type. From his place further down the field, Crom kept running from his pursuer, only to notice that the Mimikyu's hops were growing fainter and going further away.

"Huh?" Crom murmured. "Where's he goin-?"

"Aaaagh!"

The dragon whirled around at Dimitri's shriek of pain, turning to see that he had been mobbed by the Masquerain and Mimikyu, who'd pinned him down and surrounded him.

"Dimitri!"

Crom instinctively ran forward after his teammate, his Swellow mentor haggardly righting himself and leaping back into the air with spread wings as his breaths came out tired and exasperated.

"Gah! I can't make sense of this team's strategy!" the Swellow squawked. "Every time we try to get a foothold, they always keep distracting us!"

Crom kept fast on his path, mulling over Kiran's exclamation in the few moments he could spare as he closed the distance to Dimitri. He had passed up a good chance to really damage him earlier, but if the Mimikyu was just going to bolt right for Dimitri once he finally caught up, what was the point of coming after him so severely?

Unless... chasing their team apart like this was the whole point?!

"Hey wait a minute! That's it!" Crom exclaimed. "They're just picking off whoever they think's the most dangerous from our team first!"

The Swellow blinked blankly for a moment, before having his gaze harden in firm determination, shouting out to his pupil below as he entered a steep dive.

"Then let's turn their strategy around!" the bird cried. "Cover me!"

Kiran flew out ahead of the group, sailing low above the ground directly for Team Mirage's still-standing members. At once, the Masquerain spotted him, and sounded the alarm with a loud buzz to her teammate.

"Oi, Captain!" the Bug-Type buzzed. "We've a bogey to the right!"

The Mimikyu whirled around just in time to spot the Swellow come barreling towards them. Unimpressed, the Ghost-type readied a claw for a swipe, throwing his arms back in preparation to bat it out at their incoming attacker.

"Hrmph, this won't be difficult."

The Mimikyu lurched forward to deliver his attack alongside his Masquerain teammate, only for their concentration to be broken by a blue blur lunging from behind. The Masquerain felt a heavy tackle from overhead and plummeted to the ground, lying dazed for a moment. She heard the noise of her Mimikyu partner shouting and the sound of him suddenly struggling with the Kabutops, and felt a rough, sandpapery claw abruptly yank a wing backwards. The bug grimaced in pain, beating her wings wildly in an attempt to catch sight of his surprise attacker.

"Yeow!"

On reflex alone, the Masquerain gave a deafening beat of her wings and jerked ahead as the sandpaper-like grip slackened, coupled with a pained yelp from its culprit. The Masquerain hastily whirled around to see Crom tottering in a daze, and further off, her teammate having knocked himself free of the Dimitri's attacks. Team Mirage's members looked around themselves and went wide-eyed at a sobering realization: their foes had them totally surrounded on every side!

"Gah! It was a feint-!" the Mimikyu exclaimed, only to be cut off with a loud squawk.

"See ya!"

The Ghost-Type hastily turned to flee, his teammate's attempt to follow thwarted by an overpowering Whirlwind that sent the Masquerain flying back along the battlefield. The Bug-Type hastily tried to take to the air, only for Crom to run up and clamp down on her wings with his jaws. As the Druddigon struggled with the bug, Kiran strafed from above with a cutting wind and Dimitri staggered over, leaping to close the final distance and bring a scythe blow down on the Masquerain. The bug shrieked out of pain, tumbling on the ground and coming to a twitching, groaning stop on the arena floor. With their foes' flier downed, all eyes turned towards the last remaining opponent, the Mimikyu pulling himself up from the ground.

" _Davay!_ " Dimitri cried. "Let's do this!"

* * *

"You've got this, Crom!"

From their place in the stands, Team Traveller grew ecstatic as their friends turned the tables against Team Mirage. The Mimikyu hastily readied a slash of his claws, only to be driven back by a watery dash from Dimitri. The Ghost-Type tumbled along, swept up by a Whirlwind from Kiran that sent him flying along the grassy field, directly into the path of a waiting Druddigon with opened maw, who pounced on him… and bit down.

"Eyaaaaaah!"

The Mimikyu's shriek filled the air of the stadium, the Ghost-Type tottering as Crom let him go with his mouth, collapsing into a clump of tall grass. As soon as the Mimikyu hit the ground, the stands roared with approval, prompting Thalez excitedly chime in pronouncing the victor.

"And Team Swanna wins the match with a surprising turnaround!" Thalez crackled. "Give it up for them, everybody!"

On cue, the stands cheered even louder at the Rotom's prompting. From their place in the arena, Crom and his teammates stood amidst the grassy battlefield, soaking in the applause. As the three basked in the attention, the medics came to collect the members of Team Mirage as the victors began to trudge off for the stands. All the while, the audience's applause continued, including that of a visibly animated Nidoran from the lower rows.

"He did it! He did it!" Nida cheered.

"You mean his team did it," Guardia corrected. "Your _Crimgan_ friend was struggling with that Pikachu-looking Pokémon."

"Yeah, when that other team ganged up on Dimitri, I was sure that they weren't going to make it," Elty said. "Talk about quick thinking there-"

"Hoy," a barking voice said from behind. "Are you 'Team Traveller'?"

The three blinked and turned around, only to be surprised by a horned, forked-tailed dog with a satchel over his back waiting for them with a letter under his paws.

"Er… who are you again?" Guardia asked.

"I'm from the mailroom downstairs," the Houndoom explained. "You got a fan letter earlier in the day."

The Dark-Type passed the envelope over, prompting Nida to scoop it up and examine it, seeing a star-shaped leaf design emblazoned on it. The trio traded puzzled looks with one another, before Elty turned his attention back to the courier, giving a confused fold of his right ear back.

"Wait, we have fans here?" the Growlithe murmured.

"I've heard of stranger things happening, but you've clearly been fighting well enough to impress someone here in Tidemill," the Houndoom answered. "Keep it up, and maybe you'll get some more."

The black dog turned and slinked off further along the stands, leaving Team Traveller to crowd around the letter. Nida checked both sides of the envelope once again, only to see that beyond the presence of the leaf design on the front, there was no writing or marking whatsoever to tell them about where the letter had come from.

"No sender or address…" the Poison-Type murmured. "Let's open it up and see who it's from."

The Nidoran slipped the nails of her paws under the envelope and pulled the seal open, turning it over as a silvery-white feather fell out and settled on the ground. At once, the gathered Pokémon hopped back with a start and their mouths flopped open out of surprise, realizing that only one Pokémon in the Cradle could've sent a feather like that.

" _Zaczekaj chwilę!_ That's _Pleo's!_ " Elty exclaimed.

"How did he manage to send it?" Guardia asked. "We only saw him being trotted out on the first day and kept up there in that box!"

Guardia's question gave pause to the Growlithe, who lowered his head in thought. It wasn't very likely that Pleo would just be _given_ envelopes to send out freely, especially with how he had been kept so isolated from the rest of the crowd... Could it really have been _Pleo_ that sent it?

"Maybe it wasn't _him_ that sent it," Elty mulled. "Let's see if there's a message in there. Maybe whoever sent it wants something."

Elty flipped over the envelope once more, and after feeling something weighty between his teeth, shook the paper sleeve thoroughly to get at it. A quarter-folded sheet of paper, full of colorful runes, fell out of the envelope and onto the ground in front of them with notes in the margin.

"'Match the position of the runes by color'," the Growlithe murmured.

"Eh? Is that supposed to mean something among you hut-dwellers?" Guardia demanded. "I don't really understand what the writer wants."

"… I'm stumped too," Nida sighed. "If I didn't know better, I'd think it was instructions for a weird game of checkers. But there's way too many colors and I don't see how doing the same move over and over again would help you win."

The Growlithe paused and stared at the colored runes, comparing their positions in the left and right charts. One move repeated over and over again in a game _would_ be fairly useless, but what if it was actually meant to shuffle things around instead? The Fire-Type blinked, suddenly realizing that as long of a shot as it sounded, maybe the team actually _had_ something that could stand to be shuffled around like that...

"Hey, did we ever give Cardino back the journal from yesterday?" Elty asked.

I don't _think_ we did?" Guardia answered. "But what does that book of your unreadable hut squiggles have to do with anything?"

"I just wanted to try something out."

Elty put his nose into the team bag and pulled out a piece of paper along with a writing pad and a charcoal nub, slipping the pad and nub over a forepaw. The Growlithe nosed the journal open and followed the text to the top of a page, carefully transcribing its contents, and then writing a second copy carefully shifting the runes around just as they had been on the two charts on the paper.

"Ah! Hey wait a minute!" the Fire-Type yelped.

The dog looked down at the transcribed text and noticed much to his astonishment that his still-incomplete second transcription started to have intelligible phrases in it. There was 'sandbar', 'merchant ship', 'captured loot'... Elty kept at his transcription as Nida watched, the dog carefully sketching out a short passage denoting a past raid in which the Shadow Brigade chased a merchant ship onto a sandbar and pillaged it before sailing off with captives to ransom. The rabbit looked up at the Fire-Type blankly, the two quickly coming to the realization that the paper was none other than...

"This is a _decoder!_ " Elty exclaimed. "And it works on Sibich's diary!"

Guardia blinked, stunned at the discovery. There had to be some sort of catch, right? Well, it didn't seem so, as far as she could tell...

"Wait, so you mean something unexpected finally went _our_ way for a change?" the Cubone murmured.

"How did Pleo _find_ this? And how'd he know what it was?" Nida asked.

"I dunno, but you can't argue with results," the Fire-Type grunted. "Come on, let's figure out what this thing says!"

Nida looked up at the stands and for a fleeting moment, saw Pleo in the window of his box high up in the arena. A passing Exeggutor from the row in front blocked her vision briefly, and as soon as the Grass-Type left the Nidoran saw the young Protector slip behind the curtains prompting her to mutter a thanks under her breath. One way or another, they'd get him back home to where he belonged, she'd see to that even if it was the last thing she did.

"We're back!"

The three remaining members of Team Traveller looked up to see Crom and his companions walking in from their battle on the field just as the benched members of their team returned from a nearby stairwell with pawfuls of snacks. The Druddigon along with his Swellow and Kabutops teammates were obviously tired, but at the same time electrified with the thrill of victory. The young Dragon-Type gave a proud beat of his wings, darting up to his companions with special emphasis on his Nidoran teammate.

"So what did you think?" Crom cheered. "That practice we did has been holding up pretty well, huh?"

The Druddigon and his companions blinked and looked down at the papers spread out on the ground, tilting their heads curiously at the chart of colored runes with an emptied envelope set aside. They glanced back up to Elty, Nida, and Guardia and noticed the three were seemingly entranced by the mysterious chart.

"Oh? What are you doing with that letter there?" Dimitri asked.

"It's the decoder that we needed to read Sibich's diary!" Nida exclaimed. "Pleo found it and sent it to us!"

"Huh?! Pleo did?!" Kiran squawked. "But how would he have been able to even get this to us through his guards?"

"I dunno," Elty began. "But I say we worry about that later and find out what's in here first-"

"And next up is Team Wrecker and Team Glyph!"

Team Traveller grimaced at the sound of Thalez's voice, watching as the group of Unown from earlier floated off and a small crew of workers descended on the battlefield to start changing it around. A sinking realization dawned on the three, as they realized that the next match was due in just a matter of minutes and more importantly...

"… That's the match right before ours," Nida murmured. "We'll probably have 15 minutes at most before we're on the field.

Each member of Team Traveller glanced out to the field and then back at the journal, suddenly finding themselves paralyzed by indecision. The journal _had_ to be decoded as much as possible before the trial, or else it would be nothing but a paperweight for Nico and Rita… But on the other paw, if they were no-shows to their next match, they'd forfeit the tournament by default, leaving all their hopes of getting to Pleo on just Crom's team...

"We'll help while you're out there," Pladur said.

"Huh?" Guardia murmured.

"Get what you can done now," Ander offered. "We'll take over while you're fighting in your match."

"Yeah, we're a team," Crom added. "We wouldn't just let you struggle on your own!"

Team Traveller as a whole was stunned, at a loss for words. Even though it would complicate their plans to prepare for their next match, their old teammates were still willing to cover for them out of nothing else but their camaraderie... Nida's ears flicked back as a small, grateful smile spread across her face.

"… Thank you."

Carrying herself with a newfound determination, Nida perked her ears back up, stamping the ground emphatically.

"Come on, let's get going!" the Nidoran squeaked. "That diary isn't going to decode itself!"

With that, the group hastily cracked the diary open and set out the chart, each of the Pokémon grabbing a nub of charcoal and a piece of paper from the bag on Nida's shoulder in order to tackle a chunk of the tome for decryption. As much as there remained to be done to make it through the next trial and battle, for the first time in a day, there again seemed to be a ray of hope on the horizon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _mànega_ \- Venetian: "gang" (criminal)  
>  \- _pàre_ \- Venetian: "father" (informal), "dad"  
>  \- _Trimmien (_ _トリミアン_ _)_ \- Japanese: "Furfrou" (Official Romanization)  
>  \- _Buena suerte!_ \- Spanish: "Good luck!"  
>  \- _Davay! (Давай!)_ \- Russian: "Come on!" (BGN/PCGN Romanization)


	62. Reversal of Fortune

The time after Team Swellow's victory on the field flew by in a daze, thanks to Team Bedtime's battle strategy abusing techniques that put their opponents to sleep, including a potent Yawn from its Munchlax leader. In spite of it all, Nida, Elty, and Guardia managed to piece together enough of the journal to notice that Sibich seemed to have total control over his underlings' activities, and that he seemed to use the journal to maintain a running log of his dealings and exploits. Before they knew it, the three were back in the courthouse, with their paws and the team's satchel filled with muddy notes, running up with an audible yawn in front of an agitated-looking Pikachu.

"… _Again?_ " Cardino sighed. "What happened this time?"

"Sorry, we got Yawned on during our last match and had trouble staying awake afterwards," Nida explained. "That's why it took a while to get over here."

Cardino sighed and he flattened his ears against his head in exasperation. If he'd known his assistants would have had this much trouble with the tournament, he would've looked around for an extra set of paws to fight in the ring while these youngsters focused on finding clues.

"Sure seems like you three are a magnet for trouble," the Pikachu murmured. "But did you find anything, at least?"

"Someone mailed us Sibich's decoder," the Cubone answered. "These papers were the transcriptions we were able to make before time ran out.

At once, Cardino's jaw dropped and he spluttered incredulously. They got _mailed_ Sibich's decoder? But _how_ , and who- Pah, it wasn't worth sweating the details right now! This was the break of a lifetime, and it couldn't have come with better timing!

"Well don't just stand there!" the Pikachu exclaimed. "Hurry on in! Nico has been stalling for over half an hour!"

The courtroom doors swung open dramatically, clearing the way for Nida, Guardia and Elty to stride in at a hasty pace, Cardino closing the doors behind them. As Team Traveller made their way inside, Nico opened his beak to exclaim something-or-other at a Cofagrigus on the witness' stand with Rita floating at his side, only for his budding outburst to die in his throat as his voice stalled out of shock. The Fire-Type took a breath, gathering his wits for a moment, before gesturing excitedly with a wing to present Detective Cardino's assistants to the court.

"Aaaaand here's our evidence, your honor!" the Fletchinder cheered.

"Really now?" Akin scoffed. "Looks more like a bunch of children and an out-of-shape mutt running in with a last-minute distraction."

"That's where you're wrong!" Guardia countered. "Those three pirates were framed and we have proof of it!"

The Cubone's claim at once stirred up murmuring among the audience, some curious, some skeptical. For his part, the Cofagrigus witness on the stand narrowed his eyes, shooting a hardened glare back at the youngsters before turning to the Slowking judge.

"Your honor, I didn't agree to come testify to be smeared with baseless accusations," Sibich huffed. "I already plead no contest to my crimes."

"That's for the evidence to decide," Nico countered. "Your honor, I call Cardino's assistants to the stand to share this evidence that they've found!"

The Slowking judge moved his gavel to his mouth, giving it an idle whirl as he pondered. The timing _did_ seem a bit suspect, but after the tumultuous events of the last trial, it hardly seemed fair to dismiss it out of hand. Satisfied, the Slowking shook his head, turning back to Nico with an expectant look.

"I will allow it," the Slowking said. "Witnesses, please take the stand."

Sibich scowled as he slinked away from the witness' stand to make way for Team Traveller while they shuffled forward. The three youngsters took their places, and Nida fished the journal out of her bag as Elty and Guardia set out the transcriptions they had made. The trio steadied their breathing, keenly aware that every eye in the courtroom was on them. Nida cleared her throat uneasily and straightened her posture, preparing to speak.

"We'd gotten the idea that Captain Sibich's diary would tell us more about what his crew were up to," Nida began. "By a stroke of fate, earlier today we stumbled on his decoder."

"We took a look through different parts," Guardia added, passing out a small stack of transcriptions. "Even though we couldn't finish in time, we know that he seems to insist on calling the shots for his crew."

"Most interestingly, he seems to be pretty disdainful of his Marked crewmembers," Elty said. "Calling them 'blotch-heads who got in his way' that 'draw attention away from the rest of the crew'."

"As you can see, Eric and his buddies' claim to be set up is completely reasonable," Nida continued. "There's someone with the motive and mindset here to do it. Captain Sibich!"

The Nidoran's exclamation at once drew a set of startled protests from the defendants' docket. There, Eric, Hanuna, and Sela gawped at the Poison-Type with wide eyes and slackened jaws, incredulous at the claim she'd laid before the court.

"H-Hold on a second!" Eric stammered. "Captain Sibich really wrote that?!"

"But the Shadow Brigade was the easiest crew for Pokémon like us to join!" Hanuna added.

"How about we get an explanation here, huh?" Sela demanded.

"Well now, your honor. That sounds like an awfully surprised reaction from the accused," Nico said. "Perhaps there's some truth to the witness' claims."

The Slowking quieted for a moment, playing with his gavel in his paws. The Psychic-Type paused in visible thought, before shaking his head and beginning to respond.

"I'll admit that it _does_ sound a bit-"

"Hold it!"

All eyes in the courtroom turned to a billowing and seething Cofagrigus, giving a look that could kill towards Team Traveller. The Ghost-Type slammed his hands onto the ground and turned up to the judge, visibly agitated.

"I demand to be allowed to testify," Sibich spat. "I refuse to let a pack of _neophytes_ try and shift the blame onto me through engaging in selective quotations!"

"Yeah, what he said!" Akin hastily added. "What bit of decisive evidence did the witness provide to exonerate your client?"

"That Captain Sibich used Pokémon like the accused as patsies," Nico scoffed. "You heard it straight from their mouths!"

"Yes, but did your 'patsies' here _not commit the crimes they're accused of?_ " the serpent demanded. "That's the important part, and you don't have the evidence to prove it!"

The Fletchinder grimaced, realizing that this whole time, while he'd been trying to cast doubt on Sibich, he'd completely failed at proving his clients' innocence! They certainly weren't acting misleading, but nothing that he'd shown the court so far could prove that they weren't a part of those egg thefts!

"Nrr… rrgh…"

"It's really all quite simple, featherbrain," Sibich said, giving a dismissive wave of his hands. "I'll explain to you from my experiences as a captain how it was that the testimony of those little snoops you called to the stand changes absolutely nothing."

"I'll hear it. Captain Sibich," the Slowking replied. "You may begin your testimony explaining the context of your journal entries."

The Ghost-Type floated back up to the stand as Team Traveller hastily took their leave back for Nico's desk. All the while, the Cofagrigus trained a harsh glare on the youngsters, seething behind clenched teeth before he swallowed his agitation and turned his attention to the judge with newfound sobriety.

"I admit, the youngsters' words are true…" Sibich reluctantly admitted. "That _is_ what those entries in my journal say after reading them properly."

Some shocked gasps went about the gathered audience, wondering just what sorts of malevolent acts the Cofagrigus captain before them could have done if he was willing to hide his true colors from his own crew. In anticipation, the Ghost-Type held up a hand for silence, before turning his attention back to the judge.

"However, things are not as simplistic as the Defense's witnesses would like to believe," the wraith insisted. "The lines have merely been taken out of context."

"… Would you care to explain that?" Nico asked.

"They are things I wrote out of frustration after long days of working with the Marked on my crew," Sibich explained. "It got tiring to deal with them going behind my back constantly."

"If they are all such awful crewmembers, then why do you have them on your crew in the first place?" the bird pressed.

"Because a trained and experienced crew is worth more to a captain than a ship full of rookies," the Cofagrigus retorted. "Despite the flaws among my Marked subordinates, it simply made the most sense for me to stay the course to teach them prudence in their mission and of honor among thieves."

Nida, Elty, and Guardia gaped at Sibich. How could he regurgitate the blatant lies he'd told them at the detention center yesterday so plainly in public ? It was totally shameless!

"Grr… that's an obvious lie!" Guardia spat. "He's guilty and we all know it!"

"Maybe so," Nico murmured. "But I can't see anywhere where his testimony contradicted the evidence we have."

"Hold on, Nico. He admitted that anything read from his journal through that decoder is proper, right?" Rita asked. "Then if so, anything _else_ he wrote in that book is something that he'd be admitting to happening."

"Yeah, but how does that help us with this giant book here?" Elty demanded. "We'll never be able to decode the whole thing before the judge gives a verdict!"

"We'll buy some time. Nico's great at pressing a witness when he has to, so just look around and try to find something that would relate to this last raid," the Misdreavus insisted. "He's bound to have said something about what happened beforehand."

"Hold it! About your first statement!" the Fletchinder cried. "What did you mean by 'write'…?"

Team Traveller blanched and threw a set of paws over their faces, shaking their heads as they noticed a deepening glare settling over the judge's face. 'Stalling for time' was one thing, but this was just reeking of desperation...

"Let's just hurry this up before the judge loses his temper," Guardia sighed.

Nida and Elty at once flipped the diary open and browsed back to the most recent entries in it. The pair fished out the decoder and hastily started to transcribe entries while occasionally peering up to overhear Nico in his latest featherbrained attempt to stall the judge. On the third entry in, Elty hastily scribbled down some runes, before Nida's eyes went wide as she realized that when combined with the ones next to it, it described a 'Guardian of the Seas' in Giotto. Wait, but that meant...

"Eh?!" Nida exclaimed. "Someone told him Pleo was here?!"

"Huh? But weren't we at Sormus at the time that was written?," Guardia muttered. "That said, how exactly would that do anything to help prove our case?"

"If he was coming for Pleo, it'd explain why he went out with all his ships…" Elty said to himself. "Did he talk anywhere afterwards about planning? Since even Hess plans out his bigger raids."

The three looked down and started to transcribe the next messages. Glyph by glyph, words and then entire sentences started to take shape in front of their eyes, with Nida and Elty falling silent as their eyes fell on one in particular that they'd just completed.

"Drilled through attack plan with crew, left notes under cover," Nida murmured. "'Under cover'? Like a blanket?"

The Nidoran looked around at the rest of the notes, and failed to find any mention of drapes or any sort of covering. By happenstance, the Poison-Type grabbed the front cover to turn to another page when she realized that it felt unusually thick. Nida blinked a moment, before lifting up the diary and shaking it in front of her, hearing a faint rustling sound from within. The Nidoran's ears perked up, her actions failing to go unnoticed by Sibich from the witness' podium whose eyes widened out of surprise.

"Oi!" the Ghost-Type snapped. "Just what do you think you're doing there?!"

"That's it!"

The Nidoran hopped onto the desk, whirling to face the judge as she thumped the wood underfoot for attention. Try as she might, the Poison-Type couldn't contain her excitement, coming to the realization that the discovery she just stumbled on was _huge!_

"Your honor, there's something inside this diary's cover!" Nida exclaimed.

For a moment, it seemed like Sibich's face had gone pale, however much that was possible considering his coffin-like body. The Ghost-Type sputtered, desperately attempting to find the words to downplay the Poison Pin Pokemon's epiphany.

"P-Pah! Preposterous!" Sibich insisted. "Even if there _was_ , just how would you propose opening i-?"

_CRACK!_

The courtroom flinched at the sound of splintering wood after Guardia club came down on the diary's cover. The binding cracked as the front cover buckled out and a panel toppled out, leaving Nico and Akin alike to stare mouths agape, the Serperior stammering in shock at the Cubone's treatment of case evidence.

"Hey! She can't do that!" Akin squeaked. "That's destruction of evidence!"

"That's where you're wrong, _Jalorda_!" the Cubone insisted. "I'm _improving_ your evidence!"

The Cubone yanked away the freshly-broken cover, causing a small wad of folded-up papers that had sat in the newly exposed hollow to flop out onto the witness' podium. The Slowking judge's eyes widened, the Psychic-Type audibly gasping in surprise at the sudden turn of events.

"Oh my! Diaries with compartments?" the judge exclaimed. "I wasn't aware that you even _could_ keep private possessions _and_ private thoughts together."

Nico strutted over and grabbed the papers with his beak, bringing them back to his desk. The Fletchinder and his Misdreavus assistant pored over the articles carefully, prompting curious murmuring to break out in the audience. Guardia peered over, struggling to see just what they had uncovered.

"What does it say?"

Nico unfurled the papers from the cover onto his desk, as they settled it became evident that they contained an annotated map of Polderfield Town and its surroundings with colored dots and arrows. Along with it, names had been scrawled onto a separate list, apparently denoting groups of Pokémon and actions written out over them.

"It looks like it's a diagram of the harbor, with attack routes," Nico murmured. "I'm more interested in this list here though, Captain Sibich…"

"Grrnh… and just why would that be?" the Ghost-Type demanded.

"Well for one, I see Eric, Sela, and Hanuna's names in here, but they're under a team for pillaging Polderfield's main square," the attorney began. "On the other hand, I see _your_ name in this group here under 'recruitment' for what appears to be the local daycare. And wasn't that where your diary was recovered in the first place?"

"Then that means-" the Slowking began, much to Akin's grudging realization.

"That the real culprits were the Pokémon who went to the daycare…"

_WHAM!_

"Which would include _you_ , Captain Sibich!" Nico exclaimed. "As none other than their ringleader!"

"Rrgh… this proves nothing!" Sibich hissed. "It was a setup!"

"I'm afraid that won't work," Rita retorted. "You yourself admitted that the decoder was right."

"Yeah, and that's how we found out about the compartment in the first place," Nida cried. "You wrote about it in your diary!"

The Nidoran's exclamation at once made Sibich set his teeth on edge, the Cofagrigus appearing much like a Deerling in the line of a Flash Cannon as he realized that he had indeed confirmed in front of the whole courtroom that the decoder belonged to the diary...

"Nrgh…"

"Your honor, these documents are the decisive evidence needed to prove my client's innocence," Nico said. "It shows that they were part of a broader conspiracy organized by Captain Sibich to frame them and other Pokémon like them for more serious crimes, so that the real culprits could evade justice!"

The Fletchinder beat out a wing, dramatically leveling his wingtip across the room and peering down at the Cofagrigus at the other end, before finally raising his voice again to press one further question.

"… Do you have any commentary to add, Captain?"

"Nnn… Ngaaaah..." the Ghost-Type seethed. Sibich wrenched an arm free, flinging a shadowy orb at the Defense's table that sent them diving for cover. The Coffin Pokémon raged, his voice coming out in an increasingly unhinged-sounding hiss.

"This can't be happening! Everything in my plan was perfect!" he shrieked. "I'm Captain Sibich of the Shadow Brigade, I _made_ it perfect! And I'm not letting a songbird and a couple of runts _ruin_ that perfection!"

The Ghost-Type rained another Shadow Ball at the other end of the courtroom, making some observers in the audience duck out of their seats with yelps as it slammed into the wall below. His patience with the Cofagrigus long exhausted, the Slowking judge glared and pounded his gavel irritatedly against the wood of his podium, turning his attention to a Glalie and a violet Persian with pudgy cheeks.

"Bailiff, please take the witness into custody and escort him out of the courtroom," the Slowking judge grumbled.

"No! I refuse! You cannot _do_ this to me!" the Cofagrigus screeched. "I'm Captain Sibich of the Shadow Bri-"

The Ghost-Type was cut off by a shadowy ball striking his face, as the Glalie and the Persian descended upon him. The Cofagrigus thrashed against his attackers, only for the Glalie to chomp down on his face, drawing a pained shriek as he toppled back in a daze. With their charge subdued, the captain was unceremoniously dragged off, the courtroom door slamming shut and leaving behind a stunned silence… broken by the sound of a Fletchinder poking his head up above his desk and shooting a smug smile across to the prosecutor's end of the room.

"Well, it looks like the 'Rookie Killer' has been killed," Nico jeered.

"Nrghh," Akin groaned. "This is one of those times when it's really best to just slink away for another day."

"So be it, I'll be _waiting_ for tha-"

" _Aherm._ "

The Fletchinder and Serperior quickly stilled their tongues as the sound of the Slowking judge clearing his throat sounded out. The pair turned, watching as the Psychic-Type toyed with the gavel in his paw, giving a satisfied shake of his head.

"With these turns of events, I think that I'm ready to hand down my verdict," the judge said. "With regard to the defendants and the charges of egg theft… Not Guilty!"

The Slowking brought his gavel down onto the desk with a forceful _thud_ , prompting cheering to erupt from the audience. For a moment, the Pokémon on the Defense's side of the room swelled with pride, glad that their hard efforts had in spite of all odds paid off.

"Hah! You did it! You did it!" the Scraggy exclaimed. "You got us off the hook-!"

" _However_ , based off the evidence at hand, we can clearly see that the defendants are guilty of larceny," the Slowking ordered. "I order that they be returned to detention to await sentencing on a separate occasion as prior cases are reconsidered in light of this new evidence."

_WHAP!_

"… Way to make us look like idiots, Eric," Hanuna snarled.

"Come on, get going," Bastiodon scolded. "You can go warm a cell for a few days before you get put on trash duty."

The Pokemon by the Defense's end of the courtroom looked on while the Bastiodon guard marched the three pirates away as Cardino slipped in from outside, the Steel-Type guard slamming the door loudly behind him. From where she floated over Nico's shoulder, his Misdreavus assistant sighed and shook her head.

"Well, all's well that ends well…" Rita sighed. "Er… sorta."

"I'm sure they'll be grateful in due time," Cardino said. "Larceny is usually grounds for some form of Community Service, nothing that those three can't bounce back from if they make the most of it."

"Hrm… I guess we'll have to see what they do. Though something's bothering me," Nida murmured. "We found out that Sibich was responsible for _this_ egg theft… but that list of eggs involved multiple crews... Who exactly was helping him?"

Before anyone could answer the Nidoran's question, she was cut off by the sound of thumps and shouts from outside the courtroom. The door was abruptly smashed open with a shadowy fist, as Sibich's seething form floated back inside.

"I'm not going down on my own!" the Cofagrigus shouted. "I refuse to let Coil hang all the blame on me!"

Stunned gasps broke out in the audience, the Ghost-Type narrowing his eyes and slamming his hands against the ground for attention, hoping to strike while the iron of his spectators' shock was still hot.

"That's right! Your beloved pirate hunter Admiral Coil has been working with me for years!" the Sibich snarled. "So what are _you_ going to do about it?!"

At once, the Cofagrigus was answered with a hail of loud jeers and shouts. The Ghost-Type was promptly clocked in the face by a flying apple, with other audience members taking the opportunity to lob objects of their own from the overlooking balconies.

"Get out!" a Bellossom shouted.

"A likely story from scum like you!" a long necked Exeggutor jeered.

The Cofagrigus toppled back under the blows of the incoming attacks when a flung Iron Ball sailed along into his forehead, sending the Ghost-Type clattering to the ground with a groan. The bailiffs came along and drug the now-unconscious Cofagrigus off, though the uproar in the audience was little-changed prompting the judge to pound his gavel for order. While the Slowking attempted to calm the riled-up audience, Cardino stared after the door where Sibich had been dragged off, before shooting a sidelong glance at the Fletchinder beside him.

"Hey Nico, you interested in representing another client?" the Pikachu asked. "I think we can get you a face-to-face meeting with him sometime around sundown."

"Well, it's my job," the Fletchinder murmured. "But why?"

"I think I might've found a break to this egg ring case, but it's gonna require the cooperation of a tough customer."

* * *

As the sun continued its ascent up to its midday high in the sky, the Silver Wing Cup continued on at the _Vecioferàle Arena_. The day had been marked with cycles of frenetic activity, followed by lulls much as this one where the field was cleared and rearranged and spectators drifted out into the hallways to purchase concessions or settle bets in the wake of the second round. From the portion of the stands set aside for the contestants, the lull was occupied more by plotting out strategies for next matches, slinking off to train, or in the case of Valatos, Nori, and Alvise, simply lazing around and waiting for time to pass by.

"Ugh, I'm so bored spending all this time watching all these other Pokémon fight," the Marowak groaned.

"If only we were in a large city where we could freely go around with plenty of stuff to do like the Imperial capital…" Valatos sighed, before shooting a piercing glare at the Manectric beside him.

"Hey, _you_ saw what happened the last time we went out!" Alvise snapped. "I'm not going unless if there's a good reason for it!"

"Bah… why couldn't you have left town when you were younger _without_ getting a gang of 'mons mad at you?" Nori huffed.

The Marowak and Manectric's argument quickly took a turn for the worse as the two bickered with one another, drawing an annoyed sigh from Valatos. After a moment's reservation, the Yanmega opted to let the pair sort out their own differences and settled on a railing overlooking the arena. The dragonfly turned his head rightwards down the contestants' stands and watched the forms of various Pokémon go by, fanning his wings lazily when a squeaking voice reached his ears.

"Ah! You're back!"

Valatos looked ahead and saw the form of a blue Nidoran hopped into the arms of a waiting young Druddigon, the Dragon-Type taking her up and nuzzling her against his snout. The Yanmega retched at the lovey-dovey scene further away, and gave a seething chitter that turned his teammates' attention away from their spat.

"Eh? What's with you, Valatos?" Alvise asked.

"Yeah," Nori added. "What are you looking at?"

The pair peered over from the other side of the contestants' stands, just in time to see the young Druddigon and Nidoran ahead joined by the rest of their teammates. At once, Valatos' companions felt their moods sour along with him, the pair growling lowly as Valatos beat a tarsal against the stadium's railing.

"Grr… of course they have to show their ugly mugs in the most guarded spot in the stadium," Valatos hissed. "If it weren't for that, I'd give the lot of them a good Air Slash."

"Wait, those dweebs from the ship _know_ those 'mons with the bounty on them?" Alvise asked.

"I'm pretty sure that the _Crimgan_ with them mentioned something about it," Nori said. "But surely we have _something_ better to do than just sit and watch them here."

"Well, since _Prinses Alvise_ here isn't up for going out into the city, let's do the next best thing and stretch our wings in the halls a bit," Valatos sighed. "Maybe there's something we've missed so far."

The Yanmega got up and flitted off for the hallways, followed by his Manectric and Marowak teammates. The pair made their way along the circular walkway ringing the stadium, looking through the arches out to the passersby in the canal-lined plaza below milling between shops and stands set up for the occasion of the Silver Wing Cup. The three started to turn down an interior passageway, passing some rooms that had been locked tight with signs labeled 'Arena Props' or 'Plaza Decor' denoting their contents.

Valatos and his companions swung around a corner, carrying past a room lined with holes cut into the floor that had herbs hung over the doorway with the sound of flowing water coming from it. The herb-scented air carried an underlying odor reminiscent of the Mistral Marauder's heads, which judging from Alvise's disgusted reaction after sniffing the air, had been freshly used for their same purpose. The trio picked up their pace and turned down a corner, eager to return to a portion of the stadium with fresher air. The lot carried on, heading towards the sunlight and making their way forward when the sound of murmuring ahead caught their ears.

"I don't even care how you did it, but _why_ did you change our matchup?" an agitated, bat-like voice demanded.

"Yeah, it's not like there's any team in this tournament we can't beat anyway," a barking voice added. "And we've been swimming in fan mail! Why risk our reputation with the crowds?¨

"Huh?"

Valatos poked his head around the corner, where the forms of a Weavile, a tan-furred Lycanroc, and a visibly agitated Crobat in white scarves with a blue sun pattern came into view with other like-garbed Pokémon loitering further down. The Yanmega and his buddies peered on in silence, watching as the Dark-Type gave a dismissive shrug of his shoulders before replying to the Crobat.

"I was bored, I saw an opportunity to have a little fun, and I took it," he answered. "Nothing wrong with that."

"You _endangered our operational security_ for your own _amusement?_ " the Crobat spluttered. "Ketu, what's _wrong_ with you?"

"Would a 'game' give us a chance to have an easier path to the finals?" Ketu retorted. "Besides, you're not _actually_ sorry that we're getting the chance to throw around a few of those Tromban idiots, are you?"

At the mention of 'Tromban idiots' from the strangers' voices, Valatos flitted up with a start. The Bug-Type beat his wings agitatedly, realizing that there were only two possibilities the weasel could be referring to. Both of which were scores _he_ wanted to settle!

"Hey wait a minute!" the Yanmega buzzed. "That's-"

"I dunno, he makes a pretty compelling point there, Kane," the Lycanroc murmured.

"Hrmph. You'd just better hope nothing goes wrong from this, Ketu," Kane snapped. "You'll have a _lot_ more to worry about than just being knocked down a rank by the Captain if it does."

"Tsk, nothing to worry about," the Weavile answered. "Let's just kick back and have a little fun with our next match. It's not every day we get to humiliate some hicks in front of their own Protector."

The team of white-scarved strangers slunk off down the hallway, chattering amongst themselves about how much of a cakewalk their next match would surely be. All the while, Valatos and his companions stared after them, their jaws slacking as the significance of the Weavile's words began to dawn on them.

"That little weasel's rigging the matches!" Nori exclaimed

"Come on, if we hurry, we can tip off a ref before the next matches start!" Alvise grunted. Valatos mulled, fuming under his breath, only for his temper to get the better of him. He was _not_ going to just let that Weavile's scheming go unanswered, much less just sit around while he stole away their chance at vengeance on those Tromban hicks.

"Grr… lousy fleabag, going out of your way to steal _my_ revenge!" the Bug-Type hissed. "Let's do it, I wanna see that weasel suffer-!"

A deafening, roaring cheer cut off the Yanmega mid-sentence. He trailed off, the three of them pausing to wonder about the occasion for the audience's raucous demeanor. The question swiftly answered itself, however, as Thalez' voice filled the air from a glinting metal bangle hung in the hallway.

"Aaand our intermission's over, folks!" the Rotom cheered. "Time to move on to the eighth-finals!"

The three brigands grimaced at the announcer's words, a sinking realization setting upon them that the tampered team lineups had surely been seen at this point. Now, whatever had made it in front of Thalez would be read aloud and none would be the wiser about the original lineup.

"… We're too late."

Valatos stared blankly ahead, head drooping low and wings uncharacteristically still as Thalez droned on in the background. It seemed that not a _single_ thing had gone right for them since they first bumped into those blasted brats back in Kenobi! No matter which side of the law they fell on, it hardly seemed fair for them to not catch a single, small break...

"And moving on to our matchups!" Thalez's voice crackled. "Our first fight will be between Team Tailwind and Team Sunshine. Next up will be Team Venom and Team Surveyor, then Team Traveller and Team Iron..."

The trio stood blinking dumbfounded for a moment as Thalez called out 'Team Iron', the hastily-devised name that they'd entered themselves and their teammates into the tournament with. The Rotom droned on, leaving Valatos to click his mandibles and spread a malicious smile over his face as much as his chitinous mouthparts allowed. With newfound peace of mind, the Bug-Type turned to his teammates, giving a cheery flit of his wings.

"Whelp, what are we waiting for?" the Yanmega asked. "Let's go prep for our match."

"Wait," Nori insisted. "But I thought we were gonna tell the refs that that Weavile was cheating."

"No need. Cheating or not, we can still work things through with this lineup," Valatos chittered. "So let's just have a little _fun_."

The Yanmega flitted up, giving a anticipatory rub of his tarsi as he lavished in a feeling of assured self-confidence stronger than any he'd had since the Mistral Marauder pulled into port at Giotto. Alvise and Nori traded puzzled looks with one another, but the dragonfly was happy to better articulate his point.

"After all," the Bug-Type began. "How many chances are we going to get to beat the tar out of those dungeon brats in front of a cheering crowd?"

* * *

"Yah!"

The sound of a Gallade's cry rang out from the pit of the _Vecioférale Arena_ , as he lunged forward with a swipe, sending a hulking Scolipede skidding back along a grassy arena floor. The centipede hissed angrily and built up a glob of violet fluid in between his mandibles, and spat it up in retaliation at the Gallade. The glob carried on, finding its mark on the Fighting-Type much to the Bug-Type's satisfaction, only for his cheer to swiftly end as he felt himself get lifted off the ground. The Bug-Type shrieked and thrashed, watching his opponent motion with his arms with glowing eyes as he sent him flying towards the top of the pit's walls. The Pokémon in the stands flinched and cowered, cringing before an Exploud and a Ninjask hastily stepped up and threw up two barriers of light as the Scolipede smacked against them with an audible crash. The hulking Bug-Type pitched back before limply tumbling into the pit, crashing face-first in the grass and twitching his hind legs weakly.

"And looks like Team Venom's Scolipede is down for the count!" Thalez cheered. "And with that, Team Surveyor is the winner to progress to the quarter finals!"

A roar of approval swelled in the stands of the _Vecioférale Arena_ , prompting the forms of a Gallade, Blastoise, and Goodra on the field to wave back in triumph. Amidst the celebratory mood, there were occasional outliers here and there: a Boldore slinking back with a disappointed sulk over his chosen team failing to win the match, a Honchkrow beating a wing out agitatedly at money lost on betting on the wrong team… But most unusual of all were the ashen faces of a Nidoran, Growlithe, and Cubone in the contestants' sections of the stand, the lot sporting grimaces all but dripping with visible dread.

"Looks like that it for this round... We're up next…" Elty gulped.

"Against Valatos and his buddies…" Nida groaned. "Fantastic…"

"Ugh, I _told_ you you'd jinx us by talking about not fighting them again, _Gardie!_ " Guardia snapped.

"How is that _my_ fault?!"

A low growl rumbled from the Growlithe's throat as he arched his back aggressively. Not to be outdone, Guardia tensed her grip on her club, pointing it forward and growling back at her Fire-Type challenger. With a wide-eyed grimace sensing the imminent trouble, Kiran flitted up, interjecting with a hasty wave of his wings.

"Hey, hey, calm down!" Kiran squawked. "You won't be doing yourselves any favors going into battle divided!"

"And you're not the _only_ ones who have a tough matchup," Ander murmured. "We got slotted against one of the crowd's favorite teams for our next match."

The Scyther's reassurance failed to sooth the three youngsters, particularly Nida, whose ears flattened against her head in annoyance. Just _how_ was being told that they weren't the only ones facing insane odds supposed to _help?_

"But you're also much more experienced fighters than us!" the Nidoran exclaimed. " _How_ can we even do this?!"

"Yeah, we can't use any items like the last time we faced them," Elty protested.

"And even then we needed my colony's help," Guardia added.

"Well, how did you get past encounters with groups of Pokémon in Mystery Dungeons?" Kiran asked.

"We tried to take down the Pokémon that would hurt us the most first," Nida answered.

"The same principle applies here," the Swellow insisted. "All you need to do is to try and keep your most dangerous opponent still fighting from attacking you."

The Flying-Type's instructions drew uneasy glances back from Team Traveller. Yes, keeping the toughest foe from fighting them had served them well in dungeons… but this was no Mystery Dungeon, and Valatos and his buddies were not exactly common ferals from a Monster House.

"That's a little easier said than done..." Elty groaned.

"Alright beauties and gentlebeauties! How about we get this next fight started?" Thalez's voice crackled. "Can Team Traveller and Team Iron please come onto the battlefield?"

At once, a loud roar broke out from the stands, the spectators eager to see the next fight. One that the grimacing members of Team Traveller were hoping on the Travellers above wasn't their _last_...

"Well... that´s our cue," Nida sighed.

"Good luck out there, Nida," Crom said. "I'm sure you guys can do it."

The Nidoran stared out onto the field a moment before turning to face the young Druddigon. The rabbit twitched her nose, weakly forcing a smile onto her face before mustering an equally weak and unenthusiastic response.

"Thanks Crom."

Nida, Elty, and Guardia breathed in before making their way out onto the battlefield. The field had been cleared and laid out as a rolling, grassy plain, bereft of any meaningful cover to be used in a battle. The three looked down the field at Team Iron and grimaced, realizing that there would be nothing to help tilt this fight to their advantage beyond their wits and reflexes, which judging by the sneering glares from Valatos and his companions as they approached, was a realization that had also dawned on them.

"Well, well, well," Valatos sneered. "What have we here?"

"Looks like we got lucky and got an easy matchup this round!" Nori added, joined in by a devious smirk from his Manectric teammate.

"It's time to get back at what you did to us on Kenobi you little brats," Alvise taunted.

"And _this time_ you won't be able to hide behind another Monster House or a bunch of street thugs!" Valatos chimed in.

Nida, Elty, and Guardia gulped and tensed their bodies at their foes taunting. Trying their best to steel themselves for the coming fight, the trio dug their feet into the ground and attempted to summon defiant scowls to shoot back at Valatos and his buddies.

"H-Hah!" Elty stammered. "You don't scare me!"

"Yeah, we've toughened up since last time!" Guardia insisted, giving a wave of her club. The gestures did little to impress Valatos, who answered back with a derisive chortle.

"Hah! _Sure_ you have!" the Bug-Type buzzed. "Just tell yourselves whatever you need to feel better, this'll be over before you know it."

"We all know these two teams by now, so let's not delay this any longer and get the action rolling!" Thalez crackled. At once, the audience erupted into cheers, their excited roar swelling in the arena as Thalez raised his arms for the countdown.

"Three! Two! One... GO!"

At the sound of Thalez's thunderclap, the three members of Team Iron tore forward in a rush. Alvise's attention quickly settled on Guardia, venom visibly swirling in his eyes as he lunged for her with bared fangs.

"You're mine-!" the wolf roared, only to be cut off by a whirling woosh and a dull blow against his head. The Electric-Type gave a whining yelp and stumbled, looking up just in time to see a spinning bone twirl back towards the form of a Cubone falling back. The Ground-Type threw a claw up and caught the returning Bonemerang with a determined scowl.

"Now!" Guardia cried. "Ring him before he can get away!"

The wolf tensed himself and bared his fangs, when he caught the sight of a hopping blue blur come from the left. Alvise opened his jaws and whirled towards the oncoming rabbit ready for a crushing bite, only to howl in pain as he felt a burning pain on his hindquarters. The Manectric whirled around just in time to see Elty dart away, his focus promptly interrupted by a pair of stiff kicks at his gut that sent him stumbling back.

"Alright, Guardia!" Nida squeaked. "I think we've got him on the-!"

"Not so fast, brats!"

The Nidoran turned, only to hear Guardia and Elty suddenly yelp and dive out of the way. As the Poison-Type looked up, she was cut off by a slicing gust of wind striking her in the side and sending her pinwheeling across the battlefield.

"Gyah!"

"Hang in there, Nidoran!" Guardia shouted. "I'm comi- Agh!"

The Cubone's attempts to rush after her teammate were cut off by a blow from behind, sending her tumbling along the ground. Stunned, the bone-lizard lay on the ground trying to catch her breath for a moment, only to glance upwards and see her evolutionary relative charging for her with his club raised for an overhead smash. Guardia went wide-eyed and reflexively grabbed her club, holding it up just in time to block Nori's blow as he brought it down towards her.

"Let's see how tough you are when you can't hide behind your colony, _jari_ " the Marowak snarled.

The sound of Guardia's struggle grabbed the attention of Nida and Elty, prompting the pair to rush in from opposing sides of the arena towards Nori. Much to Nida's surprise, given his stocky build, Elty had actually managed to pull ahead of her, as cinders danced on his orange pelt and set it alight.

"Hey bonehead!" Elty jeered. "Think fast!"

The Marowak was cut off by a wheeling, burning tackle to his side, knocking him off his feet. The lizard uneasily righted himself, watching as his Cubone opponent slipped away along with a Growlithe still trailing embers off his pelt attempting to follow suit.

"Grr! Why you-!"

Nori swung fiercely at the intruder, making a loud _whack_ ring through the arena followed by a pained yelp, as Elty sailed forwards and skidded along the ground. From the right of the Marowak, Nida attempted to lunge for the bone lizard, only for her whole body to stiffen up at a blood-curdling howl from just a few paces behind her.

"Here, you lousy pincushion!" a wolf's voice growled. "Try this on for size!"

Nida shrieked as she felt fangs dig into her pelt and her body get lifted up off the ground. The Poison-Type felt her body get shaken like a rag doll, prompting her to raise her barbs in a panic and Alvise to drop her with a pained whine. She fell to the grassy ground with a yelp, lying stunned and panting as she watched Alvise spit up some barbs from the side. The Nidoran froze, watching in petrified terror as a slicing gust of wind struck her square in her chest, sending her skidding back with an agonized cry.

"A-Aaagh!"

_Pat-pat-pat_

"Hang in there, spike ball!" Guardia's voice cried.

_WHAP!_

"Eyaaah!"

Nida craned her head to see Alvise snatch up Guardia in his jaws, the wolf biting down into Guardia's abdomen with a pained squeal. In a panic, the Ground-Type lashed out with her club, clocking her tormenter below his left eye with her bone. The Manectric shrieked and let the bone lizard go, letting her flop unceremoniously to the ground, before tottering and collapsing onto his side.

The Nidoran waited tensely for one or the other of the two Pokémon to get back up, only for the pair to remain still beyond the occasional weak twitch or rising of their chests from breathing, a sure enough sign that the two were down for the count in this battle. From his place in the air, Valatos chittered annoyedly at Alvise's defeat, training his compound eyes down on the visibly haggard spike lump below.

"Lights out for you, Nidoran!"

The rabbit blanched as the Yanmega beat his wings together and began to flick up a slicing gust of air from his wingtips. Nida hastily sprang to her feet and bounded away as the sound of a piercing wind came from behind her, the Poison-Type hastily side-stepping as the Air Slash mowed down the grass off the battlefield just to her right and forced her leftward towards the arena wall. The Nidoran looked up, and much to her horror spotted Nori ahead charging towards her with his club swung out wide for an attack.

"A-Aah!"

Nida screwed her eyes shut in a panic, loosened a spike from her pelt and flicked it forward. The projectile sailed on into the air, with the sound of a yelp and abruptly stopping footsteps following immediately afterwards.

Cracking her eyes open, the rabbit saw Nori stumble back slightly, his club-hand's grip loosened on account of the fresh, poison-dribbling barb which had been lodged in it. Just as the Ground-type began to regain his bearings, he was thrown for a loop again as he felt his club yanked right out from between his claws, his eyes shooting open wide in shock.

"H-Huh?!" the Marowak cried The bone lizard whirled around in an instinctive panic, groping for his missing club only to turn and spot a Growlithe waving his bum at his face, his jaws clamped firmly around the bone that moments ago had been secure in his grasp.

" _Chodź i weź to!_ " Elty jeered. "Just try and get your bone back!"

Grinning as well as he could with Nori's club in the way, the Fire-type darted away, leaving Nori in his dust to splutter and take off after him, blood running hot and his helmeted head transfixed with a look that could kill.

"Get back here, you lousy fleabag!"

The Growlithe led Nori on a wild chase across the battlefield, darting to and fro ever out of reach of the slower Marowak pursuing. Exasperated, the lizard growled, shouted, and cursed in the bone-thief's general direction as the Puppy Pokémon continued leading him on, far outclassing his pursuer in speed. Elty's grin widened impishly, the Fire-type making no effort to hide his enjoyment of the episode, but his smile faltered as a loud hiss sounded out from above him.

"Knock it off, you lousy mutt!"

Valatos motioned with his tarsi and called up a dirt-caked rock from under the battlefield, sending it flying soil and all square for the Growlithe. Elty hastily sidestepped with a yip, but was unable to avoid a nasty graze to his flank from Valatos' Ancient Power knocking the bone in his mouth free and sending it flying ahead. The dog stumbled disorientedly, his body throbbing from the heavy blow when he noticed in alarm that Nori was making a run for his dropped club. He took off after the Ground-Type, only for his best efforts to be thwarted as the Marowak somersaulted ahead and pulled his club in close to his chest.

"Gotcha-! Agh!"

As soon as Nori recovered his bone, he toppled onto his side and rolled from a pair of swift kicks from a Nidoran's feet. Their owner whirled back to Elty, beckoning him to come and strike while the iron was still hot.

"Elty! Quick!" Nida squeaked. "Before he can get back up!"

"On it!"

The Growlithe lunged, his fur becoming wreathed with flames as he darted forward and leapt up into a somersault at the stricken Marowak. The bone lizard looked up just in time to see his attacker falling towards him, and in a panic swung his club, catching the Fire-Type in his hind leg... but failing to stop him from barreling headfirst into his chest and throat and kick up a cloud of smoky dust. The young Growlithe tottered in a stunned daze, trying to keep his balance as he saw the Bone Keeper Pokémon struggle to rise to his feet with his club.

"Grnk!"

Only for Nori's grip to abruptly fail and for the Marowak to flop unceremoniously to the ground on his belly. The Ground-Type's club followed suit, toppling onto its owner's head and leaving him on the ground groaning incoherently. Nida and Elty panted, looking at their handiwork, only to be snapped back to attention by the sound of a seething buzz from the air.

"Grr… do I have to do _everything_ myself?"

Valatos dove, darting in a zig-sagging pattern towards Nida and Elty as the pair hastily tried to waylay him with fire and spikes thrown from a distance, only for their attacks to miss their marks one after the other. Nida's eyes widened as the hulking bug closed in on her, a shadowy haze starting to accumulate around his front legs that spooked her into fleeing. The rabbit turned and bolted, managing to make it away a few paces before suddenly feeling a slicing pain on her back and the sensation of a chitinous claw pin her down.

"Yaaaaaaah!"

The rabbit squealed in pain and fright, swinging her paws for dear life and desperately trying to wedge her nails into the gaps of Valatos' carapace. By chance, one of her swipes slipped in between one of the segments of the Bug-Type's flank, forcing him up with a startled buzz, and prompting him to ready another Night Slash to finish off his foe.

"Say your prayers, you little pest-"

Before Valatos could finish his taunt, he felt a burning pain flash over his wings and saw fire move past his eyes. The Bug-Type fell to the ground screeching, rolling desperately to put out the embers that had landed on his wings. He hastily righted himself and beat his wings, wincing in pain from the sensations of a fresh burn, looking up to see none other than the tubby Growlithe culprit dart in front of him.

"Grah! What did you _do_ , you lousy mutt?!"

The Fire-Type didn't bother to stop to give a response, instead beelining for his stricken teammate. Panting and winded, the Nidoran stumbled to her feet as her teammate nosed her up from the ground, peering down with exhausted eyes that were at once alight with the taste of victory just within reach.

"Nida! We can pull this off!" the dog yipped. "We just need to think of a way to slow him down enough for us to hit him!"

"It won't matter!" Valatos hissed. "Let's see you pull through _this!_ "

Elty lurched as he felt the ground roll under him, a stone erupting from the battlefield underfoot to strike him beneath. The Growlithe went flying through the air in a plume of dirt, shrieking as he sailed up and hit the ground hard, coming to a rolling stop amidst the torn-up grass of the battlefield.

"Nrgh…"

The Fire-Type wheezed, struggling to his feet with his vision running muddy as Valatos swooped in from above. For a moment that felt like an eternity, the Growlithe stood there, frozen in fear as the dragonfly descended upon him with a claw trailing smoky haze, only for a _thwip_ to ring out and a dart-like spike to suddenly strike the Yanmega's singed left forewing.

"Eaaaargh!"

With a pained shriek, the Bug-Type pinwheeled in the air and slammed head-first into the ground. Elty threw himself to his feet, stumbling as he saw Valatos weakly pick himself up, tottering in a daze from an impact. Sensing that their window of opportunity was at hand, Nida bounded forward, looking back at the Fire-Type to beckon him to follow.

"Elty, this is it!" she cried. "Let's make this count!"

The Nidoran ran ahead and shot out a spike at the stricken Yanmega, followed closely on her heels by Elty as flames wreathed his pelt. The Growlithe charged and vaulted up, somersaulting into the Yanmega's side and sending him tumbling back in a cloud of cinders and torn-up grass. The Bug-Type wheezed and hissed hatefully, struggling to his feet and facing his attackers just in time to see a blue blur charge him.

_WHAP!_

A long silence hung in the air after Nida's tackle to the Yanmega's face. She heard a faint groan and felt Valatos' head slide down and flopped backwards, looking down to see that the Yanmega was lying still and motionless beyond faint signs of breathing.

Nida and Elty panted and stared ahead exhausted when the sound of a loud roar reached their ears. The pair looked up apprehensively, only to realize that it was coming from the stands. There all around them, in every shape and size were Pokémon cheering for them, congratulating their hard-fought victory, leaving the pair to soak in the attention for a tired, happy moment.

The two noticed movement from the corner of their eye, were they saw the medics lifting up and dragging off Valatos and his compatriots from Team Iron. For a fleeting moment, the rabbit and dog watched as the Yanmega raised his head, seemingly glaring off at them before drooping back down, which served to shift their minds back to their own battered and sore bodies.

" _P-Psiakrew…_ Come on," Elty panted. "We should go help Bonehead and get patched up ourselves."

Nida limped off, fighting with her legs against the weight of her body to make it over to Guardia's unconscious form. She heard Elty slip and flop against the ground, the Nidoran pausing a bit before continuing on a few paces and also toppling onto her side, staring off ahead with her breath coming in ragged pants. They'd made it one match closer to making it to Pleo, but how could they hope to build at all upon this victory? They'd pushed themselves to their limits just to overcome Valatos and his buddies, and there'd be stronger teams… and the Empire... Surely _they_ wouldn't just let Pleo go without a fight even if she and the others did get a private audience with him…

Just what could they hope to do…?

"Nida! Hang in there!"

The Nidoran blinked and felt herself get lifted up from the ground by a pair of claws, craning her head up to see Crom looking down at her. The rabbit turned and sized up her surroundings, seeing Pladur helping Elty up and limp along away from the battlefield, and Guardia slumped over on Kiran's back. In spite of her battered and lightheaded state, the spike ball couldn't help but have a smile settle on her muzzle as a realization sank in her mind...

"We won…" the Nidoran murmured. "We really won."

"And you did great out there…" Crom answered. "But let's take things one step at a time, alright?"

"I think I'd like that…"

The Druddigon let his Nidoran companion clamber tiredly up his head, for what felt like the first time in ages. And so it was that the two made their way back for the contestants' portion of the stands, glad for the quiet of a precious peace the two could share just like old times.

* * *

After Team Traveller's battle, the rounds of the Silver Wing Cup continued on in the arena, crowning upstart victors and dethroning rising stars from the eighth-finals of the tournament. From their place in the stands, the victory over Team Iron had taken a weight off of Nida, Elty, and Guardia's shoulders, especially after the Cubone came to in the medic's hall and returned to the stands after the application of a Reviver Seed and some Oran paste. Even so, the cloud of anxiety over the group had not fully departed them, as Team Swellow huddled together during the halftime of the eighth-finals, strategizing their options for how to deal with what was set to be a grueling match with one 'Team Blue Sun'.

"Eh? Kiran, are you _sure_ that it makes sense to field Pladur, Ander, and yourself against _Team Blue Sun?_ " Nida murmured.

"Yeah, isn't their heavy hitter an _Ice-Type?_ " Elty added. "That sounds like a recipe for disaster if I ever heard it."

"That's just the lot we were dealt," Ander sighed. "Dimitri's not in shape for a second battle today, and Crom would be in the same boat as the rest of us without being any fresher for fighting."

"Egh… that sounds more like the moment you'd call for allies to help," Guardia grumbled. "Which this hut colony's backwards rules of battle forbid."

"I know it'll be an uphill battle, but it's nothing that we can't handle with the right strategy and Tromban spirit!" Kiran insisted, puffing his chest out. The Swellow waited for a moment, beak upturned into an expectant grin... but instead of the rousing 'hurrah' he had anticipated, the only reaction he drew from his companions was some uncomfortable shifting-around and uneasy looks that darted to and fro among the lot.

"Eh… I don't know about this, Kiran…" Pladur murmured, only to be answered with an excited wingbeat.

"Nonsense! It's been the key for our island being able to overcome daunting odds!" the Flying-Type insisted. "Just look at what everyone went through when Darzin was thrown out from the village!"

The Fraxure paused and thought about that fateful day, only for his thoughts to turn to envisioning a rampaging Marley charging ahead. The Axe Jaw Pokémon blanched as a shiver went down his spine, hastily shaking his head back at the Swellow.

"That's not really helping, Kiran…" Pladur gulped. "H-How am _I_ supposed to do anything against a team like Team Blue Sun?"

"You're supposed to be the toughest fighter on our team after a Dragon Dance or two, right?" Dimitri asked. "So just hang in there and keep your nerve, and you should be able to turn things around!"

"I was also under the impression that that was our basic strategy myself," Ander added, the mantis' affirmation doing little to dispel the cloud of anxiety surrounding his Fraxure teammate.

"But- But-"

"Soooo, my dear audience, I think I speak for us all when I say I'm tired of this intermission!" a Rotom's voice crackled. "How about we get this next set of battles underway?"

In one voice, the audience hooted and hollered back an affirmation. After taking in a moment to savor the crowd's adulation, Thalez flitted up, cheerily carrying on with his announcements.

"Good! Then let's have the next two teams enter the battlefield right now!" the Rotom buzzed. "This festival of mayhem must go on!"

"That's our cue," Kiran murmured. "Wish us luck out there?"

"Yeah, we will," Nida said. "After all, Pleo's counting on us too!"

"Show them what we're made of, dad!" Crom cheered, the Druddigon's well-wishes being joined by Guardia from her resting place beside him.

"Yeah, knock 'em dead!"

The three Pokémon set off into the arena pit, coming out onto a sandy battlefield laid out much as a desert clearing flecked with small rocks. There, at the other end, Kiran noticed a Weavile in a scarf with a blue sun pattern lead in an Electabuzz and Tauros that snickered with one another. An uncomfortably _familiar_ Electabuzz and Tauros… which stirred up an ominous feeling for the Swellow that something was dreadfully amiss right now.

"Is something wrong, Kiran?" Ander whispered.

"I've seen that Tauros and Electabuzz before…" the Swellow muttered. "I can't remember exactly when, but I have a bad-"

"Hey, Fraxure."

Pladur blinked and turned his head over towards the Weavile on the other side of the field. The Dark-Type nonchalantly shifted himself, before peering off at the stands… square at Crom.

"That Druddigon there spectating in the stands…" Ketu murmured. "He's your kid, isn't he?"

"Oh? Uh…" Pladur stammered. "Well yeah, he is."

The Weavile cracked a sneering smile, before shrugging his shoulders.

"He certainly looks to be in better shape than when we threw him off our ship like a piece of garbage," the Sharp Claw Pokémon said. "Shame there isn't one here to throw _you_ from after this match is over. It's always fun taking out the trash."

At once, Kiran and Ander hopped back with a start at the Weavile's words. From his place before the weasel, Pladur went wide-eyed and spluttered out of shock.

"Wh-what?!"

"And to the left, we have our favorite rising stars in this tournament!" Thalez cheered. "Team Blue Sun!"

The crowd immediately broke out into applause, prompting the Weavile to turn and wave to his admirers. At the other end of the battlefield, the initial shock of the Dark-Type's taunt began to wear off, the three starting to realize that this Weavile- no, his entire _team_ must be from none other than Lyn's crew! At once, Pladur set his teeth on edge, growling and flashing his claws as he felt his blood boil in his veins as the implications of the taunt and what it meant for his child dawned on him.

"You- You're from that awful ship!" Pladur cried. "The one that stole our Protector!"

"Brilliant deduction there. I'm its first mate," Ketu scoffed back. "And what's your point?"

"How- How dare you show your face here, you miserable furball!" the Fraxure snarled.

"Ooh, looks like the battlefield's heating up already heating up!" the Ghost-Type announcer continued. "To right we have Team Swanna-!"

The Rotom's voice abruptly paused and trailed off as he floated up and raised an arm over his eyes. The Ghost-Type peered down onto the field and blinked incredulously, realizing the team had taken a peculiar turn since the last match.

"… With a Marked teammate at a tournament for our new Protector?!" he exclaimed. "Those Trombans sure have chosen a different strategy this time!"

At once, the stands of the arena erupted in a throng of boos and jeers, their ire swelling up much like a rogue wave and crashing down upon on Ander and his teammates.

"Go home, blotch-head!"

"Yeah, we don't need Pokémon like you near our Protector!"

The members of Team Swellow shifted uneasily under the torrent of abuse, serving to dampen their already shaky confidence about their odds in the upcoming match. Judging by his demeanor, the opposing Weavile had come to the same conclusion, and was clearly relishing his foes' doubts with a smug grin plastered on his face.

"You should know when to fold them, Fraxure. It's not too late if you and your team want to forfeit," the Weavile sneered. "It would spare you the humiliation of being beaten into a pulp in front of your own Protector."

"W-We'll _never_ surrender to the likes of you!" Pladur insisted. The Fraxure growled with all the bravado he could muster, glaring daggers as Thalez's crackling voice chimed in.

"Well, let's not keep these passions bottled up any longer! Let's get this battle started!"

The two teams took their marks at opposite ends of the sandy battlefield, easing into battle stances and staring each other down from their respective sides. From Team Swellow's end, Pladur's breath came out in seething pants, while his teammates traded worried looks with each other. For their part, Ketu and his teammates seemed to not think much of their opponents' posturing, the lot of them shooting jeers and taunting glances back.

"So be it," Ketu scoffed. "In that case... which of you Tromban hicks wants to have a bad time first?"

"Three! Two! One! GO!"

The countdown flew by with a collective chant from the stands, sending the Pokémon of both Team Swellow and Team Blue Sun flying down the battlefield. Up at the head of his team, Kiran darted ahead for the middle of the field, turning back to call out to his Fraxure teammate.

"Pladur! Keep your distance!" the Swellow squawked. "We'll try to keep them busy while you prepare!"

The Fraxure flew into a frenetic, stomping dance as fiery blue lights swirled around him, his Swellow partner flying up and readying his wings for a crushing strike. The bird dove, barreling towards the form of the Weavile below as he leveled out his body for a Wing Attack, only to see his foe slip out of view and feel his wings strike air.

"Huh?!"

The Swellow was cut off by a freezing, stabbing pain at his breast, making him stagger and look down to see a cluster of icy shards lodged between his feathers. The Flying-Type fought to maintain his balance, reeling from blows that stung far worse than he'd expected for a simple Ice Shard, when he saw the Weavile slip ahead of him and pull an ice-slicked fist back. Kiran pulled up in a panic, tearing into the air as he felt the Ice Punch slip past his feathers, and a mocking voice call out after him.

"If that's the best you can do, you ought to just give up already!"

Further down the field, Ander charged the Electabuzz, weaving back and forth as the Electric-Type shot out arcs of static at him. One after the other, the thundery moves missed their mark, prompting the Electabuzz to opt for a different tactic and let his foe come to him, pulling a fist back as electricity danced on his knuckles.

"Oh no you don't, you overgrown insect!"

Tarmo swung his fist out, bringing it square for the mantis' jaw… only to miss and strike air. The Electric-Type went wide-eyed, with the next sensation he felt being a slashing pain on his arm, sending him skidding back as he cradled his arm from a swipe from Ander's scythes.

"Eyargh!"

"Pladur! How's that setup com- ARGH!"

Ander's words were cut off by a crushing blow from his side, as he felt a hefty body tackle him and throw him to the ground. The mantis tried to right himself, only to feel a horn wedge itself in between his body's segments, looking up to see a Tauros pinning him down. The Bug-Type screeched and thrashed his scythes wildly, desperately scrabbling to freedom after forcing the bull off of him with a yelp.

Further away, Ketu bounded down the battlefield, starting to give chase after Kiran only to notice Pladur from the corner of his eye. The Dragon-Type was continuing the movements of his Dragon Dance, prompting him to scoff and train his attention to the Fraxure.

"You know, we heard what you guys were doing way back when the Protector was still on Boisocéan," the Weavile said. "Wanna know what we did in response?"

Ice began to build up on the Weavile's claw, prompting him to flick a large, jagged chunk of ice at the Fraxure's feet. At once, the Dragon-Type yanked his foot away, only to lose his footing and flail.

"A-Agh!"

Much to the Weavile's sneering delight, the Fraxure slipped, falling flat onto his back as the blue dragonfire around him dissipated. Eager to rub salt in the wound, the Weavile flashed his claws, narrowing his eyes at the stricken dragon.

" _Nothing!_ Because it wasn't worth wasting our effort trying to stop a bunch of sad sacks like you!"

The Fraxure threw himself up to his feet, hate smoldering in his eyes as the dragonfire returned and he re-entered his war dance. The Weavile gave a scoff, and readied his claws to pounce...

"Gwooooah!"

Only to be cut off by the sound of a startled bellow. The Weavile looked left to see his Tauros teammate sailing through the air away from a whirling wind and crashing into the side of the arena. The Dark-Type turned his head back, where there circling in the air was the form of his Swellow foe, calling out to his Scyther teammate below

"Ander! Now's your chance!" he cried. Without prompting, the mantis flicked out his scythes and rushed ahead at the Electabuzz. The Electric-Type stood his ground, and let static build on his pelt, gathering it up in a thick, jagged arc that shot out just as the Bug-Type descended on him.

"Aaaah!"

"Hah hah! That's right, bug!" Tarmo jeered. "Just stay nice and-"

The Electric-Type was cut off by the sight of the mantis swiping his claws in a cross-shaped strike that sliced his belly and launched the Electabuzz backwards. Tarmo tumbled back, coming to a groaning, sparking stop on the ground as Ander panted out of exhaustion. The Electabuzz's defeat quickly drew the attention of his teammates, including Ketu, who turned away from his toying with his Fraxure foe and trained his attention on the winded Scyther.

"... I'll deal with you later, lizard."

The Weavile ran towards the Scyther, prompting the Bug-Type and his Swellow partner to take notice and brace themselves, readying attacks to try and stop the Dark-Type in his tracks.

"We'll take on the Weavile!" Kiran cried. "He can't dodge forever!"

The Swellow attempted to start things off with a whirling burst of wind, which served to force the weasel to roll out of the way a moment, before springing towards him. The Flying-Type attempted to fall back, only to be cut off by a heavy, icy blow from behind.

"Gyah!"

Ketu watched as the Swellow pinwheeled and crashed to earth, twitching weakly on the sandy battlefield. The Weavile cracked a satisfied smile only to hear a buzzing sound come from his side, prompting him to duck as a scythe slid overhead, slicing the tip of his right ear feather off. The Dark-Type looked up seething at the sight of Team Swellow's Marked Scyther pulling his scythes back from a missed swing, and slid between the legs of the mantis. Ander cried out in alarm, hastily whirling around to attack his foe again with a cross-shaped strike with his blades. Ketu hopped back, allowing the Scyther's blades to swing out in front of him. As the mantis tried to bring them in, the Weavile jumped up onto Ander's scythes and raised an icy fist back, bringing it square into the Scyther's chin with a frigid uppercut.

"A-Aaaah!"

The Weavile hastily hopped off, leaving the bug to topple backward onto the arena floor with a dull _thud_. The Dark-Type stepped on the fainted Scyther's thorax, giving an annoyed brush at his severed feather-tip when he heard a loud growl, and saw that Pladur had freshly finished his second Dragon Dance.

"Like I was saying earlier, Fraxure, what _did_ we have to fear from some Tromban hicks bumbling around from port to port around the Cradle?" the Weavile taunted. "If you couldn't defend your own kid, what were you going to accomplish other than some meaningless errands on shore?

The Fraxure roared back in rage and planted his feet to spring forward, only for his cry to be answered in kind by a loud bellow and the sound of trampling hoofbeats approaching.

"Time to go down like your kid, lizard!"

Fintan lowered his horns and charged ahead, aiming to run down the Fraxure in his path. The Tauros watched as the Dragon-Type slipped under his body, the Normal-Type going wide-eyed as he felt his horns connect with the air, followed by a pair of piercing stabs at his hindgut. The bull bellowed in pain, wrenching his head back to see Pladur's left tusk buried deep into his abdomen by his legs. The dragon snarled and wrenched his tusk out, making the Wild Bull Pokémon's tails shoot out along with an agonized scream. The Fraxure fell back, leaving his Normal-Type opponent's legs barely able to support his weight, Fintan's attempts at trying to regain momentum accomplishing little other than to stagger along with a shambling totter as he felt a warm fluid ooze down his legs.

"Nnr-urgh…"

The Tauros weakly tried to raise his head to scan his surroundings, looking up just in time to see Pladur lunge off the ground towards him. For a fleeting second, the bull watched as the Fraxure neared, his blood-red eyes burning with hate as he spread a set of claws and swiped them downwards...

_WHAM!_

Fintan's forelegs buckled and his head slammed down into the arena floor after the claw swipe, leaving his rear legs still struggling before they gave in and let their owner slump forward. Pladur looked down at the felled Normal-Type, panting and fighting back the urge to spit on his child's tormentor, when the sound of a slow clap drew his attention back to Ketu nonchalantly observing.

"So you _do_ have a few tricks up your sleeve," the Weavile scoffed. "Guess you picked up something useful in that boring adventure of yours after all!"

The Dark-Type was answered by a loud roar, watching as the remaining fighter from Team Swellow flashed his claws and fangs. Pladur seethed, every scale on his body coursing with visible rage and hatred for the black-furred monster who stared him down.

" _Cállate!_ "

The Fraxure charged ahead, readying his claws for a swipe as they trailed flecks of dragonfire. Ketu braced himself, ready to spring out of the Dragon-Type's way only to realize that he was coming fast… _too_ fast.

_THWACK!_

"Grah!"

The Weavile tumbled back as pain shot through his body, sending him skidding along the ground. The Dark-Type came to a stop, coughing from the dust kicked up from the arena floor and moving a claw over his flank that now dribbled a few red droplets of damp and sticky fluid. Ketu looked up with an angry scowl, staring down a panting Fraxure glaring back at him with a look that could kill.

"You Company types always act like you're masters of the world, that nothing can ever go bad for you!" the Fraxure bellowed. "Well, I'm here, and I'm about to show you just how _wrong_ you are!"

"Fine, enough toying around then," the Weavile hissed. "I guess we're doing this the _hard_ way!"

Pladur roared and charged again, the scent of victory and vengeance spurring him on. The Dragon-Type raised his claws, ready to tear his son's tormentor limb from limb in front of the baying crowd.

"Say your prayers, you lousy red-feathered-!"

Before the dragon could react, he was hit by a freezing wind that numbed his joints and slowed his movements. The Fraxure carried on, fighting with his frigid limbs to keep pressing forward, only to catch a glimpse of the Weavile rapidly descending upon him and drawing back a punch aimed for his face.

"Aaaaaah!"

Pladur tumbled back and sprawled out onto the arena floor, breathing haggardly. At once, the fire in his belly that had driven him on died, and a flood of fear took its place. He was now completely alone and down to the last of his strength, fighting against a Pokémon who'd dispatched his teammates without seeming to break a sweat. The Fraxure did his best to stay conscious and hastily tried to roll to his feet, any thoughts of vengeance and victory now replaced with an urge to flee and spirit his son away for dear life from this demon here with him.

"Game over, skink!"

The Dragon-Type went wide-eyed as he saw Ketu standing above him, prompting him to throw his claws over his face up to try and shield himself. The Fraxure watched the Weavile raise his claw trailing shadows and jerked his own claws back to try and stop it… only for the Dark-Type's claw to slip past the tips of Pladur's claws, and plunge into his stomach.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

The dragon screamed as he felt an agonizing pain shoot through his body, thrashing as he felt the slicing claw dig into him before wrenching free. Pladur curled up and turned onto his flank, instinctively throwing his claws over his wound and whimpering from pain and shock. The Dragon-Type began to feel lightheaded and looked down to see blood oozing between his ruddy claws and onto the sand. The world started to go blurry, the sounds of the arena going indistinct where for a fleeting moment, he saw Crom in the stands with a crushed, horrified stare looking back at him. Pladur reached out a claw weakly, hoping to try and reassure his child, that somehow everything would be alright...

"Crom…"

The world then went black, and Pladur stopped moving on the battlefield. Unbeknownst to the motionless Fraxure, the stadium erupted in loud cheering, with Thalez taking his place in front of one of the glistening badges used to transmit his announcements to the audience.

"And Team Blue Sun takes it with a stunning finisher!" the Rotom boomed. "We've got a winner!"

The stands' roar continued, prompting Ketu to flash his claws triumphantly and bow. His right claw was still stained a bright crimson from his opponent's blood, but seemingly did little to sway the enthralled and enraptured spectators.

"D-Dad!"

The hubbub in the crowds quieted as a young Druddigon ran onto the field, the cheers giving way to the sound of distraught bawling. Crom crouched over his father, tears running down his face as his voice came out in hitched sobs. Nida and Elty ran up after the stricken dragon, their faces fixed in ashen grimaces as the festive atmosphere in the stands had vanished into a cloud of unease, which seemed to suck in even Thalez.

"Er… it appears we may be having technical difficulties on the field..." the Rotom stammered from his booth, before hastily turning back to a shaded corridor with a murmur. "Wait, was this a scripted event? I thought that we were aiming to keep the crowds excited, not bring the whole mood down."

Nida and Elty neared their Druddigon teammate, grimacing as they watched him sob over the unmoving form of the Fraxure on the field. The two ran up, noticing Pladur's chest rising weakly before their gaze drifted towards the blood on the sand which made them shrink back, when a disgusted growl caught their attention from behind.

"Gah… what a mess."

The three youngsters looked up to see Ketu flick out the digits of his right claw, brushing off a film of bright-red liquid off of them. At once, Crom's mouth hung open and the Druddigon crouched against his father's body, quivering out of fright, his teammates growling back with forced bravado at the Dark-Type.

"As if that nicked feather wasn't enough… Now I've gotta wash all this blood off my claw."

"Wh-What is _wrong_ with you, you _canalla?!_ " Nida snapped. "You leave a 'mon bleeding on the ground and all you care about is your stupid claw being dirty!"

"What can I say? In my normal line of work, you sometimes make a few messes," Ketu scoffed. "You're small though, so who knows? Maybe you'll be a bit tidier for me to deal with tomorrow."

Nida and Elty paused, staring back at the Weavile as an uneasy feeling rose in their stomachs. 'Tidier to deal with'? As in deal with _them?_

"… Just what do you mean by that?" Elty demanded.

"What I mean is that you'll be facing _me_ next round, brats," the weasel sneered. "So start thinking about if you want to bother showing your little faces or not."

"How would _you_ know that?" Nida demanded. "The matchups are chosen randomly between rounds!"

"That sure didn't stop me from getting the foes I wanted in _this_ match," the Dark-Type retorted. "Though good luck finding any proof of that to show the refs before tomorrow."

Nida and Elty flushed an unhealthy pale color at the Weavile's words. He set this match with Team Swellow up? Then that meant that he was rigging the matches! And after doing what he did to Crom's father, he wanted to face _them_ next…?

The pair stood staring off into space a moment, Ketu turning to leave as Crom continued to sniffle over his stricken father. The weasel looked back, and curled his muzzle into a cruel smile.

"Oh, by the way, kids… Lyn sends his regards," Ketu said. "He's looking forward to seeing all of you back in your pathetic little town where you belong… _in pieces._ "

The Weavile turned and left, cavalierly stepping past his felled teammates as he departed the arena pit. All the while, Team Traveller's members gazed ahead blankly and stammered, the color from their faces having ebbed away as a team of Pokémon in red scarves with semi-circle patterns ran up.

"Come on, we need to get this wound looked at stat!" the Blissey insisted. The group started loading the fallen members of Team Swellow onto stretchers, Crom hastily following after his father as a Granbull noticed Nida and Elty still frozen in place on the battlefield.

"Are these your teammates?" he asked. "Are you kids coming along?"

"Y-Yeah, we're coming…" the Nidoran finally managed. "We're coming…"

Nida and Elty watched as a still-sniffling Crom headed off with the medics and the wounded members of Team Swellow. The two saw their remaining compatriots leave the stands to follow after the Druddigon, prompting them to join and trudge along after the medics. Their hope of continuing on in the tournament vanished entirely, as the gnawing dread of impending doom and impossible hurdles staring them down took over.

* * *

Outside of the stadium, Valatos and his companions had slunk off, making their way limping down back alleys in what was becoming an increasingly familiar ritual to them as the disused lighthouse of the _Vecioférale Arena_ towered in the background. The three were battered and still sporting bandages from their defeat, and opted to ditch their teammates from Team Iron rather than put up with the earful for 'losing to a bunch of hick kids'. Time and time again, the trio tried to piece together how their defeat had happened... how they possibly could have lost to a team that they had no trouble putting on the ropes back in Kenobi.

"Gah… I didn't remember those little _canàje_ hitting this hard last time," Alvise groaned. "And I still didn't get a chance to zap them thanks to that stupid lizard with them!"

"Yeah," Nori whined. "They were supposed to be an easy sweep!"

"Well, they weren't, okay?" Valatos hissed. "Let's just get back to the ship and crash a bit."

The Yanmega's retort prompted Nori to pause to catch his breath, leaning against the wall for support. Berating or not, the Ground-Type was beginning to regret not having a healthier set of shoulders to lean on. Judging from the lack of company beyond clutter and clotheslines in the current alley, it was a fair assumption that no one would step up here to help them limp back to the ship.

"… Shouldn't we have gone back with the other half of the team, though?" the Marowak insisted. "Maybe they'd have some idea for what we could tell the Captain about getting that bird-"

"I don't want to _hear_ it, Nori!" the Yanmega shouted, the angry dragonfly's hissing being quickly joined by a snort from his Manectric counterpart.

"Yeah, besides. Those idiots were going to take the main canal back," Alvise added. "The better we stick to these backroads, the better we can stay out of trouble-"

"Agh!"

The three paused and rose to attention as the sound of a yelp rang out in the alleyway. A crash followed, along with the sound of a body thudding, of thunder crackling, and footsteps running for dear life.

"Q-Quick! This way!" a rough voice cried. The first voice was soon joined by a higher-pitched voice shouting back.

"Yeah, we'll shake 'em through the alleyway!"

The three watched as a rough-looking Vigoroth and Steenee tore through the alley intersection ahead in a panic, slipping away as fast as they appeared. Alvise's fur shot up in a panic, while Valatos and Nori paces ahead tensely trying to make sense of what had happened.

"Hey, what the-?" Valatos began.

"Uh… Oon second thought," Alvise stammered. "Those main canals aren't sounding so ba-"

"Just shut up and let's check it out!"

The Yanmega flitted ahead, prompting Alvise to try and turn away only to be caught and drug along by his tail by Nori. Valatos made his way forward as his teammates fought with each other in the background, standing in the intersection of alleyways between multistoried stone buildings. The dragonfly looked about his surroundings, seeing naught but some dingy stairwells, scrawled graffiti on the walls, and litter.

"Why there's nothing he- Agh!"

The trio was promptly struck by several other Pokémon coming around the corner, sending the three tumbling back while yelps rang out. As Valatos and his buddies dusted themselves off and looked ahead of them, they saw a black scarved-Manectric, alongside a Swampert lying on his back and a half-buried Salazzle.

"Agh… my fins," the Swampert groaned, only to be answered by an exasperated rejoinder from the Salazzle underneath.

"Get off of me, you fat lug!" the lizard hissed. "I can barely breathe!"

"Ow! Watch where you're going!" Nori snapped, pointing his club at the stranger Manectric.

"I could say the same to you, ya lousy liz-"

Luca got up, and after noticing the voice addressing him, hopped back and braced himself with a growl. There in front of him was the Marowak who'd caved in the stadium passage the other day, his Yanmega buddy, and most importantly his brother.

" _You_ again?!" the wolf growled. "What are you three doing showing your ugly mugs back around our turf, huh?"

"What are _you_ doing running around and playing touch-tail like a bunch of hatchlings?" Valatos spat. The Yanmega's outburst was swiftly met with a trio of glares from the other Manectric along with his Swampert and Salazzle counterparts, which made Alvise set his teeth on edge and gulp.

"Uhm… what he meant to say was… we were just leaving?" he offered.

"Hey, Luca," Giusy said. "You think these three got anything to do with those street punks?"

"Yeah, they sure seem to have a habit of interfering with us right when we're getting to the bottom of something with those mooks," Carlo huffed, which promptly made Nori's eyes widen with a start.

"Eh?! Th-That's not it at all!" he exclaimed. "We were heading back to our ship!"

"Well, you ain't now," Luca growled. "I'm not the one to pass things off as coincidence, and besides…"

The older Manectric pointed out a paw at his white-scarved counterpart, shooting a fierce glare that seemed to drain the color from Alvise's face.

"Your friend there has a family reunion to take care of."

Alvise pulled his tail between his legs at the mention of a 'family reunion'. The Electric-Type backpedaled with a wide-eyed stammer as thoughts of what said 'reunion' might entail flashed through his mind.

"L-Luca! Come on!" the younger Manectric whined. "We can talk this out!"

The Electric-Type's panic drew a dismissive beat of Valatos' wings. The dragonfly hissed back, and despite the injuries from his earlier battle against Team Traveller, flitted forward menacingly, determined not to let the nobody from yesterday chase him off once again.

"Hey bub, I don't know what you're up to," the Bug-Type hissed. "But I don't take orders from some random shlub off the street-EYAAAH!"

The Yanmega shrieked as a bolt of lightning shot out from the black-scarved Manectric and enveloped him, sending him crashing limply to the ground. At once, his teammates' nerves failed them, prompting them to go wide-eyed and Alvise to raise the call for retreat.

"Run for it!"

Alvise and Nori turned and bolted as a searing gout of fire and an exploding ball of mud nipped at their heels and tails, kicking up a shower of dust and litter. The pair ducked as an arc of electricity shot overhead, turning their attention rightward to a low fence. Instinctively, the two hopped up, hoisting themselves up over the fenceline, only for a sharp shout to ring out behind them.

"Carlo, Orb 'em!"

The Swampert fished through a rucksack and dug out a blue orb crackling with sparks under its surface and hurled it at the fenceline. The sphere struck the wood of the barrier, exploding into a shower of glass and sparks that caught up the fleeing Manectric and Marowak. The duo yelped and froze at the top, before lurching over the edge headfirst.

**CRASH!**

The sound of splintering wood rang out, prompting Luca and his subordinates to run up to the fenceline. After bearing it, the three Pokémon paused as they noticed the sound of pained groans... along with a curious clattering sound whenever the two Pokémon on the other end moved.

"My back…"

"I can't see anything!" Nori cried. "Who turned out the lights?!"

"… Isn't that the spot where the Pokémon on this block leave their trash for pickup?" Giusy asked. The Salazzle's words were met with silence, followed by a sniff from her Manectric partner's snout that confirmed the stale, rancid smell of grime and decomposing waste. The Electric-Type furrowed his brow in disgust, before giving a shake of his head.

"Hrmph. Drag the bug along and tell Valerio to bring his wagon by this dump's gate"," Luca barked. "We've got some _other_ trash to bring back to our hideout."

The Salazzle scampered off, leaving Luca and Carlo to carry down the alleyway until they saw an intersection heading right. The pair turned, making their way down the right until they reached an entrance to a yard filled with heap of rubbish and spoiled food… with Nori and Alvise sprawled out amidst a pile of sullied, broken-down boxes. The pair watched as Nori staggered up with his head covered in a crate, tugging futilely at the box to free himself, only for the black-scarved Swampert to throw a hand around his shoulder and grip tightly.

"Come on, bub," the Swampert growled. "We're going."

"Hey! _Hanashite!_ " Nori yelped. "Get off of me!"

The bone lizard flailed as best as his paralyzed body allowed, only to be promptly knocked down with a jet of water, and unceremoniously dragged off by his tail by the Swampert. On the trash heap, Alvise struggled to get away, only to slip and tumble backwards, coming to a stop in front of his brother. Luca at once pounced on his sibling from his flank, planting his feet on Alvise's back as he glared down.

"Nice try, furbrain," the larger Manectric snarled. "But you're not getting away with crossing your own family _this_ time."

With that, Luca dug his teeth into his brother's scarf, dragging Alvise along kicking and flailing for the exit of the rubbish yard. At the front, a covered cart pulled along by a Zebstrika came to a rolling stop, a Yanmega's tail poking out of the end. The black-scarved trio shoved the dragonfly's body back and unceremoniously dumped their new captives into the cart before drawing the covers shut, walking along with the cart and its puller as if nothing had happened.

* * *

Around the same time, Team Traveller paced uneasily in a shaded medic's bay in the stadium's underlevels. The space consisted of a long, stone hall partitioned with retractable curtains that closed off sections of straw bedding, tired groans coming from behind some curtains where more thoroughly defeated contestants lay licking their wounds. In one of those partitions, Pladur's companions including a still-woozy Kiran and Ander watched as a Blissey tended to the form of a Fraxure stretched out on a straw pile, along with the anxious faces of Vicente, Natrix, and Philips having freshly run from the Siglo Swellow at the news of Pladur's calamitous defeat.

The Dragon-Type was in horrid shape, with scrapes flecking his body, and a set of large bandages wrapping around his stomach that sported an ugly red stain along with flecks of blue from the juices of Oran berries. All the while, the Axe Jaw Pokémon never showed any signs of lucidity, and barring the rising of his chest and the occasional groan or whimper, of life at all. The atmosphere in Pladur's corner of the hall had been grave since his arrival, with Crom anxiously shadowing the Blissey's movements as he tried to tease out some reassurance that things would be alright with his father.

"Is he gonna be alright...?" he asked.

"It's nothing we haven't patched up before, but he's been hit pretty badly," the Blissey answered. "He should be able to get back on his feet after a week of bedrest as long as his wounds are kept treated."

The medic's answer set the teeth of the youngsters in the group on-edge with a grimace. Crom peered down at his father's stricken form, looking up uneasily at the Blissey.

"A… week?" the Druddigon gulped.

"Well, I mean you weren't planning on just pushing a Reviver Seed down his throat and throwing him back out into battle with a wound like this, were you?" the Normal-Type insisted. "We Pokémon may bounce back from a hard knock or two, but even a hardened fighter's body has its limits."

An air of gloom settled over the gathered Pokémon at the Blissey's words, their reaction looking only marginally better than the one she would've expected had the Fraxure expired on the spot. The Happiness Pokémon sighed and shook her head, reasoning that it must merely be the natural reaction by hopeful competitors to such a crushing defeat.

"… I know that it's probably not what you wanted to hear as entrants to the tournament, but that's how things are," the Blissey sighed, before rising to take her leave.

"I'll give you some space to be alone with your friend," the medic said. "But again, _don't_ push him."

The Pokémon shuffled off, sliding the curtained panel shut over the space around the straw bedding. Freshly alone, the members of Team Traveller and the Siglo Swello's crew glumly traded looks with one another, shaking their heads at the news.

"Whelp, that's it I guess," Elty muttered. "We're doomed here."

"Maybe if we work together we might win after all…?" Guardia offered. The Cubone's question was promptly answered by a groan, prompting them to look over to see Pladur stirring weakly on his bedding. The group watched as he tried to turn over onto his belly, before falling back onto his back, prompting Elty to shake his head.

"… Nope, definitely doomed," Elty sighed.

"How are we supposed to get Pleo back now?" Nida cried. "Even if that horrid Weavile _doesn't_ fight dirty like he did today, there's no way that we'd be able to beat him."

"We do what we can and take the only option left," the Siglo Swellow's Hitmontop First Mate answered. "Springing Pleo and getting out of here."

Vicente's suggestion was at once answered by a startled buzz from a haggard-looking Scyther. From his place leaning against the poles holding up the curtain, the mantis staggered forward, shooting a look at the Hitmontop that appeared as if he'd suddenly sprouted another head.

"You can't be serious with that!" Ander exclaimed. "We're in the middle of the Imperial captial! How would we even get off this island without being sunk?!"

"Getting _off_ the island is not what I'm worried about. We've dealt with slipping cargo past customs under tighter circumstances before…" the Fighting-Type snorted. "It's more _getting_ the Protector to begin with."

The Hitmontop's admonishment prompted his fellows to pause and think. They had an idea of where Pleo would be in Tidemill… but to get there, there would be the guards to fight through, and the garrisons with even more guards outside, and the defensive walls, and the frigates and galleons of the navy… Why, what were they to _do_ facing obstacles like those?!

"… I don't know what can be done. We don't exactly have the strength to storm the gates of where he's being held in the stadium…" Kiran murmured, only to be met with a shake of Dimitri's head.

"Well, we'd better figure out something quick," he piped. "Last I checked, only teams along with invited guests could be in the stadium stands with the other spectators. And I wouldn't put money on us being able to do that past the kids' match tomorrow."

Nida shifted uncomfortably, finding that no matter what scheme she bandied around, she simply couldn't think of anything that would give her and the Siglo Swellow's crew a hope of retrieving Pleo. Based off of the grimaces and silence in the room as she looked around, the Nidoran surmised that everyone else was having much the same problem.

The Poison-Type turned her attention to the window, where she saw the sky was growing dark, and the first lanterns of the night were starting to be lit. She folded her ears back, realizing that Cardino had sought out their help tonight… As bad as things were, they hadn't collected their pay yet for their work on the case, and it wasn't as if they were getting any more ideas just sitting around here...

"I... don't really know either. But I do know that Cardino asked us to visit him in about half an hour," she responded. "I'm not sure what's it about exactly aside from getting paid, but maybe stretching our legs a little would help us come up with something?"

"… That's fair enough," Natrix murmured. "We'll do our part talking with Captain Beatrix and the others to see what we can do about Pleo, too."

Elty and Guardia shuffled off, making their way past the piles of straw bedding for the room's stone doorway. Nida turned and started to follow after them, only to see Crom standing at his father's bedside, still visibly shaken.

"… Are you going to be okay, Crom?" Nida asked.

"I… I don't know," the Druddigon stammered. "But I think that I just need some time with my dad..."

The Nidoran stared after the dragon, looking away with a vague sense of guilt, as if there was something she could be doing right now to help her friend. The Poison-Type shook her head uneasily, rationalizing that Crom himself would know what he needed most right now. If he truly needed a moment alone, then it was for the best to let him have it.

"… I understand," Nida said. "We'll be back as soon as we can, okay?"

The Druddigon nodded back glumly, prompting Nida to turn and leave slowly and in similarly lowered spirits. The rabbit carried along to catch up with her teammate, her mind wondering all the while just how they could possibly get out of their present jam.

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Cabot?"

Berecien shifted uneasily with his teammates at the steps of a short, squat hut that had been built alongside a spindly canal that hugged the interior of the citadel's wall, with water slipping in through grates at its base. Such quarters were a far cry from the pomp and grandeur of Queen Aleria's palace in the background. Cottages like these were normally set aside for the guards and servants who helped to staff the various buildings within the walled compounds. The house had been built with simple stone and a shallowly sloped roof of wooden shingles, with the only sign at all that it belonged to someone other than the likes of a common gardener being a small coat-of-arms depicting a ship and crossed claws hung over the doorway.

The young Protector shifting uneasily in their midst had been thrust into a gloomy mood since the wrenching defeat of... what was it, 'Team Swanna'? Some random team that could have surely been pushed aside with a night of post-tutoring amusements and reassurances about the competence of Imperial medics… had they not somehow had ties to the sea rats they picked up with the young Lugia. Yet for some daft reason, instead of leading the Protector to a playroom, the Citadel's gardens, or even just a rooftop to stargaze, Cabot had deigned to try and distract the seabird... by dragging him, Niilo, and the Protector all off to the residence of the one Pokémon in Giotto who would somehow be able to make the seabird feel even _less_ comfortable than he already was.

"Of course! Pleo's still afraid of Captain Nugget, so how's he ever supposed to see that we're the good guys?" Cabot exclaimed. "If he sees how she _really_ is, I'm sure that it would smooth things over!"

The Cranidos wagged his tail eagerly, expecting a hearty affirmation... only to watch in disappointment as Pleo shrank back uneasily and his teammates rolled their eyes at the suggestion with impatient shifts of their feet.

"… Yeah, good luck with that," Niilo grunted.

"She _is_ a bit more on the cantankerous side, Cabot," Berecien snorted. "I think we'd have more luck just by letting him spend time with Her Majesty, Admiral Coil, or else _someone_ who's less… temperamental."

"And she's a scary crab!" Pleo squawked, beating his wings in protest.

"But we've all seen that when it really comes down to it, she _does_ care about us!" the Cranidos insisted. "If that's how she feels about her own crew, surely she'd feel the same about the Empire' s new Protector!"

The Rock-Type's suggestion was met with a round of unamused, skeptical looks from his teammates, with even the young Lugia's expression seeming every bit as unconvinced as the others'. Sensing that his battle for persuasion was a losing one, the dinosaur flashed a pleading look and pulled his arms in towards his chest.

"Just trust me on this?"

Cabot turned back to the simple wooden door and brought up a claw. The Rock-Type balled it up and rapped it against the wood, waiting for an answer. After a long pause, Pleo and his escorts started to shift uncomfortably, wondering if anyone was home. The Cranidos raised his claw again, only for the door to open, revealing a surprised Clawitzer at the other end. The crustacean blinked a moment, sizing up the Cranidos forcing a smile in front of Niilo and Berecien on her doorstep, with Pleo's form shrinking away, prompting an annoyed scowl to settle over her face.

"… What do you want?" Nagant demanded

"Well, we thought it might be handy if you got to know Pleo a little more, Captain," the Rock-Type explained. "He kinda started off on the wrong foot with you earlier."

"Pleo?" the crustacean questioned.

"It's the Protector's name," Cabot insisted.

"Hrmph, it looks more like he has other ideas."

Nagant pointed past the three sailors off towards the lane. Blinking, Cabot and his companions turned back and saw Pleo creeping off slowly for the shadows.

"Uh… Protector, where are you going?" Berecien wondered. The seabird at once jolted his head up, and looked back uneasily mid-stride, appearing much like an Aipom caught with its tail in a cookie jar.

"Oh! I… er…"

As Pleo fidgeted uncomfortably, Cabot paused before clearing his throat. The Cranidos inhaled deeply to brace himself, steeling his nerves to plead his case to his obviously unamused superior.

"Captain, if he feels constantly threatened around us, what's to keep him from flying off?" Cabot asked. "His flight feathers aren't going to stay damaged forever, and shouldn't the Protector of an Empire _want_ to be a part of it?"

The Clawitzer narrowed her eyes and scowled from the doorway, giving a quiet click of her mandibles. After a long, awkward pause, the crustacean sighed and shook her head.

"… _Ladno_. Let's just get this over with."

The four made their way into the cottage, finding it to be barren of the normal decor of a residence beyond the presence of some simple decorative stonework in the floor, a handful of cheap shelves along the wall, and a few ratty cushions haphazardly strewn about. Instead, the bulk of the abode's floorplan was consumed by a large pool of water connected to the grate, evidently Nagant's living, sleeping, and accommodating quarters all rolled into one. Berecien eyed the surroundings uneasily, noting that the house seemed to lack any other rooms… Was this really how captains of naval frigates lived nowadays?

"I would have thought that the Empire would have done more to help you transition, Captain…" Berecien murmured, only to be answered by a dismissive hiss.

"Hrmph. Such is the price for trying to inherit my family's title and estate when it's no longer in Imperial territory," Nagant grunted, as she lowered herself into the pool. "But so be it. It's not as if I'll have to wait much longer to get back what's mine."

"Well, underwhelming house or not. Don't you ever host guests here?" Niilo questioned.

"Hrmph. I have my ship for that," the Clawitzer snapped. "Do you have a problem with it?"

"Well, I was thinking… maybe you had something to drink for the Protector and us something?" the Sandslash continued. "Like a cup of water?"

Nagant rolled her eyes and brought over a clay bowl from some tiles next to the pool, levelling a claw at it. The Clawitzer cracked her firing claw open and spewed out a jet of water, which half-bounced out of the bowl leaving water splattered all around it, with a small amount of briny water remaining inside. Without a further word, the shrimp latched onto the sopping bowl and unceremoniously dropped it in front of her guests.

"There," she huffed. "Now dish it out yourself."

The bowl of briny water drew disgusted stares from Niilo, Cabot, and Berecien. Keenly aware of the others' reactions, Pleo uneasily craned his head down, eying the bowl skeptically.

"… Uh… are we _supposed_ to drink that?" Pleo whispered, only to be answered by Cabot emphatically shaking his head back.

"Er… I don't think you'd feel too well if you did, Pleo."

"Aherm. Perhaps we should skip refreshments for now?" Berecien offered. "Maybe we can start with some form entertainment instead?"

The Ponyta's answer was met with a hardened glare from the elder Clawitzer. Based off her stiff demeanor and visible hostility, it was evident that she somehow had an even lower opinion of the suggestion than Niilo's request for drinks.

"Like what, Berecien?" Nagant demanded. "I'm a _captain_ , not a common bard!"

The Fire-Type backpedaled a moment and gulped, half-expecting the agitated crustacean to snipe him with a Water Pulse right then and there. He looked about the dingy abode for something to lighten the mood, only for his eyes to settle on a simple checkerboard made of light and dark wood lying to the side.

"Well, what about a game?" the Ponyta insisted. "You've always been a fan of checkers, and it's a simple game to pick up, is it not?"

The shrimp's hostility ebbed for a moment, with an expression approaching genuine anticipation settling over her face. Nagant clicked her claws, half unsure whether to take up the fire horse's suggestion, before shaking her head and answering.

"… I'll humor it."

The Clawitzer pulled the board over and set it down in front of her, carefully setting out the pieces on their respective sides. After it was prepared, the shrimp grabbed a corner of the checkerboard and rotated it to turn the light pieces towards the young Lugia, moving her small claw to latch onto one of the dark pieces and push it forward diagonally to the left.

"Your pieces stick to the like-colored tiles," Nagant explained. "If you jump over one of mine, it's yours."

Pleo peered down at the board, noticing that the Water-Type had moved her piece onto a square of the same color. Why, there were plenty of those further down the board on Nagant's end! Did he really just have to make one of his pieces jump to get some of Nagant's?

"Hrm…"

The Protector opened his beak and picked up one of the light-colored pieces on his end, lifting it from the board and swinging his head forward. He opened his beak, sending the checker flying across the board and clattering down on Nagant's end of the wooden board, leaving a trail of spittle as it knocked a few of Nagant's pieces into her pool. The Clawitzer spluttered incredulously for a moment, only to be cut off by a curious chirp from the young Lugia.

"Like that, right?" Pleo asked. "It jumped over a whole bunch of your pieces!"

The Clawitzer stared at her disturbed and freshly-disordered side of the checkerboard, tightening her claws with a low hiss under her breath. Keenly aware that his superior was losing her composure, Cabot hastily cleared his throat, hoping to shift the topic of conversation before Nagant's temper got the better of her.

"Er… how about you two start with introductions first!" he suggested. "That should happen before any games or drinks anyways, right?"

Nagant scowled at the Cranidos, and it was clear that her patience for her subordinates had already worn thinner than the cheap drinks served at Tidemill's seaside taverns. She narrowed her eyes, trying to pick apart just where the sailor was going with this.

"Introduce _how,_ exactly?"

"Just tell him some stuff about yourself?" Cabot insisted.

The Clawitzer blinked, before sinking back into the water. The shrimp brooded a moment, twitching her barbels out of indecision before finally harrumphing back to a watching Protector.

"Hrmph. I'm a captain of an Imperial frigate," Nagant said. "It's my job to sail around and help protect the remaining realm from brigands, Company schemes, and assorted louts who threaten the order of Her Majesty's realm."

The Water-Type's declaration was followed by an awkward silence as Pleo found her explanation to be… thorough, yet not telling him anything he didn't already know about the shrimp. The seabird shifted uncomfortably, wondering if there was anything at all that he could talk about… before one idea in particular came upon him.

"… What about your family?"

"Excuse me?"

"You mentioned back on Orleigh that if you caught me you'd tell me about it," Pleo insisted. "Well, you caught me, so what were you going to say about them?"

The Clawitzer paused, even her barbels failing to display any motion as a long quiet quickly sucked out what little life there was in the room. The elderly shrimp stared back at the young Protector, before shaking her head and raising her voice to speak.

"... I used to live with my family on Conntow, where my mother was a Marchioness," the Clawitzer answered. "We had an estate there called Nagant Bridge built over a ruined bridge from the Old World that straddled a river going into a harbor just outside of Middleguard City."

"Wait, _Nagant_ Bridge?" Niilo asked, raising his brow. "But you're-"

"Nagant the _Thirteenth_ , named after 'Nagant the Great', the heroic navigator," the shrimp interrupted. "My family kept up the tradition by sending their younger members to join seafaring professions such as those in the Navy. At the time of the Great Calamity, I myself was sailing regularly as a freshly-enlisted naval cadet."

A wave of grimaces settled on Cabot, Berecien, and Niilo, the lot coming to the realization that Nagant's enlistment was in all likelihood the reason why she was here before them to tell this tale at all. The Great Calamity would've happened when Nagant was about the same age as when the three of them enlisted and set sail for their first missions, and destroyed every part of her home settlement while she was far away at sea… Beyond their obvious discomfort, that realization failed to percolate down to the young Protector, who gave a blank tilt of his head at the wizened crustacean.

"So what happened to everything else?"

" _Gone._ All of it," Nagant snapped. "I spent years afterwards drifting from port to port on various ships, with my accommodations being whatever the navy could spare during those dark years. It was only afterwards that I finally got even this pittance of an cottage as recompense."

"But I don't understand. After all of that, why wouldn't you just accept the new title?" Berecien insisted. "My own parents lost everything when the Company dispossessed them, and they don't live like _this_ …"

"Hrmph. You'll have to bring it up with the Prime Minister at the time who decided they didn't want to support titles that lay outside the Imperial realm," the Water-Type growled. " _I'm_ sticking to my rights, and even if it takes my life to see it, I'll see what's mine return once the Empire is restored to its old glory."

"But what's the use of it?" Pleo asked.

The room went dead silent as Nagant shifted her body in the pool's water with a splash. The shrimp visibly tensed up, training a stare on the young Protector as her claws tightened shut with a powerful grip.

" _What?_ "

"You've gone through all this trouble just to get me for your old title and land…" Pleo murmured. "But if they're all destroyed, then aren't you just doing all of this for nothing?"

The four Pokémon flinched at the sound of a heavy slam against the ground from Nagant's big claw and heard the clay bowl from earlier shake. Pleo ruffled his feathers uneasily and craned his neck to see the Clawitzer visibly seething, pulling her big claw away from the room's stone flooring.

"We're _done_ here," Nagant hissed. "Cabot. Please take the Protector and see yourselves out the door."

"H-Huh?!" the Cranidos stammered. "But-"

" _Now_ , Cabot!"

Cabot and the others flinched, hastily darting out of the chamber and back through the front door with the young Protector. The sound of Nagant following after reached their ears, and before the lot were down the front steps, the Water-Type slammed the door shut with enough force to disturb a few pebbles out in the path to the dwelling. Cabot stared back at the darkened residence for a moment, hanging his head dejectedly.

"… I'm sorry that that happened, Pleo," the dinosaur sighed. "I really thought that if you just talked with her, then-"

"It's alright."

"Huh?"

"She doesn't seem as scary anymore," Pleo insisted. "I understand why she's like this."

The three sailors paused, before wary smiles crept up over their faces. Somehow in spite of everything it sounded like something good came out of that whole debacle.

"Well, small victories, I suppose," Berecien muttered. "It's late, and we should be getting back."

Cabot, Berecien, and Niilo sighed and started making their way off down the lane, leaving Pleo to waddle after them. He beat his wings and noticed that the air still felt like it came too quickly through it, a quick glimpse revealing that while some of his plumes had grown back, the majority still sported the marks of clipping. The young Protector winced as he felt something poke his chest and looked down to see his King's Rock. He adjusted it carefully, taking in the stone loop and the split band that Nida had tied back together. At once, the young Protector was filled with a flood of wistfulness, his mind shifting to his friends.

Watching Kiran and Ander get defeated in the tournament had shaken him earlier in the day, with Crom's reaction to the wounded Fraxure making him wonder how the two were related, and if the young Druddigon was doing alright. Whatever the relation, the whole episode seemed to shake up Nida, Elty, and Guardia… and he wasn't there to help... The young Protector sighed, looking up at the stars in the night sky before trudging off in heavier spirits, wondering when he'd see his friends once more.

* * *

The way back to the Guards' Headquarters went by listlessly that evening as Team Traveller went to collect their pay from Cardino and see what it was that he additionally wanted from them. The atmosphere was not for any fault of the districts of Tidemill they passed through, as the streets and canals throbbed with Pokémon as much as ever. Much like Bluewhorl's residents, the local Pokémon made a habit of shopping and socializing after leaving their places of labor. While the local Pokémon passed time together at taverns and eateries much as Trombans did, there was a noticeably different aura about the evening rush, with the local preference seemingly tilted towards perusing evening markets set up along the water and stopping to observe the performances various theaters and street entertainers. No, instead the listlessness afflicting Team Traveller was enforced by an all-encompassing sense of gloom that hung over the three like a cloud, which made what ought to have been a lively and exciting evening walk slip by in a dull blur. When they finally reached the steps of the headquarters, even Cardino seemed to sense something was amiss, prompting the electric rat to clamber down and meet his assistants on the street.

"You're on time for once," the Pikachu said, passing over a small bag that clinked with coins as it moved. "Though you seem a bit downer than normal."

"We had an emergency come up back at the stadium," Nida replied. The Nidoran took and stashed away the mission reward with a sigh, shaking her head. "A friend of ours got hurt pretty badly in the ring."

The Pikachu blanched and flattened his ears out apologetically. His assistants _had_ been a bit of an enigma all this time and on the later side, but even so he hadn't expected them to be grappling with a personal crisis as grave as this...

"Ah... well, I'm glad that you still managed to come out here," Cardino offered. "You've technically completed your obligations, but... I still needed your help with this case."

"What do you mean?" Elty demanded. "Didn't we just get through proving that Scraggy and his buddies innocent? Why would the case still be open?"

"We still don't know the full story of the real culprit, pal."

The three present members of Team Traveller traded uneasy looks with one another. Cardino's determination to close the case was admirable… but what else could be done right now?

"But just what are we supposed to work with there? We know there's a 'Coordinator' and that Sibich says that some 'Admiral Coil' is the culprit," Guardia murmured. "But you can't really trust the word of any old pirate, can you?"

"… Probably not," the Electric-Type sighed. "But even so, you can still learn a thing or two from them. Come on."

Cardino and his assistants made their way inside, pacing down the hallways to the courtyard where they continued on back through the detention block. As soon as they entered, they were greeted by the sight of a much fuller cell block than the day before. The group made their way down uneasily only to spot the Mareanie and Furfrou from the day before back behind a cell, visibly anxious and disoriented. Now that they noticed it, it seemed like the cell block as a whole was filled once again with other faces that were missing just yesterday… but why?

"Hey, didn't some of these 'mons already get sentenced once?" Elty murmured. "What are they all doing back here?"

"Well, given how the main witness for sentencing these pirates was revealed to have been colluding and feeding wrong information to us , it was hard for the judges not to push for a retrial," Cardino explained. "If it was discovered that Sibich's ship-burners were getting lighter sentences than cooks from his galley, it would cause an uproar against the crown."

"Hrmph, you'd never have this issue if you ran your trials like a _civilized_ group of _majū_ ," Guardia grumbled.

Nida and Elty rolled their eyes at the bone lizard's assertion, only to have their ears prick up at a muffled noise. The group carried on, where it became increasingly clear the sound was the hissing voice of an angered Cofagrigus. One that was becoming all too familiar to the group for their liking.

"I _told_ you, I'm not telling you a thing to help you with your featherbrained plans!"

Cardino and his assistants paused, staring ahead down the hallway. There, ahead on the left was the door to the visitor's room, its occupants hidden from view but with sounds instantly discernible to be the muffled voices of Nico and Rita, along with the much louder sound of a none-too-cheery-sounding Sibich.

"Er… just what are we supposed to learn from Sibich like that?" Nida asked, prompting Cardino to look ahead skeptically and flatten out his ears.

"Uh… well, Nico _did_ say he was still working on it," he reassured. "Let's check up on him and see how it's going."

The Pikachu walked up to the door of the meeting room, pressing up against its push panel to reveal Nico and Rita sitting at one end of a table, staring down a shackled and visibly glowering Sibich at the other end.

"As I was saying, there's nothing featherbrained about this at all. You'll give your testimony as the accused, and we'll use it to help bring the Coordinator out into the spotlight," Nico reiterated. "It's also the last chance you got at making any change to the current perception of you being a heartless cutthroat who steals eggs from their mothers before sentencing."

The conversation quieted at the sound of footsteps approaching. From his place chained to the table, Sibich looked over and instantly set his teeth on edge with a hateful scowl at the sight of Team Traveller's presence.

"Hrmph," the wraith huffed. "If you were hoping to persuade me, you would should have left those brats at the Day Care."

"Oh trust us, we didn't want to see _you_ again either," Elty grumbled, rolling his eyes.

The dog's retort was quickly answered by a seething hiss as an inky haze billowed out of Sibich's body. From their places across the table, Nico and Rita shifted back slightly, the Misdreavus floating up close to her Fletchinder partner's ear.

"Er… Nico, I don't think that we're getting through to him," Rita whispered. The robin paused, and moved a wing thoughtfully to his beak .

"Hrm… perhaps I need to put things in the most direct possible terms, then."

The Fletchinder turned back to the Cofagrigus across the counter, beating his wings with a heady _thud_ against the table. With a fierce scowl across his face, the Fire-Type leaned in, glaring at the Ghost-Type at the opposing end.

"Sibich, the court has _exiled Pokémon to the Wastes_ for less serious crimes than what you were discovered to be doing today," Nico snapped. "I don't know how much Cofagrigus really can get by on eating gold, but you'll be hard-pressed to find much of _anything_ out there to stave off a long, lingering death by starvation."

No answer came back to the Fletchinder's words but the cold, steely glare of the captain of the Shadow Brigade. The Ghost-Type scoffed, giving a dismissive wave of his upper right hand as much as his bindings allowed.

"So what am I supposed to believe? That by playing along with you, you'll magically make all my problems go away?" Sibich snorted. "I wasn't born _yesterday_ , Fletchinder."

"No, but you can believe that the judge will sentence you to something other than exile to the Wastes if you cooperate," Nico countered. "Wasn't that _why_ you attempted to frame your more disposable underlings to begin with? If you would really prefer that the real culprit got away and you took the sentence, then there's nothing I can do to convince you. If you want a different option, this is the only other one you have."

The Ghost-Type paused in visible thought for a moment, before giving a grudging sigh and turning his attention back to his Fletchinder questioner. The Cofagrigus folded his arms as much as his bindings would allow, shooting a sidelong glance at Cardino and his party of assistants.

"… Fine. And I presume the peanut gallery here is also present to question me?" the Cofagrigus grumbled. "So what do you all want to know? Not like I have anything to lose right now anyways."

"Who is Admiral Coil?" Nida asked. "And why did everyone react the way they did when you said he was the Coordinator?"

"Hrmph. _I'm_ not the local here," Sibich snapped, letting a little blackish haze billow out from his coffin. "Why don't you _ask_ one?"

The wraith shot a finger at Cardino, who after having Team Traveller's gazes settle upon him, shook his head, and began to explain the identity of this 'mon of mystery.

"He's a naval admiral who is in charge of Giotto's defenses and helps keeps the peace in the Capital on behalf of the royal family," Cardino explained. "He's had a long history of naval service defending the island from piracy and hunting down pirates from dangerous waters. That's the primary reason why Her Majesty was currently considering him for filling the current vacancy of Prime Minister."

"Not the easiest of claims to swallow, as you can see," Rita added. "He's viewed very highly even by some Pokémon on other islands in Imperial waters."

"Aha... so he's the most trusted warrior of your colony," Guardia mulled. "So even the common gatherers would not believe it if they were told that he endangered the colony in such a treacherous way."

"I… think?" Cardino replied, giving a puzzled tilt of his ears. "And even if something serious _did_ come out, I'm not sure how Her Majesty would react. Coil's family has a long history of service to the royal family in particular."

Guardia blinked and wondered under her breath why this colony would make such a big deal over lineage for its leaders and warriors. In the process of heaping up all their buildings and monuments, could the Pokémon of this 'Empire' really have forgotten wisdom as simple as the fact that talent wasn't an inherited trait? After all, in the colonies around home, there were tales of warriors having hatchlings that lacked their parents' bravery and stomach for battle, and of _zokuchō_ who'd had young that in spite of their best efforts to mentor them were unable to gain the discernment needed to follow their parents' footsteps.

Why, if this Coil was even half the ne'er-do-well that Sibich made him out to be... If this ruler of the Empire just let him have his job because his parents had it before him, then no wonder why he'd caused so much trouble! But even so, what would he have to gain here? As the highest warrior of the Empire, what would he possibly gain from undermining his own duty in such a fashion?

"But I don't understand," the Cubone continued. "Just what would a _pirate_ have to offer someone like that?"

"The power to make things happen. If the Admiral needed a raid to be done that he couldn't afford to get involved in, I'd do it in person or sway another crew back on Orleigh to do it in my stead," Sibich explained. "In return, he repaid me with tips so I could mount an occasional raid in his waters, along with a steady stream of eggs to bring back to mold into discardable pawns that suited my needs."

Nida, Elty, and Guardia recoiled in disgust at the Cofagrigus' statement. The idea of spiriting eggs away to raise as pawns for crime was already odious enough, but to hear him say it so cavalierly and with such disregard for the Pokémon he used… why, it was enough to think that perhaps even sending him to the Wastes wouldn't be punishment enough!

"Why would he bring you _here_ , though?" Cardino demanded. "If Admiral Coil really is the Coordinator as you allege, then I'd imagine he'd want you as far away as possible from him."

"He sent a message that the Lugia had been seen on Giotto, and informed me that he was in a fringe town south of here," Sibich answered.

Cardino's assistants jolted up, their eyes widening in alarm. Admiral Coil had gotten wind of Pleo being awake? But they'd never so much as heard of the Admiral until they arrived here in Giotto! Could someone have _told_ him? Could it have been the old Clawitzer who ambushed them?

"But Pleo was with _us_ all the time!" Nida exclaimed. "And how would he know anything about him?!"

"That's irrelevant, as the Protector was nowhere in that hamlet. The only thing we found was a waiting ambush," the Cofagrigus insisted. "I was told that my crew was drawing too much attention and that if I helped single out some Pokémon to bear the brunt of the court's wrath, that I would be rewarded with a sentence lenient enough to escape from in return for my silence."

"Could you really trust that if he misled you from the start of your journey to Giotto?" Nico asked. "Given Admiral Coil's bid to be Prime Minister, it sounds more like he wanted to be rid of a liability."

The robin's response at once set the pirate's teeth on edge, his mood visibly darkening. Sibich grumbled bilously under his breath, the Ghost-Type realizing that with the information Nico had provided, all of the inexplicable events that had befallen him in the past few days suddenly made sense.

"I was not… _aware_ of Coil's current circumstances at the time," the Cofagrigus seethed. "If I were, I would have not been so quick to trust him."

"Guess there really is no honor among thieves," Cardino sighed, shaking his head. "But still, we won't be able to get anywhere with just your testimony."

"I'm afraid that's the best I can do. Coil usually uses street thugs to do the dirty work of running messages and contraband," Sibich said. "But I've seen no one outside my crew in these cells since our capture."

Wait… Coil used _street thugs_ to do his dirty work? Then, the notes that they recovered from that chamber in the stadium... the gang that Saéta had been so agitated about... could they have some sort of connection to him as the Coordinator?

"Wait a minute. Cardino," Nida said. "Didn't Saéta say that say that he and his goons were searching for a gang that was doing things on their 'turf'?"

"The egg thieves, yes," the Pikachu answered. "Was there something strange about what he said?"

"I was just thinking," the rabbit murmured. "If those are the Pokémon Coil is using to do his dirty work right now, then they _have_ to have something on them."

"That _would_ be our best bet," Cardino muttered. "But how would we even go about that on such short notice? And even assuming we actually manage to find them and grab something from them tonight, dragging Coil in would be bound to cause a real stink at the tournament. Unless we managed to find something really good, there'd be no way we could justify it."

Elty blinked at Cardino's explanation, realizing that a commotion at the stadium would mean that there'd be fewer guards to pay attention to Pleo… But for how long? And where would they be?

"Hold on, did you just say that Admiral Coil was going to be _at the tournament_ tomorrow?" Elty asked, tensing himself expectantly. It was a long shot, but… could it be something they could turn to their advantage?

"... I mean, yeah," the Pikachu sighed back. "But where are you going with this? It's not as if we have that many leads to work with."

The Fire-Type paused and narrowed his eyes, giving a serious look back to the Pikachu.

"... Don't be too sure about that, Cardino," Elty replied. "But first things first… _what_ sort of stink at the tournament are we talking about here?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Author's Notes:**
> 
> \- _Jalorda (_ _ジャローダ_ _)_ \- Japanese: "Serperior" (Official Romanization)  
>  \- _Prinses_ \- Dutch: "Princess"  
>  \- _jari (_ _じゃり_ _)_ \- Japanese: "brat" (Hepburn romanization)  
>  \- _(¡)Cállate!_ \- Spanish: "Shut up!"  
>  \- _canàje_ \- Venetian: "brats"  
>  \- _Hanashite! (_ _放して_ _!)_ \- Japanese: "Let go!" (Hepburn romanization)  
>  \- _Ladno (Ладно)_ \- Russian: "All right"


End file.
